Over the years, plenty of crime shows have highlighted the challenges faced by law enforcement in their pursuit of justice. There's plenty of drama inherent to the premise, leading to a litany of scripted and unscripted programs focusing on the interplay between the two sides of the same coin. The Interrogation Room focuses on the real stories that happen behind the scenes of investigations and the ways officers try to uncover evidence and unearth culprits.
Bringing it all to life is Vivica A. Fox, whose career has seen her play both sides of that conflict over the years. In an interview with CBR ahead of The Interrogation Room's streaming premiere across various platforms, including Roku, on Jul. 1, Fox discussed what attracts her to a project, reflected on why the show's exploration of interrogation caught her attention, and why she thinks people are still requesting Kill Bill Vol. 3 almost twenty years after the original films debuted.
CBR: You've been in so many projects over the years -- what was it about The Interrogation Room that caught your attention?
Vivica A. Fox: You know, sometimes in life, be careful what you ask for. I've been doing a lot of different genres -- I've been producing, I've been directing. And I was like, "I want to get back into the detective thing," because I played a detective on a show called Missing years ago. And boom, here comes this. They said, "We're going to fly you over to London. It's 10 episodes of The Interrogation Room. It takes you inside how we get the criminals to confess." And I was like, "Oooh, I like that." So I was very proud that they picked an African American woman to host this type of show. Because usually when you see the true crime genre shows, it's usually a guy, you know? He's either angry or very straight-laced. You know what I mean? To add a sister in there? I just thought it was cool.
You bring it up in the first episode of the show. There's something fascinating about that back-and-forth during interrogations. As a performer who's played both police and criminals, what do you find compelling about that dynamic?
I think that's what they loved -- that as an actress, instead of just giving the straight-line delivery and the facts, I could add a little bit more emotion -- a little more color to my delivery. I love that they gave me some license with the script. If there was something that didn't work for me or -- my writers were from England, so sometimes they will say something, and it's like, "No, in America, we don't say it like that." [laughing] There were no worries about telling them that.
My director was a female. It just made for a win-win situation. We actually finished early! I think they trusted that I had done police shows before. I was very good with the teleprompter. And I understood that world because if you're just performing something and you don't understand the world -- like when I did Missing, I had to go to the FBI [and] learn how to shoot a gun. I had to learn how they do certain things. So I had a little bit of training in there.
How did you approach the show's balance of telling these true stories with all the facts of the case but still delivering enough of a performance to keep them compelling? I have to imagine finding that balance can be tricky when you remember these stories aren't just random creations. They're real people.
Take the story of the little girl in the first episode -- that just broke my heart. So when we were doing the narration, and I finally got to see the footage, that helped a lot to add that human element to it. To tell the story from a female aspect helped a lot. Just seeing the interviews of the father, that his son was killed. I think adding that human element, even as an actress, helped my delivery a little bit more. I thought about the family, the father and the mother losing the child, the little girl and her family, and feeling the victory of getting a conviction of the person who perpetrated the crime to make sure that they get them.
Adding that human element -- that female little touch -- helped with my delivery and making this work. I mean everyone there did a really good job. I was drawn in, and I enjoyed hosting the show. And you know, that's not always easy to do. Sometimes you see people whose shows you like, but then you get them hosting something, and it's just not the right fit. The camera doesn't lie.
You've done so much in this industry. I've got to ask, what is it about a project that catches your attention?
A challenge. To me, it's all about, "Does it challenge me? Does it take me a little bit out of my comfort zone?" To say, "Yes, I can do this. Thank you for this opportunity." I never ever thought at this stage of my career, being a woman in my 50s, that I would get some of the most amazing opportunities like this. I've watched shows with my Dad that I was a fan of growing up -- Dateline, 48 Hours -- now I've been given the opportunity.
So I jumped at the opportunity, and I was grateful for that. I love to be challenged. At this point in your career, you hope it's more than just a paycheck. Because if it's just a paycheck, there's not going to be any passion. You can always tell that when someone's just walking through a performance. I don't think that's why they called, because they thought I would just walk through it, you know? I embraced it and was ready to go every day and enjoyed the experience.
This isn't your only project this year, either. You're directing a film and you've got your upcoming film with Jussie Smollett...
Yeah, he directed me. I love Jussie. He's like family. We had actually been developing that project for a very long time. That's what people didn't know, so when they finally saw pictures of it. It was the last day they didn't realize we had been working together. When people give you an opportunity, it's trusting them that we're going to deliver something new [and] something fresh. I love doing different genres. I love that I can host, I love to do action, I love that I can do drama, I love to do comedy.
We had been developing the project for a very long time. I loved the element of surprise. I love to keep on surprising people. Just when you think you got me tagged doing one thing, here comes another one. So I love that element of surprise. Like I said, I'm challenging myself. And I can't tell you too much. Stay tuned. It's gonna be a good one.
Everyone seems to want Kill Bill Vol. 3, and you're still being asked about it all the time. What is it about that film that you think drives so much passion?
I think the main draw is that people love Tarantino's work. He's always got this weird quirkiness that surprises you, that intrigues you, [and] that makes you want more. Like, I did a video for SZA. It was the remake of Kill Bill. Man, we went viral. I mean, like 70 million views. Then everybody ran with it. "SZA's gonna play your daughter in Kill Bill 3. It's finally coming!" I was like, "No, it's just a song, and she loves Kill Bill." So I just think it's the love of Tarantino and the magic of those films.
The Interrogation Room comes to Roku on July 1.