“From The Rough” hits theaters this Friday, April 23. 

“From the Rough” is an inspirational movie based on the true story of Catana Starks and her struggle to create a successful men’s golf team at a predominantly African American university. This film boasts an all star cast including Taraji P. Henson as ‘Catana’, Michael Clark Duncan, Tom Felton and LeToya Luckett. The plot is filled with powerful messages and woman in empowering roles. Aside from the ambitious ‘Catana’ one of the girls she coached ‘Stacey’ played by LeToya Luckett is a star swimmer and soon to be doctor. In the film  ’Catana Starks’ brings together a group of international misfits and creates a winning men’s college golf team.

Q: What was your experience like working on the film?

It was a lot of fun. A learning experience, especially working around big players in the game like Taraji P. Henson and Michael Clark Duncan. I learned so much especially with Taraji. I’ve always admired her not only as an actress but as a person. The way she carries herself, so I was blessed with the opportunity to share a screen with her and be able to sit back and just learn honey. And watch her jump into a character, I don’t care what jokes were played on the scene I mean right before they yelled “action” she’d have her fun but when it came down to film and get in to that character she jumped right in to it.

Q:  Your role as Stacey is similar to your role as Felicia in that they are both hardworking woman determined to be successful in life. Do you feel you’re drawn to roles where you are an ambitious female character?

You know I like that. Felicia was a lot of fun. I did admire her confidence, I love that she is a woman of power she carries herself very well and she deserves a certain kind of respect. Now she is cold blooded and she’s a beast. But then again when you have bosses like that or people in your life that really push you … you can only grow. So I think yes, I might be attracted to playing a certain type of girl. A girl that is confident but at the same time like “The Preachers Kid” I played a girl that had to find her confidence cause she didn’t know who she was. She was in those growing stages of really becoming a woman. So I just love telling the story of women, you know different things we go through in life our challenges, our ups, our downs. But the beauty of a woman you know, and how we can be fifteen million things at one time; a momma, a boss, a wife, a sister, a nurse, a cook anything!

Q: Your character Stacey was in an interracial relationship with Tom Felton, who played Edward in the film. What did you think that meant to the message of the film?

You know what; I think that it is with this film period because it has such an international reach.  You know every player on the team was from a different country. And I think that it just helped to remove those color lines. Even with me and Tom’s relationship in the film, you saw past that. You got to see the heart of this person, the personality and you realize hey we’re all human beings. Regardless of the color of our skin, where we might be from, we’re all human and we go through different things and we’re all trying to be better, and we all have a different journey. I love movies like that cause they just break the barriers down.

Q: What do you think your viewers will take from watching the film?

To be inspired. Especially since this is a true story I think that people will definitely be inspired by watching what this woman had to go through on a daily basis. And just developing the team and how she did not have the support she truly deserved but at the same time was able to accomplish so much with so little. I think it also goes to show whatever you put your mind and your heart to, whatever your mind believes and conceives it can come to light, it can happen. So I hope that people are able to learn and grow from that and just walk away knowing that they can do whatever they set out to do.

Q: Do you have any music updates?

You’ll find a fun little snippet of a song called “Don’t Make Me Wait” you can find that on iTunes, so look out for that, well it’s out right now. And also I am putting out my album this year, I’m in the process of picking out a single so yeah. I am also part of a TV series on HBO called “Ballers” which is Mark Wahlberg’s new project starring Dwayne Johnson and we start shooting that in the fall.

Q: Is there anything brewing with Felicia on “Single Ladies”?

We just got picked up by Centric so we will see. I’m excited to see.

Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring young women who want to be where you are in life or go where you’ve been in life?

Yeah sure, absolutely. I say be you, stop trying to be other people and just live out your own story. I love that my journey is different from everyone else’s. I would say stay true to yourself, love yourself; self love is very important don’t go looking for other people to validate you. I have a very close relationship with god, so I stay prayed up. I stay around people who help lift me up instead of bring me down. Motivators, people can that help to prove me. So I’m very very very conscience of who I let in to my circle. So just watch your surroundings, love yourself, love god and just do you honey.

Q: Any final thoughts about the film that you would like to share?

Make sure you go out and support it. It’s not a lot of times that you know that we get the opportunities to share the amazing story of people like Catana Starks. I wouldn’t have known about Catana Starks and everything that she did had Pierre Bagley and some of the other people involved hadn’t gone out and made this story come to life and put it into theaters. I love being a part of projects like this. People out there every single day especially in the urban community doing their thing and I think there stories deserve to be told.

-Toyibat Oridami