Deborah Ayorinde Sought Therapy While Acting In Horror Series "Them"

Bossip Video

This woman deserves all the TV awards… An Emmy, a Golden Globe, a Critics Choice, what have you. Go head and give them to her now.

Source: Courtesy Amazon Studios / Amazon Studios

Deborah Ayorinde stars in the upcoming Amazon horror anthology series “Them” as Livia “Lucky” Emory, a wife and mother who experiences unspeakable terrors during the 1950’s, first in the family’s home in the South, then after their migration to a white Los Angeles neighborhood where residents are far from welcoming.

BOSSIP Sr. Content Director Janeé Bolden spoke with Deborah Ayorinde about her role and how the project affected her mental health as well as why it was important for her to take on the part despite the trauma.

“I had to get therapy afterward and during the process, because to be honest with you it was the most fulfilling but also most taxing role I’ve ever done,” Ayorinde told BOSSIP. “So I had to take care of my heart and take care of my spirit, you know what I mean?”

The film reveals the horrors of racism in multiple contexts, putting Lucky and her family through a nightmarish sequence of events.

“For me, I feel like yes it’s set in the 1950’s but so much has changed but so much hasn’t,” Ayorinde said of the series. “I felt like it was important that I played this role as honestly and authentically as possible because I wanted anyone who has experienced being “Them,” being other, anyone who has experienced racism, sexism, anyone who has experienced anything remotely close to what the Emorys have experienced to feel seen and I feel heard. So I felt like for me, if it meant me going through this process and putting myself on the line for that to happen then it was worth it.”

Ayorinde said one of the benefits of the job was her on-camera family, comprised of Ashley Thomas who plays her husband Henry Emory and Shahadi Wright Joseph and Melody Hurd who play her daughters Gracie and Ruby.

“That was very easy,” Ayorinde told BOSSIP of bonding with her co-stars. “I met with Ashley a little bit before we started filming and we had brunch and we literally talked for hours about everything. The show was like, we only talked about that for a second, we talked about our lives, our upbringings and we became fast friends. The kids, it’s my second time working with Melody because I worked with her on “Fatherhood,” with Shahadi it was my first time, but those kids, they’re just so loving and light and they actually helped me through the process than I helped them. Because just seeing their lightheartedness and how they processed this and wanting to protect them, it wasn’t hard at all to get into character and love on them.”