Tyler Perry\u2019s Joe\u2019s College Road Trip<\/a>.<\/em> \u201cSo if I was striving to be successful as an actor in my own right, I knew that it was pretty much inevitable if I just did the work. But, I don\u2019t think I knew it would be on this level, like, global recognition on Netflix, the biggest streaming service, working directly with Tyler Perry.\u201d<\/p>\nShe added, \u201cI don\u2019t think I could have imagined that it would look like this. You know how they say, \u2018Tell God your plans, and he laughs?\u2019 It\u2019s like my plans are two little roses. I\u2019ve been seeing this meme of two little roses, and God\u2019s plan is a huge wall of roses. I\u2019ve been pleasantly surprised at the trajectory of my career and blessed beyond measure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith first entered the Tyler Perry universe as Rain in the hit Netflix series, Tyler Perry\u2019s<\/em> Beauty in Black<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\nNow, she\u2019s extending her talents to a character named Destiny in Joe\u2019s College Road Trip<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u201cFor me, it was personal because I grew up kind of similar to BJ (Jermaine Harris),\u201d she said. \u201cI was in a magnet school, I was around all types of races growing up, and I honestly didn\u2019t even realize that racism was still a thing until I got to college. So, it\u2019s like I understood both sides of it. Once I was exposed and realized like, hold up, this is still very much going on right now, it was like that anger, that rage, just kicked in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI pulled from both sides, understanding BJ from my lived experience, but also the inner conflict that we carry as Black people knowing the injustices that we face,\u201d Smith continued. \u201cIt was important to me from both perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Destiny brings real-world truth to the journey in Joe\u2019s College Road Trip<\/em><\/h2>\nSmith revealed that her character helps to expose the blind spots that both generations have, reflected through Harris\u2019s B.J., and Perry\u2019s Joe.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe understands the history that Joe knows and he\u2019s showing but not really telling, and then she\u2019s able to give it to B.J. in a way that\u2019s digestible,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Joe\u2019s College Road Trip<\/em> is now streaming on Netflix.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n