Aja Naomi King: Not Today, Satan
The Coven's correspondents recently attended Her Conference, our inaugural Witch Fest and a multi day event where key note speaker Aja Naomi King shared her wisdom. King, who most know as Michaela from How to Get Away with Murder, left the audience wanting more after her infamous key note speech at Her Conference.
C: Tell us about your transition from high school to college
A: “Senior year in high school was an instrumental year for me. I was a part of the IB program at my school and all of my studies were geared towards, you know, becoming, like, a doctor one day. Or just something in the sciences.
I kind of woke up one morning and was like, “You know, I’m not that great at math and science. The sight of blood makes me ill. I’m not sure this whole career in medicine is going to work out.”
I was simultaneously a cheerleader, in a school play, and president of choir. It was clear I wanted to do something in the arts, but I had convinced myself that wasn’t a staple career. It was about to graduate, and I had a complete mental breakdown. I felt like if I made the wrong choice, I would ruin the rest of my life. The thing they don’t tell you is there are no wrong choices what you’re going to be in the future. You don’t have to decide right now.
A: When I was applying for college, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I made the decision I would jump into whatever I could, explore that, and see where it took me. I went to UC Santa Barbara and, by chance, they had this acting program into which I ended up being accepted and it felt like fate. It kind of happened; it wasn’t something I could have picked for myself.
I feel like the universe allowed that to find me because I let go of having a specific idea of what my future was supposed to look like. You know, we get this idea of what success is supposed to look like. We get this image in our heads and that can shackle us. When you really just let that go and embrace whatever comes your way, that can make all the difference in the world. It was a breeze from there because I could really fully fall in love with theater and acting. I could finally let myself off the hook about whether or not this was what I was going to do for the rest of my life. I was like “I’m just going to do this for right now and see what happens” and that ended up being the best place for me emotionally and spiritually.
C: Talk to us about how you decided to audition for the role of Michaela Pratt of How to Get Away with Murder. What was it like to get the role?
A: “I was living in New York at the time and I got an e-mail for an audition. Before I saw what the title for the pilot was, or the character name, the first thing I saw was Shonda Rhimes. So, that’s why I went in to audition. There was no debate after that. I was and still am a huge Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy fan. I watched every single episode of every show she’s ever done; it was incredible. It’s one of those things here you walk into a room and there’s thirty other people there and you expected this. You go in and you’re with the casting director and doing your best, but you have no idea. The writers’ room is in California, so you can’t even talk to anyone or ask any questions.
What was so crazy about this was that I got called back in to test, so to speak, and they wanted me to test over Skype. Keep in mind this was in 2013! The whole “Skyping” thing was like “No, no, no, I don’t want to Skype, I can fly to L.A. and do a little tap dance and charm you!”
They were like, “No, it’s fine, you can just test from New York.” So, I walk into this room and Marcy Phillips, the casting director at the time, opens up the oldest laptop of all time. I’m Skyping with the director and the writer, and the screen’s freezing and I’m like, “There’s no way I’m going to get this part because they can’t even see me.”
We do the Skype and when we’re done I’m like, “Marcy, what was that?” and she’s like “I don’t know, just let it all go.”
So, I’m walking out the ABC building in New York, but before I walk out the door, I get a call saying I got the part. That was by far the easiest audition experience I’ve ever had, and the one that’s really changed my life. I got to move back to L.A., be with my family, and work on this show with people like Viola Davis, someone I’ve admired all my life.
C: Shonda Rhimes and Viola Davis are some of the most talented women in Hollywood. What’s it like getting to work with them?
A: Oh my gosh…Viola. I’ll never forget the day when I was in the dressing room one day and hearing Viola talk about having to do a sex scene. Literally, the words that came out of her mouth were, “I don’t want this man all up in my cooty-cat.”
And I’m like in my head, “um, excuse me, you’re Viola Davis. You don’t say things like cooty-cat.”
She’s the most lovely, down-to-earth human being. She’s wonderful and perfection. I love being around her. What she does with a single line,“hi,” is amazing. That “hi” is the most loaded “hi.” There’s a whole backstory of feelings and you understand the relationship between these two people instantly because her acting is that amazing.
I’ll never forget the first time I met Shonda Rhimes in person. They were doing a dinner for us at the Soho House, and I was so excited. I walk in, and she was in this beautiful yellow dress. She was so sweet. She was like, “Hi! Welcome to the family!” Like, I get a Christmas card from her with pictures of her and her daughters. She’s wonderful and the things that come out of her are incredible. I look at her and I’m like, ‘her life must be perfect; she has so much money, everyone loves her.’ But it’s like, no, you still have insecurities. You’re still afraid of things. This goes back to that notion that we get these pictures in our heads of what success looks like. That’s just not the case. No matter what is going on in your life, you’re always going through something. You always need someone to help you get through it.
Why are we so quick to tell ourselves no, and tell others no, and to, like, shut up and be afraid? Why don’t we just try it, and say yes, and go for it and see what happens?
C: Michaela has such a take-charge kind of attitude. What has playing Michaela been like for you, and what do you hope people take away from your character?
A: I love playing Michaela! Especially first season, she has so much attitude—I was really into it! I was really inspired by playing this character because she has no apologies. She’s like, “This is who I am and you don’t have to like it.” It’s funny because I’m like, “Like me, I’m so nice.” But Michaela’s like, “I’m here and I will be heard and you don’t have to like me. I don’t have to be nice, but you will do what I say.”
How amazing is that for this character to be someone who walks into the room and knows their value. That’s what I want other woman to take away from that character. You can be in a room full of executives or a room full of friends, but you know what your value is.
C: You have spoken candidly about that feeling of self-doubt. Tell me about how you battle the feeling of self-doubt and with your inner critic.
A: I went to Yale School of drama for grad school. I was so grateful to be there, but at the same time, I thought that anyone could figure out that I wasn’t as talented as everyone else there. I thought they were going to kick me of the program. It was pretty powerful being able to speak on what my fear was. Other people not agreeing whether I was talented, or whatever else. It’s important to say, “I’m having these feelings of self-doubt. This is where I’m at right now.” I know that’s the lie, and just say, “Not today Satan! The devil is a liar and just move on forward. Keep on doing what you’re meant to do.”
C: Throughout your career, you have been an advocate for women, minorities and immigrants. You have used your audience as a platform to give voice to so many groups. Why is that important to you? What has advocacy been like?
A: It’s so important, especially when you have an audience that can relate to what you’re going through. It’s so important to connect, especially with the issues we’re all directly facing right now. It’s been a really terrifying time for a lot of us, and we need to feel that solidarity. It’s so, so necessary, because the collective is powerful. We, right now, are a bunch of women in a room. If we wanted to, we could go march on Washington. We could go draft a bill. We could figure out anything we want to!