Rita Rucker is a rising star and personality to look out for. After performing on the stage of Georgia’s Clayton County Performing Arts Center and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Film and Video from Georgia State University, she landed her first recurring role as Chante in BET’s ‘Being Mary Jane’. After undertaking UCLA’s Professional Program in Acting for the Camera, she landed the role of Delores in the hit series ‘Snowfall’ on FX. Rita now appears in Lena Waithe’s new series ‘Twenties’ which premiered on BET March 4, 2020. We had the honor of speaking to her about her career and involvement with the non-profit organization Artist4Change.
Hi Rita, It’s great to catch up. Congratulations on your career so far. How did you get into acting?
Hey! Thanks so much for taking the time to interview me!
I started with small community plays as a kid and dipped and dappled with acting more seriously as I got older. One of the first studios I started studying professionally was the Actor’s Breakthrough in Morrow, GA under Emmy-Award Winning GregAlan Williams (Remember the Titans and OWN Network’s Greenleaf). I honestly came into this career path with the desire of just wanting to figure myself out and wanting to sort through my own emotions. I found that acting was a kind of therapy for me. In so many ways it was healing. In a way, being an actor has felt like my personal way of paying it forward because I’ve witnessed through my expression that it’s given people the liberty to do the same.
It wasn’t in my wildest dreams that I’d “actually” be a working actress, but after having a little bit of success in Atlanta I started to become curious about taking my career to Los Angeles. All I needed was an excuse to get there, a reason to start my journey and mark my mark. I started thinking about graduate programs both in Los Angeles and in Canada. I then came across the Professional’s Program at UCLA and to my surprise, after auditioning, I got accepted! I had my going away party at my little studio apartment in Atlanta and packed my bags from there.
You landed your first recurring role as Chante in BET’s ‘Being Mary Jane’, starring Gabrielle Union. Please tell us more about working on the series.
This was my first big job. I had no other credits before this role and was a great kickoff to my acting career. Because Alpha Tyler (Casting Director) trusted me with the role, I got my SAG card and that door opened up so many other possibilities for me. I’ll probably be forever grateful to Alpha for giving me the shot and believing in me. I was especially grateful because she even took the time to visit my first day on set.
I didn’t know when I booked the role that it would be recurring (so that was definitely a fun surprise to find out months later that my character would be coming back. I also didn’t know that REGINA KING would be directing my first episode. I arrived to set, read the call-sheet, saw her name and instantly got excited. She was so sweet and approachable. Regina King, this remarkable actress with the credits, accolades, and now Oscar and Emmy to show for it, never once made me feel like I was beneath her. She treated me like her equal and I guess for all-inclusive purposes, on that set, I was. Having a director who’s also an actor and just “gets it” was such a treat. Not to mention getting this incredible first-time on-set acting experience to work alongside another BLACK actress as my DIRECTOR. Having a director that understood what it was like to be in my shoes, that knew the “language” was also such a comfort to me on set and made me feel at home. The energy was great, I felt empowered. I loved her feedback and direction. I think she got what she wanted from us that day. Working with Regina was such a memorable and validating first job experience that I’ll never forget. It really set the bar high for me.
You trained with UCLA’s Professional Program in Acting for the Camera. How did it impact your career?
Within that program, I was able to work with actors from literally every part of the world (Kenya, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, and even Oklahoma 🙂 It made for a very diverse artist experience. It showed me how seriously “Classic Hollywood” is taken by artists from all over the world. The number of people I met and was introduced to was slightly overwhelming.
Casting directors, managers, agents, producers, writers, directors, working actors like Paul Walker-Hauser from I,Tonya and BlacKKKlansman, Ryan Stiles from Whose Line Is It Anyway, and Whitney Cumming from The Female Brain (who was also the keynote speaker at our graduation) also having teachers that work often such as Emily Rose, Judith Moreland, Andrea Bendewald, Katie Keane, and Joel Murray made my acting chops that much stronger.
UCLA shifted my thinking and my approach to Hollywood. I quickly saw that people, opportunities, things, “seeds” to plant, are within arms reach. Being there helped show me what it was really about, not the facades and fairytales I thought originally entering the program. I often feel I haven’t taken complete advantage of everything I gained, but I’m finding more and more ways to water those seeds with time and as I make more progress with my career.
You appeared as Delores in the hit series ‘Snowfall’ on FX. Please share your experience of working with the cast and crew?
This was my first job in Los Angeles. I was still attending UCLA at the time when I landed the role. My scene is short and sweet but I got to work opposite the stars of the show Amin Joseph who plays Uncle Jerome and Damson Idris who plays Franklin. Getting to work alongside these amazing and well-established actors was such a great experience. Amin, in particular, was generous with his knowledge and gifts of wisdom on set. I’ve always admired Damon’s ability to transform into this hood, South Central Los Angeleno being from the United Kingdom. My director, Slick Naim was also very generous with his direction. I remember auditioning in front of Slick, Jeanie and Maggie Bacharach and literally “shocking” them in the room. I knew when I saw them jump, I had the job. That was such a fun audition. I was so loud! Delores is pretty far from my more reserved personality, so getting that moment to play with a range in the room was really liberating for me.
