Joyful Drake’s Joyful Sermon – An Intimate Conversation on her new Role & Journey

Cox: Joyful Drake I’m honored to be speaking with you today! I want to get right into your latest project Hush as Dr. Draya Logan. Tell me all about it. 

Drake: Hush is an eight part episodic series premiering Dec 1st on AMC’s streaming service ALLBLK. It is produced By Bree & Chuck West  from Octet Productions and written by Angela Burt-Murray, Chazitear and Don B Welch. My character Dr. Draya Logan is one of the top marriage and sex therapist in Washington DC. If you had the Black girl’s version of The Desperate Houswives meets How to Get Away with Murder plus more scandal, you would get Hush. 

Drake (contin): I love Dr. Draya Logan because she is such a multidimensional character to play. She came up hard, but she cares for people. When you look at her, you see someone who has been hurt multiple times and really is broken. I think that’s what makes for a great TV when the main character has so many issues. Different people can relate to that more than anything because it’s reality for a lot of us.  

Joyful Drake said this was a dream come true to play a lead role like this. Once she had gotten the script while filming in Italy she couldn’t put it down. This was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. Filming this series on location in DC made it even better for her. They filmed in some of D.C’s landmark locations such as the infamous Watergate condos. Joyful said you get to really see how sexy, historic and classy DC really is. 

“The set was just full life, joy, and excitement,” – Joyful Drake

Cox: Joyful this is your first time as a lead in a series! Congratulations because you have been in the industry for a long time and this is well deserved. How does this moment feel?

Drake: My God-fidence is strong. It’s my confidence in what God has for me that kept me going in the business regardless of the degree of the role. I believe he places me where I need to be! Everything is on his time and not mine. 

Drake(contin): So for me to be number one on the call sheet I was a damn good number one. I have been in this industry for a long time and worked in many facets of it. I come from a sports background so it doesn’t matter who you are on the team because it takes a team to win. It was a joyous moment being able to lead this cast of amazing people like Caryn Ward, Erica Mena, and Candice Dillard. In this position my focus was more on how I can make sure we shine together than me shine individually. 

Cox: Speaking of roles. Joyful you somehow always get these roles with characters who are sassy, outspoken, and ambitious. And they usually have deeper levels to why that act a certain way. Why do you think that is?

Drake: I have a very big personality so I always just love to play these roles. What’s fun about these roles is that they seem like they have it all together but then you discover they don’t. You see how fragile they can be and easily hurt. This is real life!

Joyful and I then spoke on her recent roles on All American Homecoming and P-Valley. These roles are prime examples of how you can’t judge a book by its cover. This is something Joyful lives by. In acting this is something you can’t do either she mentions. There is so much trauma and healing going on with people in real life and characters in the script that you just don’t know why they are doing what they are doing. 

“As an artist I’m trying to give a voice to the character in all their totality and every emotion that makes them who they are.”  – Joyful Drake

Cox: You mentioned enjoying the journey is more important than the destination. 

Drake: I think the biggest thing to do is have fun on the journey. Your life isn’t when you get to that destination, you get that Oscar, get that part, or achieve however much money you desire. Your life is what’s happening on your way to achieve those goals. So for me I”m always enjoying the journey.

Drake (contin): Talking about my journey I’m a wife, mom, daughter, sister, and auntie. Being all these things I have been shaped by those such as my mother and father who I’m a daughter to. My dad was the one who pushed me and told me I can do anything I want to do in life. I just have to do it. I learned from them I have to try continuously and also pick myself up again when things get tough.

Drake (contin): There have been roles where I know I would have nailed it and I didn’t get it. And now I’m at a point in my life where I see that those weren’t part of my path. 

Cox: Joyful you said earlier there was a time during the pandemic you were at your lowest. How did you find the strength to get out of it? 

Drake: It was tough for me because I had to abandon a series that got picked up that I shot during pilot season. I was eight months pregnant during that time so obviously I couldn’t take it. And this was a script and role I was so looking forward to. Then six months after having my baby the pandemic hits. I’m isolated from my family and they are my support system. I’m here looking at my newborn because I want to make sure they are good, healthy and taken care of. 

Drake (contin): We didn’t know when and how the industry would pick back up. So I started writing! I ended up selling my first script, which is something I wanted to do for a long time. Look fast forward two years later and I’m selling my third project. Doing this changed the game for me. It was both amazing and unbelievable for me.

As Joyful and I finished the interview, touching a little more of overcoming something stood out that was profound. She said she could finally do the things she always wanted to do because she finally sat down and had time to do them. 

“Because I was always working and running to auditions. You know I was doing everyone else’s calling except mine.” – Joyful Drake. 

So to the reader! Are you doing your calling?