Jericho ~ Cast Interview with April Parker ~ Darcy Hawkins

I have to tell you that doing these interviews with the cast members has been a joy of my lifetime, something I never ever thought I would be getting the chance to do. I am very proud to be doing this Interview today with April Parker - Jones ( Darcy Hawkins).

Being the mother of 3 teenage girls, the fact that Jericho allows me to show my girls strong, capable, loving women is awesome. Darcy Hawkins is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting and definitely one of the strongest women characters on the show.

I am thrilled to bring this interview to you and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did doing it.
:-)

Interview with April Parker-Jones

Your fans are so interested in who April Parker Jones is, how did you begin your journey in the acting profession? Did you have a inspiration?

Well, my journey in acting starting when I was 5 years old, when I did my first play, “The Tortoise and the Hare”. I knew then that acting would forever be a part of my life. From then on I would do plays at church, school and around my community. I moved to NY in further pursuit of an acting career. I met my Husband in NY (who is also an actor) and we decided to head out here to Hollywood in 2005 and try our hand at film and television.

An inspiration..... ? I am inspired by people and the complex lives that we live. I am inspired by the women in my life; my Mom, my sisters, my daughter’s. I am inspired greatly by my Husband. He is sooo encouraging and supportive of me. He makes me feel like I can do anything!

I read that you grew up in Durham, North Carolina, do you get home
often?

Not as often as I would like to. I love N.C.!! I hope to retire somewhere in the South. My Husband is a native of Savannah, Georgia so we are both Southerners to the core.

I see that you originally auditioned for the part of Mimi, what was it that drew you to the character of Darcy?

Well, because I was not a fit for Mimi, the casting director decided to see me for the role of Darcy. I knew right away that it was a perfect fit. She was a concerned Mother with a backbone... just like myself!

When doing the research for this interview, I found you are in Spiderman 3, that must have been a total blast for you, what role did you play, and how was it too be in such a fantastic movie.

Now Lisa please do not get too excited!! I played a lab technician in Spiderman-3 and am very grateful, no doubt. But if you are not able to identify the side of my neck within 2 seconds, you will miss me! Spiderman 3 was actually the very first acting job that I was fortunate to book when I moved out here. It was super cool to work with Sam Raimi and to have my daughter tell all her friends at school...”My Mom’s in Spiderman 3!!”

Normally, when I am watching a show on television that has a husband and wife in a certain situation, I will yell at the screen if the actress does not portray her part as a real life wife would, however with your portrayal of Darcy in the scenes with Lennie James, I find myself so enraptured, so swept up in your responses. You and Lennie are such a beautiful couple , so full of honest love and respect for each other and your children. How did you prepare for the role of Hawkins wife, the situations Darcy finds herself in because of Hawkins history?

I think being a wife and mother in real life helps tremendously. It helps to maintain that level of realism. Also, the writers have done such an amazing job of capturing the honesty, love and respect that the Hawkins have for each other. Even more importantly is the connection I have with Mr. Lennie James. Working with him, has truly helped me to capture the true essence of Darcy Hawkins and has made me a better actress.

Darcy Hawkins is one of the most interesting women characters on
Jericho, she actually has two roles to play to the towns people and
herself, how did you get yourself into a place to bring such facets to the character?

First of all, Lisa, thank you for thinking that Darcy is one of the most interesting women on the show. That really means a lot to me. I know that her role is not as big as some of the other characters so I really try to make her as interesting as possible bearing that in mind. As far as getting myself to a certain place... I really just rely on the script, the set and the actors who I am working with.

Where do you think Darcy will be in Season 2, will we see Darcy become more involved in Hawkins past and his protection of the town?

Without giving too much away, you will definitely see Darcy become more involved in her Husband’s past and his protection of the town in Season 2. I am very pleased at the direction the writers have taken for Darcy in the new Season. So, make sure to tune in!

Did working on a story like this have an impact on how you see the
world, how you interact with others?

What a great question, Lisa! You know, it did have an impact on I how I see the world. I am one of those people who don’t watch the news very often. At times, I keep myself in this bubble. Thinking that the world is bliss. But this show has opened my eyes to some of the disturbing realities of the world that we live in. Needless, to say, I have starting watching the news more!

I saw in your interview with the blog JerichoMonster that you have a dream of being a dancer, is this something you would consider doing as part of a role for a movie? Is there a certain dancer or performer who you would like to maybe portray on film some day?

Wow, I would definitely consider playing a role of a dancer. But, let me tell you, Lisa, I would have to do a lot of work. It really is just a dream of mine and I may be too old at this point to make it a reality. Hey, but one can dream, right?

Is there a role that you dream of doing in the future?

Lisa, I would love to do a remake of Pam Grier’s, “Foxy Brown”! I think it would be loads of fun to get in kick ass shape and grow a fierce afro!

What new projects are you involved in , beyond Jericho?

Believe it or not, I work part-time as a secretary for a meat company! I just finished 2 independent short films and am currently shooting a guest spot on the 300^th episode of ER.

And my final question:

What do you think of the promotions efforts of the fans, is there
anything you feel we can do to help promote Jericho?

I think the promotion effort of the fans has been out of this world!! I have not seen anything like it! The only thing that the fans can do in my opinion is to not change. Keep the fire burning for Jericho!! It’s because of you that Jericho Lives!!!

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I would like to thank April for doing this interview with me, it was a great honor. And be sure to keep an eye out for the audio interview on J4K coming soon!