Cynthia Kaye McWilliams - TV

 

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Cynthia Kaye McWilliams _ TV

By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist

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Cynthia Kaye McWilliams

Holding Her Own With The Real Husbands

    

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams

Being the only female cast member of a male dominated show is a daunting enough task but when the males are all comedians you really have a handful. Actress Cynthia Kaye McWilliams is not only handling her role as Trina Shaw, entertainment attorney to the stars, but she has firmly established herself on BET’s “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” The show has entered its second season full steam ahead. The Berlin, Germany born McWilliams was basically reared in Kansas City, Kansas and is a graduate from the prestigious Theater School of DePaul University in Chicago. According to McWilliams, the school was so tough that you not only had to audition to get in but you had to audition every year to stay in. After graduation McWilliams perfected her acting chops on the theater scene in Chicago and developed a vibrant voiceover career as well. Like anyone else who desires to act professionally on the big or little screens, McWilliams packed it up and moved to LA when the finished preparation and timing was right.

   

 McWilliams didn’t exactly get the best start out of the blocks. The first two pilots that she landed both were not picked up and cancelled. How did that experience help shape her resolve and determination? She laughs, “Oh wow you’re going to start off with that huh. Start off with all of the disappointments thank you.” But getting back to the question she says “Yeah, it was a little character building and a little skin thickening but I mean honestly that was not the beginning of anything for me. I’ve been doing this since I was eleven. I started writing plays and working in theater then I went to college.  We had a cut system and it was very cut throat so I’m no stranger to both competition and disappointment. Sometimes when you are competing you are not going to win but I don’t think that means that in the end you can’t win. I always have the long sight as opposed to the short sight. If anything that is definitely behooving in LA. There are a lot of short sighted people here and I think in order to really run the race you’ve got to realize that it is a marathon not a sprint.”

Kevin Hart and McWilliams

     What was her experience auditioning for the show with superstar Kevin Hart who is also one of the producers? McWilliams lights up, “I did an improvised session with Kevin and that was unbelievably surreal because at that time I had never met him and he was really just beginning to pop and be like this huge crossover performer and so I felt both humbled and excited to be in that room and by the end of it I knew it was going to work. I didn’t get the call until weeks later but I knew it a was going to happen because we had an incredible chemistry. I felt like I had known him forever and that doesn’t happen very often. He’s fantastic. I imagine anybody working with him would say the same thing but it doesn’t happen for me very often and so I knew it was something special. And he has continued to be equally as exciting and committed and giving 100% while keeping me on my toes raising me to another level every single time we work together. So take those lessons.”

    

   Being the only female on the cast will draw the attention of other actresses who will observe how she handles it thus providing a role model. She even may be considered a trailblazer for the same reason. McWilliams is humble at that notion and responds, “Thank you so much for saying I’m a trailblazer. I do not think of that at all. I’m always still in deference to many of the trailblazers before me and so many fantastic actresses that I hope to make proud one day and hope I’m making them proud now. The challenge comes from not being a comedian but being an actress and coming in saying you have a very specific job you’re playing the straight man on the show. You have a lot of funny people around you and I had to say to myself don’t go in there trying to be funny. Do what you do as an actress and you’ll be fine.”

© 2014 Rych McCain Media/Syndication TM 

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