Here’s To Life with Tori Reid - Ep. 03: Nikki Giovanni (Part II)

Mar 31, 2022

Ep. 33: Cassandra Freeman - On Becoming Aunt Viv

Fresh out of NYU's Tisch Graduate Acting Program, she fulfilled her dream of working with both Denzel Washington, as his wife, and Spike Lee, in the hit film, "Inside Man". How? You may wonder. By being herself. And she's been on the inside of culture with successful shows as Luke Cage, Atlanta, and The Last O.G., and in films as Chris Rock's "I Think I Love My Wife" and more recently playing Mama Durant (Kevin Durant's mother) in "The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story". But she's best known for her current role on the hit show and remake, BEL-AIR as Vivian Banks aka "Aunt Viv" on Peacock. She's a lifelong dreamer and more importantly a manifestor, whose self-proclaimed purpose in life is to help people find their joy. And she's doing just that as she's fiercely reinventing the role of matriarch, a la Clair Huxtable or Aunt Viv 3.0, renewed for the 21st century... coloring her with some extra spice and that West Philly attitude in her own special way. It is fitting exactly a year after Tori interviewed her own stepmother - Daphne Maxwell Reid (Aunt Viv 2.0) - that she connected her with Aunt Viv 3.0 for a fresh take on the re-imagination of Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Just who is the woman behind our latest "Aunt Viv?" Let's get the Inside track, and we use that word "inside" knowingly, on this powerful, every woman. Get ready for joy. "Here's to Life" welcomes the vivacious, refreshing, and joy-filled talent, who some call "Aunt Viv"... the beautiful Cassandra Freeman. “Who do you want to be? ... But is this who you actually are? If so, fine. But if not, choose differently. You have time.” - Cassandra Freeman as Aunt Viv (to Hilary) This episode on "Here's To Life": • How she's made the role "Aunt Viv" her own and reinventing the matriarch • What the show BEL-AIR means to her and their power of storytelling • How African American Art came to play such a centric role in BEL AIR • The mother and daughter dynamic in this new age • Her respect and admiration for the original “Aunt Vivs” Daphne Maxwell Reid and Janet Hubert • The serendipitous story of how she landed her first film role working with Denzel Washington and Spike Lee • What her 3 year old is teaching her and how her unique parenting style informs her day-to-day life in the possibilities, potential and probabilities present in all of our lives • What makes her feel the most alive • Tori highlights Cassandra's powers and Cassandra returns with a clairvoyant revelation about Tori, and how each one of us has a blessed gift *CREDITS:* Guest: Cassandra Freeman Host and Producer: Tori Reid Executive Producer: Patrick A. Howell Writers: Patrick A. Howell and Tori Reid Post Production: We Edit Podcasts Add’l Post Production: Brian K. Jackson at Maven Soundz Post Production Assistant: Sydney Rhone Show Intern Affiliation: Howard University Music Supervision: Patrick A. Howell Voiceover Artist: Vïntóry Blake Moore Premier Advertising Sponsor: Vivreau Water Systems Advertising Sponsor: Hilton Sacramento Arden West Ad Voiceover Artist: Ginger Levert Social Media Marketing and Graphics by Octavia Johnson Photo credit for Cassandra Freeman: Emily Assiran Very special thank you to Daphne Maxwell Reid and Team Jill Fritzo PR. Music: Intro and Outro - "Love Hop" by Stereo Mixtrumental Commentaries - "In My Room" by Christophe Gorman Vivreau Ad Music - "That's What Left Us Behind" by Christian Anderson a Victory & Noble production @ 2022 Victory & Noble LLC All Rights Reserved. Connect with the Guest: Cassandra Freeman on Instagram

38 min