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And Ross has been doing her thing for a
while - although it hasn't always been acting. The multifaceted Ross
writes, paints, sings and plays the flute, drums and piano. In fact,
Ross turned down a record deal with Motown several years ago when the
label was in flux. As a musician, she's most interested in jazz and
has resisted switching to hip-hop or R&B. With a voice that has an
early Aretha Franklin or Natalie Cole sound, Ross is well aware of how
blessed she is to have such an artistic background.
"My parents, especially my dad, made sure [my
siblings and I] were exposed to creative forms of expression. He
wanted us to have everything we could have growing up - motorcycles,
everything," Ross reveals. "We all played instruments. We
all had the chance to do what we wanted to do. I took advantage of
that."
Ross has also capitalized on additional
opportunities that have come her way. As a New York-based actress,
Ross did sketch comedy work with Saturday Night Live and appeared in
an episode of New York Undercover during its third season. Other film
and television appearances followed, but it was her role as Treasure
Lee in 2001's Stranger Inside that brought the actress greater
recognition.
Stranger Inside is a women's prison drama of
well-meaning, but misdirected affection. In the film, Treasure schemes
her way into the big house to search for her long lost mom. Instead of
a welcoming motherly embrace, Treasure finds a cunning and selfish
matriarch, looking to run a con rather than offer unconditional love.
As the criminally worldly, yet emotionally naïve
Treasure, Ross had to portray a wide range of emotions. And she does
so in remarkable fashion. When Ross read the script for Stranger
Inside, she was determined to get the role.
"I took the script out to the Hamptons, read
it, loved it and knew I had to get it," Ross fervently states.
"As I was rehearsing the words and the scenes, it just made so
much sense. I knew what [Treasure] was going to say before reading it.
She was three-dimensional. She wasn't one of those characters that was
just funny, just ghetto, just this, just that - she was a person so
that made it easy."
Ross inhabits the character so completely no wonder
critics took note of her stellar work. It's also a role that lead to a
20002 IFP Gotham Award for breakthrough performance and a spot on
Variety's "10 People to Watch List" in 2001.
With the success of Stranger Inside, Ross is on the
look out for other indie film projects in which to star and took time
to pen her own script.
"Independent film is actually where it's at. A
lot of major blockbusters are so formulated and predictable,"
Ross explains. "I would love to keep doing independent films
because they can get under the radar and keep things real. It's still
about money, but not so much about money."
Keeping it real and keeping the faith keeps Ross
optimistic regarding her long-term success. "The thing that keeps
me hopeful is that I know. That's about it. I don't have any question
that I won't make it. I've always stood out and I just continue
to," Ross affirms. "I may not be one of the people you see
all the time, but the things that I have done are quality, I did a
helluva job with them and they're going to be looked at in the
future."
To all her acting projects, Ross brings an intense
desire to analyze and fully project the essence of the characters she
portrays. "With a new character, it starts from the outside and
then goes in. I look forward to not being Yolonda because I'm here
everyday," says Ross. "To become somebody else is like
painting a picture. You have to take this and become that and how well
you do it is how well you get the job. So I try to do it to the best
of my ability."
In addition to Antwone Fisher, Ross skills are
currently on display in Yvonne Welbon's short film The Taste of Dirt
and The United States of Leland where she appears alongside Don
Cheadle and Kevin Spacey. For more on Yolonda Ross, click
here. M
January 2003
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