There’s plenty of famous actors who grew up in the Hollywood machine and have remained prominent in the industry. But not every success is an overnight sensation. More often than not it takes plenty of blood, sweat and tears to make it on the cover of a movie poster. Tyler Perry’s latest thriller, A Fall From Grace, certainly boasts talent from its leading lady, but it’s actually Crystal Fox’s first time completely in the spotlight after decades of supporting roles.
The 56-year-old actress spoke to CinemaBlend about how much her starring role in Netflix’s A Fall From Grace means to her. Here’s what she told us:
It has taken 40 years to get to this point and I’m just trying to stay in the moment and absorb it all. It’s one of the best moments of my life as an actress. The thing I love most is that I started out in theater, I love theater. It’s my first love and it’s like a dual gift to have a billboard in Times Square near Broadway. I’m on Broadway, but in a film! I love that so very much.
There’s nothing like a full circle moment! Tyler Perry and Crystal Fox even visited the poster on Broadway in New York City to celebrate the moment. Check it out:
Tyler Perry handpicked Crystal Fox to star in his first collaboration with Netflix after years of being impressed with the actress on the Oprah Winfrey Network television show, The Have and the Have Nots. Perry gushed about her in our interview with these words:
Giving the opportunity to Crystal Fox, who is an actress who I would put in any scene with Denzel, Viola Davis, Meryl Streep. She is that good to stand side-by-side with all of them. You know she just finished Big Little Lies, she’s been on The Have and Have Nots for seven years. This is her first time leading a movie. So that for me is really inspiring that I can do that for her and Bresha [Webb] and help them be seen in different lights.
Given Tyler Perry’s growing empire in the movie and television sectors, he certainly could have had his pick at leading ladies for A Fall From Grace. In the past, he’s enlisted talents such as Taraji P. Henson, Tiffany Haddish and Janet Jackson to play his leading characters. But he knew it was about time Crystal Fox got her moment for A Fall From Grace.
Impressively enough, Crystal Fox’s first role in a film was a supporting one in 1989’s Driving Miss Daisy alongside Morgan Freeman. She’s had some work over the years, but now she’s finally really hitting the scene. The actress recently played upcoming Catwoman actress Zoe Kravitz’s mother in the second season of Big Little Lies and in another series from Gillan Flynn, Amazon Prime’s Utopia. She is also is gearing up to work alongside Forest Whitaker in indie film Burden coming in February.
The Madea filmmaker seems to have nothing but love for Crystal Fox. When he screened the film to an audience in Atlanta (the same city where his own 330 acre studio recently opened), he said the reaction was unlike any other he’d recieved in all his years in the business. Take a look:
Tyler Perry has certainly been no stranger to his own struggle in Hollywood either. He recently opened up about feeling “ignored” by Hollywood. Eddie Murphy likened him to his recent role of Rudy Ray Moore in Netflix’s Dolemite Is My Name. Check out the most anticipated movies coming to Netflix in 2020.
