An Interview with Amber Stevens West, Bresha Webb, & Corbin Reid from ‘Run the World’

Amber Stevens West, Bresha Webb, and Corbin Reid are three highly accomplished actors that have dominated the silver and small screens over the past few years. Currently, they star as Whitney, Renee, and Sondi respectively on the STARZ series, Run the World, and we here at NTG had the distinct honor of speaking with Amber, Bresha, and Corbin to discuss the upcoming second season of Run the World, and more.

John Betancourt: What has it meant to each of you to be part of a show that is so extremely important?  
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Amber Stevens West: Oh, thank you. It means everything. Authenticity is what we need to have in storytelling. So, we have a show that's run by women and told by women and starring women, and I think that matters. So, I'm really grateful to be a part of that. And the representation means a lot. I didn't grow up with a lot of people on TV that looked like me, other than Ashley Banks. (Laughter from all) So, it's really cool to see that we are given a platform to tell this story, because there are so many different ways to be a black woman.

Corbin Reid: Amen.

Bresha Webb: Mmmhmm.

Corbin Reid: I would say, similarly to Amber, just knowing the impact that being authentically represented can have at large, like, it's wonderful to get to play those characters. But the part that has really mattered to me the most as an actor, is having people come up to me on the street and tell me how much it means to them, and how it's like, you know, it means the world to them. So that has been really wonderful. I think it's easy for black woman to get troped in television as sort of one note, and we're playing really complex characters. So, I think it crosses all the boundaries, and is super relatable and super authentic, and is having a really wonderful impact.

Bresha Webb: Um, it's really just awesome to be on an aspirational show. You can look at the fashion and be inspired. You can look at the friendship and the sisterhood and be inspired. You can look at their careers and their choices that they make and see how you would walk it out differently, or if you would do it the same. I feel like a lot of shows that I grew up watching, I was impacted by you know, because I'm like, “Oh, my God, look at the choices that she made. And am I going to do that? Would I do that in this situation.” So, it's awesome to see women living their truth, boldly. And, you know, and authentically, like you both have said, you know, it's just great to see strong women who have a foundation in their careers, and they're still figuring things out, you know, looking like you have it all together, ain't all that it's cracked up to be. So, it's a great reflection of seeing that on the screen with these women.

John Betancourt: What would you say your characters are ultimately searching for in season two? Especially after how season one ended?

Bresha Webb: I think, I think Renee is searching for her own success and success, in many ways, success in her careers in this new path that she's chosen, success in her love life, if that's what she wants at this time, and also success and just being who she is and the choices that she's made. And I think that's her path of just trying to walk that out, walk out the choices that she's made, and to find her confidence in it, and to do what she wants to do. And what does that look like when she follows her heart? And doesn't care what other people say or have to say, you know, she just is figuring her life out for herself.

Amber Stevens West: I think ultimately Whitney is learning the same lessons and walking through the same challenges but with a different scenario. She's also trying to put herself first or needs to put herself first because she's now realizing that she blew up her entire relationship and her life because she wasn't putting her needs, first. She was worried about the relationship looking successful, and that wasn't listening to what she really needed. So, she's very much confronted with that this season, which I think we can all relate to in some way. (Laughter from all)

Corbin Reid: In the second, or was it first episode, “No matter how we move or when we move, there's only one direction, straight ahead.” And I think that is definitely a sort of mantra that we all follow in this second season. I think for Sondi she is making moves on feelings that she's sort of suppressed in terms of feeling taken for granted, or, you know, really putting her needs and wants on the backburner. And in season two you see her take her life by the reins and have the courage to make decisions that serve her and serve her needs and her wants and what's best for her while obviously, lovingly respecting the situation that she's in, which is a very hard thing to do for women in general. And it takes a lot of courage. And it's fun to watch a woman sort of leap headfirst into serving their wants and their needs and seeing how great that outcome can be. If you take that chance.

John Betancourt: Last question I have for all of you today, what are you most proud of when it comes to your work on this show?

Corbin Reid: I'm most proud of how authentically we are representing this diverse group of women. And I think a lot of that comes down to you know, for example, we have seven of the eight directors on our show are women this season. So, you know, the show is for women by women. The showrunner is a woman, our executive producers are women, women of color, are a lot of our executives are women. And we're obviously three black women who can really relate to our characters as well. But I just think that the complexity that these characters are written with, because there are so many people up and down the line, who understand them, at their core, is very exciting for us to play as actors, but also very exciting for the audience to watch. So, I'm very proud to not be playing a trope and to be playing a complex character that people can relate to across the board.

Amber Stevens West: Yeah, we are dynamic women. And that is what we show on the show. And there's a lot to be proud of because of that.

Bresha Webb: And showing real sisterhood as well. You know, with a lot of shows on television, you can get a lot of negativity and women not really supporting each other or envying each other in their lives. It's great to see women supporting women and being honest with each other and vulnerable with each other and having a safe place to fall. I think that's aspirational. And inspiring.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
 

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