John Singleton did not direct my episode, but he was on set that day and I did get the opportunity to meet and chat with him briefly and what a soul that was to meet. He was so warm, so welcoming, even meeting him for the first time felt like I had known and been working with him for years. Although he’s no longer with us, the show Snowfall is still doing well going into its 4th season and continuing with his spirit.
You star in Lena Waithe’s new series ‘Twenties’ which premiered on BET this month. Please tell us more about the series, your role and what we can expect.
I’m SO excited for TWENTIES! It’s a phenomenal show that is changing the game for so many. The show is making history. Never before have we seen a Black, Female, Queer lead protagonist. Jonica T Gibbs blazes the trail playing Hattie on the show, modeled after Lena Waithe’s personal story of being a Black woman writer in Hollywood who also happens to be Queer. We follow Hattie’s story alongside her two straight best friends Marie and Nia. This show reveals all the identity crises, life ups and downs, job changes, dating ebbs and flows, and glass ceilings, that can all be a roller coaster of experiences in your twenties, especially as a young woman.
My character’s name is Carrina. Although a brief scene, I think it’s so pivotal because it addresses some of the stereotypical things we may say about members of the LGBTQIA community without realizing we’re demeaning or marginalizing them. This show does an amazing job of showing the Queer perspective, respectfully as the Queer perspective, but also in a lens that presents Queer people as equals, living their regular lives with the same universal problems as everyone else. I think the name TWENTIES can easily lead you to believe that this show is only for younger people, or just for women, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If you’ve been through your roaring twenties already, this show gives you a memoir to look at and is reminiscent of what an awesome (and crazy) time in life that was, and if you’re not in your twenties and watch this show it gives you such a remarkable preface to model and look forward to. The show’s just relatable. Period. If you haven’t already, check out TWENTIES on BET every Wednesday @10/9pm Central.
Outside of acting, you regularly work with the LA-based charity Artists for Change. Please tell us more about the charity and how our readers can help.
Artists for Change is a non-profit organization with a mission to create high impact film, television, and multimedia projects to inspire individuals, organizations, and communities to bring about positive social change. I was kind of grandfathered in by my current management, Julia Verdin at Rough Diamond Management, who founded the Artists for Change. From time to time they have fundraising events, I always make sure that I support. One of the reasons I love and support Artists for Change so much is their purpose to bring a call-to-action through the media.
One of the films done in collaboration with Artists for Change was Lost Girls and sequel, Lost Girls: Angie’s Story. I star in the latter with Janet Odogwu and Julia Verdin as writer and director. Lost Girls: Angie’s Story depicts the realities of human trafficking in America. I think that we often have this idea of human trafficking as something happening “over there”, overseas, and that it’s something that we don’t really have to deal with in America; but it’s very much something that’s still happening, “here”, happening today. Which is why films like Lost Girls are so important. We watch these films and we educate ourselves on what’s going on in the world and what we can do to help, to change it. I feel like even just knowing is very important. Being an artist that serves as the vehicle to facilitate telling these kinds of stories is equally important. These types of films are a call to action; which is what Artists for Change is all about. To learn more or donate to Artists for Change you can visit, www.artists4change.org
Do you have anything else in the pipeline we can look forward to?
Yes! I’m actually in a short film called Endangered that will be shown at the ABFF in Sponsorship with McDonald’s and also premiere on AspireTV on April 25th. Endangered, is written by Nakia Stephens and directed by Kiana Woodson. Endangered follows Black couple Malik and Chanel, expecting their first child. Birthing a child of color comes with struggles and weight of its own in our society; being born into a world that has a history of discriminating against you because of the way you look. I think this film will beautifully showcase the thoughts and worries that every Black parent may have experienced getting ready to welcome their first child, be it a boy or girl. My character is Nicole, sister to Malik, sister-in-law to Chanel, and celebrity nutritionist. Malik is played by Abdul Quddus. Chanel, played by Biana Bethune from Bad Boys 3. I’m super excited for this film’s premiere.
Another upcoming (and my first) feature film project in the works will be Young Wild Free directed by Thembi Banks and written by Juel Taylor. This feature will be Thembi’s directorial debut. I play Mrs.Auckland, Brandon and Cassidy’s tireless high school English teacher. Brandon is played by Algee Smith from The Hate You Give and Cassidy by Kiersey Clemons from Dope.
So where can we keep up to date with your activities?
Instagram is probably the best way to keep up/stay in touch with me, my handle is @RitaRucker. If you want to get inside my head a little, you can follow my Twitter @RitaRuckeRR. You can also connect with me via my artist page on Facebook at “Rita Rucker”. I also recently jumped on the TikTok wave amid this quarantine, so feel free to follow me there too. Actors, if you’re reading this and ever need help (or want to help) with a self-tape, hit me up on social media! I’m always looking for a reader!
I’m so grateful for Occhi’s interest and taking the time to interview me, thank you!
We look forward to following Rita’s career and the success of Artists for Change.
Photo credits Jeremi de Ramos (main) and Jamaal Murray
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