Essence Atkins has mastered the art of evolution, dazzling us from her early days as a child star to becoming a dynamic force in Hollywood. With standout roles in Deliver Us from Eva, “Half & Half” and A Haunted House, she has a talent that seamlessly crosses genres, cementing her as one of the most versatile actresses of her generation. Whether she’s gracing the big screen or making us laugh and cry on TV, the native New Yorker has a way of lighting up every project she touches.
Now, she’s back and better than ever. Co-starring alongside Damon Wayans as Poppa and Damon Wayans Jr. As Damon, Atkins steps into the role of Dr. Ivy Reid in CBS's “Poppa's House.” As Poppa’s brilliant new co-host, the therapist is tasked with bringing fresh perspectives to his beloved radio show. Ivy is sharp, quick-witted and not afraid to go toe-to-toe with her fiery co-star. The role promises all the laughs, charm and heartfelt moments that we’ve come to love from the “Are We There Yet?” star. With this latest chapter, Atkins is once again proving that there’s no stopping her.
Before we get into “Poppa’s House,” I have to discuss with you how iconic the “Half & Half” theme song is, which is still being talked about over social media.
To this day, it's a masterpiece (laughs). I don't know if everyone knows this, but Yvette Lee Bowser, who was our showrunner, wrote those lyrics … Also, even though Jeffrey Klarik was the one who [originally] created the idea of “Half & Half,” the series was pitched as, “What if Janeane Garofalo and Cameron Diaz were sisters?” That was the original idea. But, when the United Paramount Network acquired it, they decided to make it Black girls. So, I became Diaz’s character and Rachel True became Garofalo’s character. But, back to [Bowser], she has a half-sister, and they share the same father and different mothers. [True also] has a half-sister so a lot of the storylines were coming from real life experiences. It was so much fun to shoot the opening theme song for the show.
As you are now starring in “Poppa’s House,” how did “Smart Guy” and “Half & Half” help shape your career, and what do you remember most fondly about working on them?
Oh gosh. What I know is that I go to work, and it doesn't feel like work. What I know is that literally, from the moment I stepped onto my first professional acting job, which was “The Cosby Show” — in Season 2, I went up that staircase, looked around and had no idea what I was doing. It was my first audition that I ended up booking and I remember thinking to myself, “I want a staircase that leads to nowhere.”
The fact that I have been able to have this career that is now in its 38th year and I've had success on the multicam the way that I have is just a dream come true. It is really a pinch me moment for me when I consider [that] I didn't necessarily think I was funny. What I’ve learned is that I’m witty, at least (laughs).
I have so much fun telling these stories and working with these people. Talking about “Smart Guy,” I go back and think about the fact that I was on a show that talked about a 10-year-old Black boy being a genius and the world around him. A single father who was navigating having three children after losing his wife in an accident and how progressive that was and what a great role model that show was for so many people. They were this middle-class family navigating this truly unique thing and having real dynamics and real difficulties and real coming together moments of like, “How do we navigate this world with this extraordinary child who is trying to figure out how to be in high school with his older siblings and what does that look like for them?” I just thought we told those stories with such humor and also with such truth and honesty. We had a real perspective and point of view. I think that's one of the reasons that even though we only did 51 episodes, we only did 51 episodes. That series lived on through multiple generations — it’s extraordinary.
Same thing with “Half & Half” — during the pandemic, my son discovered the show, and I would come out of my room, see him in the living room and catch him cracking up and he would be like, “Mama Phyllis and Big Dee Dee are hilarious.” Those are his favorite characters. He was 9 years old at the time, but when you see your child laughing out loud at the antics and has gravitated and begins to believe these characters, it's something extraordinary for me as an artist, because I didn't manufacture that. There’s a real journey you see through the 91 episodes we were able to do, and the theme song really did play out in the series — you really see growth, reconciliation, healing and love grow among this family as they become more and more blended.
As for “Poppa’s House,” it’s fun to give you guys that throwback feeling of a sitcom [since] we have bloopers — like they used to do back in the day where you'd have a whole episode of bloopers at the end of a season — we’re giving them to you with each episode. I love that fans are watching and more importantly feeling the love between a Black man and his son. It's so healing, extraordinary, dynamic and fun, and it’s great to watch Damon and his son on screen.
What has it been like working with the Wayans family over the years, and how have they helped shape your career — both personally and professionally?
