In HawthoRNe, now airing on Showcase on Wednesdays at 10pm ET/PT (and in our video centre), recently widowed nursing director and mother of a teenage girl Christina Hawthorne (Jada Pinkett Smith) struggles to hold the middle ground in a battle between bureaucratic administrators, heartless doctors, and apathetic colleagues who are caught up in a system that’s forgotten whom it’s there to serve.
We caught up with Pinkett Smith when during production on the series to discuss what drew her to the project, and how she stays happy and creatively fulfilled.
You have been in quite a few blockbuster movies, and you're considered one of Hollywood's top actresses, so why the decision to make the move into television with HawthoRNe?
Since I first announced that I was doing HawthoRNe, people kept asking me me, 'Why TV?' And, I was like, 'Why not?' I felt like I needed to creatively challenge myself, and what better way to do that then to star and produce a television show? I mean, I've been a part of producing several films (Lakeview Terrace, The Secret Life Of Bees), and I wanted to learn the mechanics of storytelling, particularly in the medium of television. I figured the best way to do that was to put myself in the extreme situation of starring in a show.
Like a baptism by fire?
Exactly. But, on top of all that, I just fell in love with the character of Christina Hawthorne. I felt like she would be such an incredible character to play, because she is a whirlwind of emotions, and I wanted to explore each and every one of them. She's not only the Chief of Nursing, and the number one advocate for the patients that come through her hospital, but she's also a mother of a teenage girl and a widow, whose husband passed away a year ago from cancer. So, I saw a woman who is a real hero at the hospital she works at, but has forgotten how to to take care of herself. She's a woman who needs to heal herself, and I wanted to explore that as an actor.
As the Chief of Nursing, you have to know just as much as the doctors do in an emergency situation. How have you been learning all of the medical terms, shouting them out fast and pronouncing them right?
When we first started, sometimes I felt like I was speaking a foreign language. [laughs] Let me tell you, learning all those medical terms is a really big challenge. In terms of acting, that's a whole different muscle of mine – one that requires a whole lot of working-out. [laughs] I mean, it's really challenging trying to get those words out, and, saying them fast, one after another, is a real trip. But, I'm getting better at it. It will always be a challenge, because medical terms are just not a part of my reality.”
How would you say HawthoRNe is different from many of the shows we've seen that have been set in hospitals?
Well, like most medical shows, the nurses and doctors are always fighting to save people's lives or trying to find a way to make them better, but Hawthorne is not just a show about sick people. I mean, we do focus on how patients are affected by their illnesses, but it goes deeper into what happens outside the operation room. It also deals with issues like somebody who might need medical treatment, but they don't have any insurance. That's where Christina Hawthorne really gets into the line of fire. She's a patient's advocate, in every sense of the word. She's there to stand up for the rights of every patient who walks or is wheeled through the hospital's doors. And, she's a fighter who doesn't like to take 'No' as an answer. So, Christina doesn't have a problem taking on the administrators, the doctors, the insurance companies, anybody -- she does whatever it takes, even at the cost of her career, to make sure the patients get the help they need and deserve.
As you mentioned, Christina Hawthorne is also a mother of a rebellious teenage daughter and a recently widowed woman...
...who is still trying to come to terms with her husband's death. She has a lot of things in her personal life that she needs to work out. And, we get to see the emotional, personal struggles she is faced with on a daily basis. You know, as women, we have to wear a lot of different hats – wife, mother, provider, even widow. After all that's happened to her, Christina has just forgotten how to wear the hat that allows her to take care of herself. She just needs to slow down and focus on those things closest to her heart.
Are you anything like Christina?
Hmm. Well, Christina is definitely a nice slice of Jada. Like her, I do like to say what's on my mind. I don't have a problem with that – at all. [laughs] But, I do tend to be a lot tougher than I really am, you know? We both have such an intense love for the people in our hearts, and we'd do anything for them. So I would say yes, there's a couple of things we have in common. I can relate to her. Maybe that's one of the reasons I decided to play her. Who knows?
How have you been able to balance your career as an actress, musician and producer with being a devoted mother and wife?
One of the main things I have to help me keep it all balanced is that I have a lot of help. I have a great husband in Will (Smith) and a mother who is very helpful with the kids when I’m at work. I really feel like it’s a joy I’ve learned in my life, that I really can do as much as I want to do and have as much as I want to have as long as I’m happy. I’m motivated by happiness. I want to be a great mother, be a great mother and have a great career, too. I can have all those things as long as I keep myself happy. That’s what I want – my life – and I’m determined to have it.
You are determined to be one happy woman, aren't you?
Absolutely. And, I want everybody else to be happy, too, and I mean that. Honestly, I can't stress it enough, but to me, happiness is the best prescription for a great life. It really is the key – trying to keep yourself happy. And, that's one thing that I'm not afraid to be vocal about – keeping happiness in my life.
How do you that?
I just let people know that happiness is very important in my life and my family's lives, too. And, surprisingly, I've discovered that if you just say what you need – like happiness – then somebody will actually help to give it to you. I've said this before, my motto for happiness is 'I gotta find it and I gotta have it.' It seems to have worked for me so far, don't you think? [laughs]