Lucy Fry

Lucy Fry is a beautiful and talented actress who can be seen in GODFATHER OF HARLEM. The show mirrors what we are currently seeing today with the injustice that is still very present in regards to police brutality towards people of color. Being part of a project like this allows the cast to remind everyone of the brutality that has started long ago and how important it is for us to put a stop to it! In addition, she will also be starring in a variety of projects set to release this year. Here at BELLO, we look forward to seeing more of Lucy Fry as she continues to soar in the world of entertainment!

What role do you play (character wise and just as your own person) on set of GODFATHER OF HARLEM?

I play Stella Gigante on Godfather of Harlem, the daughter of Chin, who is the boss of the Genovese crime family. Stella is strong willed, passionate, smart, but she is confined by her fathers rule and the limited choices for women in 1964. She wants to fight for a better future, but as she tries to fight for justice she finds herself using the methods she learned from her father. The more she wants to separate herself from him, the more she becomes like him, and the more violence swirls around her. On set I would say that I am always curious. I love asking questions and hearing about everyone’s connection to this story. Being from Australia, Harlem in the 60s is a new world to me and I feel very lucky to be invited into it. I read Rita Gigante’s biography about her life as the Chin’s daughter, Malcom X’s biography, watched documentaries about Martin Luther King, Kennedy, and all the classic Mob films. I needed to understand to the specific mindset of 1964. Reading ‘The Feminine Mystique,’ which came out in 1964, also helped me to understand the limitations Stella faced as a woman at that moment in time.

How has your experience been working with such an amazing cast?

I love the cast on this show, Forest Whitaker was one of my favourite actors growing up and I feel incredibly lucky to be working with him now. Vincent Donofrio is a truly incredible human being, one of my favourite things that he would say before we went into a scene was ‘let’s fail,’ which gave me permission to release perfectionism and just be present. It was a good life lesson too, to just go into the moment, to live, and be okay with the failures that inevitably happen. Vincent showed me that it’s better to enjoy failing honestly than to try and get it right. The show also has very powerful actresses, Ilfenesh Hadera, Kathrine Narducci, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Grace Porter… they are brilliant women.

In what ways do you connect personally to the show?

I connect to the way that the show looks back in history in order to comment on things that are current. As we are fighting for justice and grieving the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Daunte Wright, and many more beautiful humans, it is important to look back and see how long this has been going on for, especially before we had phones and cameras to record events. The Harlem riots of 1964 were sparked after a 15 yr old black boy, James Powell, was shot and killed by a policeman in front of his friends. This was over half a century ago, and the parallels with the Black Lives Matter protests this summer beg the question, ‘Why hasn’t it changed?’ The writers honor lives lost in 1964, revealing historic police brutality, and also explore the tireless work that is being done to create change, both from leaders like Adam Clayton Powell and Malcom X, and at a grass roots level.

Tell us more about LAST LOOKS and what it is about. What can our audience expect?

Last Looks is a fun detective film, that has a self-aware cheeky film noir style. The audience can expect to laugh, to have a good time, and get a little thrill as Charlie Hunnam’s character, Waldo, searches for the villain.

Why were you drawn to this indie film?

I was drawn to the film because I like film noir, like Chinatown and Double Indemnity, and I thought it would be fun to explore a cheeky modern take on that style. I love my character, Jane. She is very manipulative, playful, and unapologetic. I like to play the bad guy.

Share with us how you balance working on multiple projects at a time (you also have NIGHT TEETH coming out)!

Night teeth is a really fun film. I think Night Teeth has the escapism that we’re needing a little bit of these days, a fast paced fun ride through a vampiric LA night. I had a blast making that. Balancing projects… I like to be busy. I am just a very creative person so always have something on the fire… whether it’s a painting or a film or a weird dance that I would never show anyone, it’s important to me to always be in a creative process. I like the creations that are just for the sake of the process, not for any result.

Who is your role model?

We filmed this season of Godfather of Harlem through a freezing pandemic winter, and I saw the whole cast and crew rally together in a way that was incredibly inspiring. I found role models in the colleagues around me as we supported each other through the hardest time. The key hair department head, Barbara Roman, is a powerful, loving, leader. I saw her fight for what’s right, and unflinchingly protect others, with so much love and kindness. I learned from her how love would resolve situations when it is spoken unapologetically with truth. And the key makeup artist, Arielle Toelke, I saw her managing her time to make and share her art even when we were working wildly long hours. To see a woman making time to tend to her artistic pursuits and enriching those around her in the process was very inspiring. Everyone on set brought their best qualities to a tough situation, and I learned a lot from them.

What is something about yourself that most people do not know?

I would say that most people don’t know a lot about me, and I quite like it that way 🙂 Do we ever really know anyone?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years, I could imagine myself living somewhere with a big garden and an art studio… I can imagine making a film that I’ve written… with friends… surfing… planting seeds… with a loving community around.

TEAM CREDITS

@BELLOmag
Talent LUCY FRY @lucyfry
Photographer & Creative Direction MIKE RUIZ @mikeruizone
Stylist THOMAS CARTER PHILLIPS @thomascarterphillips
Stylist Assistant BRIAN MELLER @brianmeller
Hair DAVID VON CANNON @davidvoncannon
Makeup GITA BASS @gitabass
Interview ALEXANDRA BONNET @alexbonnetwrites
Production @BELLOmediagroup x @maisonpriveepr_la x @alexbonnetwrites