It can be hard to stand out while being a part of a ensemble cast. That isn’t a problem for Danielle Pinnock. Through her performance as Alberta in Ghosts, the actress has won the hearts of the millions of people who tune in to watch the popular CBS comedy. The character is a jazz singer who was killed in the prime of her career. Her spirit comes to haunt the rooms and hallways of the Woodstone property. But even if Alberta if a ghost, she is the soul of the entire cast.
Awards Radar had the opportunity to interview Danielle Pinnock, who was eager to discuss how she crafts the character of Alberta on the screen. The artist is very grateful for the opportunity she has to portray a character that is very attached to where she came from, taking into account how Alberta carries an entire musical and artistic culture on her back. Here are some highlights from the conversation between Danielle Pinnock and Awards Radar:
Awards Radar: What was it like for you to win your first NAACP Image Award?
Danielle Pinnock: It feels unreal! It’s an award that I wanted since I was a kid. A couple of years ago, I actually snuck into the NAACP Image Awards just to manifest that it could happen one day. I started saying it in interviews. “This is what I want”. I wanted a nomination. And for it to happen, and become a win, it truly feels surreal. I’m so grateful.
AR: What are your personal inspirations for the character of Alberta?
DP: I would definitely say that my grandmother is a huge inspiration for Alberta because she is truly the matriarch of our family. She also has the best one-liners ever. I think she’s one of the funniest human beings I’ve ever met. Just like Alberta, she is very vivacious, she tells it like it is. I would definitely say that my grandmother is a huge reason why Alberta has life in her afterlife. And playing a prohibition-era jazz singer from the 1920’s is such a huge responsibility as a Black artist, because that was such a rich time in Black history.
As an artist myself, I can’t imagine the racism that Alberta must have been dealing with as well as (the industry) not being size-inclusive at the time. All of the skills that she had to acquire. The singing, the dancing and the negotiating because she was dealing with all these gangsters. I’m so proud to bring life to her because it has been such an amazing journey in these last four years, and how nuanced she’s become. In Season 4, and hopefully now in Season 5 and 6, which is so exciting, I just can’t wait to continue to play her.
AR: How is it like for the cast to work with Utkarsh Ambudkar, who plays Jay? Considering that the character can’t interact directly with the ghosts.
DP: We are used to that by now. But I do have to say that Utkarsh, he plays Jay with such an unconditional love for Sam and it’s everything anyone would want from a partner. When your partner says “Hey, I can see ghosts”, and you just say “Great, let me get my notebook and start getting these ghosts facts down”. The way that he plays this character is so nuanced, it’s so good. The thing about Utkarsh is that he’s a really great advocate for himself. This Season, we got to see this beautiful Christmas episode where we highlight his entire family. Seeing that representation on CBS during a big holiday one-hour special was huge.
He’s so talented. I love working with him. I loved when he was able to see us briefly in that Christmas episode. Because he could finally interact with us! I think it’s one of the hardest jobs, not being able to interact with the ghosts. Because we are doing the most. You know what I mean? We got our Viking screaming up the place. We’ve got some hilarious character actors, such as Sheila Carrasco, who is playing Flower. (They all have) these incredible improvised lines or actions. Him playing the straight man in this? He’s a rockstar, for sure.
AR: How did playing such a confident Black character affect the relationship you have with your community?
DP: It’s a massive responsibility because you always want to get it right. How I build confidence in something is becoming an expert at it. That means doing all the research and all the work necessary. I was in dance and singing lessons. I was reading books about the time period. I really wanted to make sure I did Alberta justice because it’s such a rich time for Black people, more importantly, I want to make my people proud with the work that I was doing.
Even though Alberta has some powerful one-liners that are truly funny, any time I got in a storyline, I really wanted to make sure that I took my time with it. Whether that was getting coaching on the scene, or making sure that I could implement different harmonies in some things. Sometimes we could get a song and I was asked to just sing a melody. But Alberta is a musician, she would harmonize. I would call all my singing coaches and ask them what the harmony would look like. Some times it did make it into the episode. I just wanted to do the extra work because she deserves it. This is going to last for the rest of our live.
If we get Season 7 or not, it will last through (re-runs) and streaming. This is something our future children can be proud of. That my family can be proud of. Alberta will be in the canon as one of the best Black characters in broadcast television. She’s legendary. She’s a diva. But she’s also vulnerable and ashamed. I love playing character and it truly is a dream.
AR: Do you have backstory for Alberta that you only keep to yourself?
DP: Yes, actually. I believe Alberta has at least one Caribbean parent. I believe that her parents, from the Caribbean, snuck in. That leads to her Tulsa roots. I feel like she married someone from Tulsa and that’s how we got Alberta. I feel like her musicianship came from the church that they went to. Those are just some little things. But also, there’s a great line this Season, where Alberta says: “Y’all think my name is really Alberta?” That caught me off guard, and it excited me. I’m really excited to delve into what that looks like.
AR: Would you dive into recording your own music? Thanks to Alberta?
DP: That would be a dream! I would love to do a little Alberta mix tape. (My own music) I don’t know about that. But if it’s for the character, I’ll do it.
Four seasons of Ghosts are now streaming on Paramount+.
