Gayle Samuels - Actor of the Month for May 2025

Actor: Gayle Samuels| Interviewed by: Erica Hart, CSA

1) Has there been a Casting Director who has really championed or supported you in your career journey?

Well, I would have to say it would be you, Erica! You have been championing me even before I knew it. I would get audition calls and bookings and I’d say to myself how did I get this call or book this job and then I would realize that you were the casting director! I remember seeing you at the opening night for Ohio State Murders and personally thanking you for all of your support. It just goes to show you that you never know who is watching. You just have to go into that audition being prepared so you can do your best work. 

2) What is the project you're most proud of and why?

I would say that the project that I am most proud of is playing Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. The script was 40 pages with 12 songs and just me on that stage with a piano player. It was quite a daunting task and I had to really immerse myself in the script and go into a zone where I lived that script every day. It was quite a project to take on and the icing on the cake for me was when I received a Best Actress Nomination from the Connecticut Critics Circle. I must say that I was very proud of myself.

3) What or who inspired you to pursue acting as a career?

Eartha Kitt – I did a show with her and had an understudy role playing her handmaiden. I loved watching her on stage every night. When I finally got an opportunity to perform the role, after Eartha took her final bow, she walked upstage to me and brought me downstage of the cast. She then presented me to the audience and handed me a note which I still have to this day. It said “You were beautiful tonight” and she signed her character name. It was one of the most touching moments in my career. One that I will never forget and will cherish always. Years later she came to see a Broadway show that I was in and after the show, I came up to her and hugged her and told her that she was the inspiration who was responsible for me pursuing my career. She was very surprised and very touched.

4) What was your first IMDbPro credit, and how did you feel when you saw it?

My first IMDbPro credit was an independent film I did called HoneyBee. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that James Avery would be playing my husband. He asked that we do a bit of improv during our scenes. When I saw the film, I was very proud of the work and the film and was very grateful that I had the opportunity to work with such a pro. I thought, not only do I have an IMDbPro credit, but it’s a credit with a notable celebrity. It felt like I had finally arrived.

5) How has IMDbPro helped you either market yourself or connect with other industry professionals?

I think IMDbPro is an essential site for all industry professionals. I have gotten auditions just from people viewing my profile and I’ve even gotten private emails from folks who have complimented me on my work. Most recently a note from someone who saw me on Girls5eva. I try very hard to keep it updated and have also used the site to look for other job opportunities..

6) If you could play any character in a movie, past or present, who would it be and why? 

I would love to play the role of Ramonda, the mother of T‘Challa in Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Those films have me glued to the screen as I have watched each of them several times. I just find that I can identify with that character in so many ways. It’s a role that requires regalness, grace, and quiet strength, as Angela Bassett so aptly represented and Ryan Coogler so aptly brought to the screen. Ramonda represents for me all the Black mothers that I know. It is a role that I would love to dig my heels into. The films Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever remind me to sit up straight and to own my crown! 

7) What show or movie that you're currently watching or have watched countless times could you nerd out about forever? What do you love about it?

I am an absolute fan of The Matrix. I have watched that movie so many times and I am still wowed by it! I loved watching Gloria Foster as The Oracle and of course, Keanu Reeves as Neo, Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, and Carrie-Anne Moss was such a badass as Trinity and all of the special effects were just mesmerizing! One of my favorite moments is when Neo leans all the way back to dodge a bullet and his coat is being whipped around by the wind. Love, love, love that moment!

8) Tell us a fun fact about you outside of acting.

This may sound silly but whenever I travel, I have two stuffed animals that I don’t leave home without. Bubba and his girlfriend Shug. Bubba is a little monkey that I won at the county fair in Minnesota years ago and Shug, a sugar-colored teddy bear was given to me as a gift with some opening night flowers. They are small and fit perfectly in my suitcase. They have gone all the way to Australia with me and I even photographed them on Bondi Beach!!! It’s just a little piece of home that I like to take with me when I’m traveling and when I get back to my hotel room and see them on my bed it just makes me happy!

Actor of the Month is a monthly collaboration between IMDbPro and Casting Society that celebrates the casting community and spotlights its members through a series of interviews between casting directors and actors about their acting journey, the casting process, and how IMDbPro helps them advance their careers.