It’s so rich because you have the trust and love there. I mean, next year will be 30 years since I first worked with Marlon, Shawn and Kim Wayans on “The Wayans Bros.” — that was in 1995, and I’m now working with them on their sixth project. At this point, I feel like I'm a cousin (laughs). Besides the fact that we've made money together — because that's what we've done — we've gone through iterations and through the journey of life. Thirty years to watch someone become a parent, get married, get divorced.
I actually showed up at one of Marlon’s comedy shows 20 minutes after he found out his dad died. I remember we were starring on “Marlon” at the time, and Bresha Webb, who played my best friend on the series, was like, “Let’s go to see Marlon.” Literally 20 minutes before we got there, he had just found out his dad died. We instinctively were just there for each other. Once you become family, you are family, and it is such a beautiful thing. I love the friendship in particular that Marlon and I have, because it is platonic. We've never been romantically involved. We just love each other from such a deep, beautiful, pure place, and it allows a freedom and respect, and that he can continue to advocate for me. It isn't based on anything other than [that] he just loves me and respects my talent.
As someone who's worked so closely with Marlon, how did you feel about NBC canceling his show, “Marlon,” and where do you see it going if it had the chance to develop further?
We had incredible plans. We were going to have a true Dwayne and Whitley moment. It was going to be epic in terms of what was going to happen between [Ashley and Marlon] and them reconciling how to be a blended family and also reconciling the love that they had for one another. It was really going to be a beautiful journey. But that is the nature of this business, and that's why [fans’ support, word of mouth and doing interviews are] so important. [Interviewers] are a critical bridge between the product and the project and the audience learning about us or discovering us. There [are] still so many people who haven't heard of “Poppa’s House” or watched it yet. This is a critical part of what we do: getting people to tune in and watch. Our artistry isn't a medium that's done in isolation; it requires [...] an audience showing up week after week and inviting us into their homes and lives and watching and telling other people, “Oh, my gosh, you haven't seen ‘Poppa’s House’ yet? It’s so funny.” That can only happen if people like you get the word out.
Who are some guest stars we can expect on “Poppa’s House”?
Lamorne Morris, Tommy Davidson and Marlon, rumor has it, will also be a guest star on the series soon. Coby Bell, who is known as Jason Pitts from “The Game,” will be playing my ex-husband on the series. Tisha Campbell and Jennifer Freeman just came on set for support, which was wonderful to see. There's definitely room for people that we know and love, that we have all worked with to come and play with us in this story. I mean, that's the wonderful thing about being a part of a sitcom and having the lineage and the legacy that we all have is that we have such a rich pool to invite people from.
It was recently announced the Scary Movie franchise will be returning. Fans are already hoping to see Regina Hall return as Brenda, but if asked to join the franchise, would you be interested?
I was super excited just because they have gotten the ownership back, and I know that they will begin the Scream legacy again from the parody perspective, and it’s going to be hysterical. I hope that Regina returns for sure. I haven't asked if she's definitely back, but it's okay to celebrate other people winning, you don't always have to be a part of it. I would be honored to be a part of it, but I really do like to celebrate their victory without even having my own benefit from it.
As your career has evolved and continues to evolve, how has your relationship with fame changed or elevated?
When I was younger, it was a much more naive aspiration; it was this kind of blanket idea of rich and famous that I was aspiring to have. In my mid-20s, I had the privilege of being friends with Matthew Perry and watching what happened between the pilot and airing of “Friends,” and then the subsequent success of that. That has changed me, because what I understand is that you can get everything that you ever wanted, and it can still lead to your demise.
What I have learned in this business over the course of three decades is that you have to continue to work on your spirit. You have to continue to nurture your identity outside of your accolades, achievements, latest project and the fanfare, because if you don't, you will find yourself empty and chasing things […] or filling yourself up with things that are destructive because you don't have a sense of your own worth […] Just by virtue of being alive, you deserve happiness and joy and peace […] once you start to do [the] work [to see that], then you can really live a successful life. When I say success, I mean waking up with enthusiasm. I see myself as a great success because I wake up excited about my day, life, friendships, how I conduct myself, the people around me or the way that I've spoken to my son. If I don't feel excited about it, then I go and I apologize and I try to rectify.
There is work to be done in terms of your spirit and your soul so that circumstances don't rob you of your peace, purpose or love for yourself and for others. That’s the switch that has changed from when I started. When I started, it was a much more external aspiration and now I don't see it that way. Now I just see whatever success I have as an opportunity to be a blessing, to encourage, to be a light, to be a hope, a hope giver, a hope dealer. That's what I look at my success as affording me rather than what I can get from it. I think of it as an opportunity to give.