It’s the morning after the Oscars and an excited Adina Porter is returning her slinky black and white designer gown and taking an interview at the same time. Com menting on the evening as she glides into a parking spot before she returns the dress, she noted:
“I didn’t look like I’d ever looked before. It’s a higher level of glamour.”
She didn’t even know she was going to the Oscars until two weeks before the event. The night of the event Porter found herself at the Elton John Mer cedes Benz viewing party at the Four Seasons hotel. For a big city girl who wasn’t always sure she would make it, the party was a welcome invitation. Afterwards, like a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight, Porter had to return the gown to her stylist and live on the memories she has of standing on the red carpet near singer Mary J. Blige herself.
“I couldn’t believe it! Elton was playing all his old sounds like “Your Song” and people were swaying to the rhythm”.
The Obie Award-winning American ac tress, is known for her recurring role as Lettie Mae Thornton on HBO’s wildly popular “True Blood” and as Kendra on HBO’s “The Newsroom”. She also stars on “The 100” as Indra. She can also be seen on ABC’s “The Catch” and appears in the new ABC pilot ”The Jury” as a series regular opposite actors Archie Panjabi and Jeremy Sisto.
All Porter’s success has been like a dream, but still is a calculated effort. She explained:
“The showrunners for “The Jury” are Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz. This was the third year I auditioned for one of their series. I was absolutely thrilled to be included in this ensemble. This show is being billed as the ultimate so cial experiment. It follows a murder trial as seen through the eyes of the twelve jurors, exploring the biases and life experiences of those jurors and how their preconceptions and judgments change during the proceedings. As the episodes unfold, the audience is judging the fate of the defendant while also judging the character of each jury member. The twelve actors bonded together very quickly. I do so hope we get to continue to play.”
As for working on Shonda Rhimes “The Catch,” Porter says,
“It was a blast. I love being glammed up and playing a role with some sex appeal. This as the third time I worked in Shon daLand and my character hadn’t died last I checked. I look forward to seeing what happens next.”
For the role of Tara on HBO’s criti cally acclaimed “True Blood” and the ensemble cast of Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom” she says, “My agent calls me and just says: ’Do it!’ I got before the casting director’s assistant and a camera and I read. Turns out It was because of
HBO and my work on “True Blood” that Scott Rudin, an American film and theatrical producer, knew my work.They told me he said: ‘I want Adina Porter’.”
Along the way, Porter’s had to deal with some insecurities. “My look has come into vogue, but early on I was not considered attractive. I couldn’t be the girlfriend cast for the dramatic roles. I just had to make people cry and sink my teeth into that. It ended up being better. I didn’t have to hold on to my prettiness.”
Recently Porter changed her hair from Eurocentric to a more natural look. “I thought it would make me more ‘American’ if my hair was straight. I was bathing my son and told him, ‘Honey don’t splash mommy’s hair’. I caught myself saying that and went back to being natural.”
Porter has come a long way on many fronts. Her father, who just passed away, always wanted her to be a substitute teacher, but she followed her heart and became an actress. She knows he would be proud as are her two children. Porter also recently lost her husband who died suddenly. While life is harder without her father and her husband, she has a positive outlook as she savors her growing career: “My life isn’t that hard. Being a coal miner is hard.”
Creative Credits
- Written by
- Jane Bokun
- Photography
- Alissa Pagels
- Retouching
- Brianna Kish
- Hair & Makeup
- Paula Heckenast
- Styling
- Rachel Jimenez
