The following feature appears in the August 2016 issue of NYLON.
Tika Sumpter wasnโt content to just embody Michelle Obamaโher goal was to pull off a pinpoint impression. โI wanted to make sure you heard inflections of Michelle,โ she says of her milestone performance as the future first lady in the indie romance Southside With You. A critical darling at this yearโs Sundance Film Festival, the film tracks a fictionalized version of the first coupleโs inaugural date in the summer of 1989, and represents a breakthrough for the 35-year-old actress. To nail her distinct cadence, Sumpter watched hours of college graduation speeches that Michelle Obama has given as first lady. โI studied every word, how she curved her tongue, how she kind of sings when she talks,โ she says. The result is a carefully drawn and recognizable portrait of Michelle Robinson, an ambitious and whip-smart lawyer who would go on to become one of the worldโs most famous women.
Curled up on a couch in the lobby of the Smyth Hotel in Tribeca, New York, Sumpter is dressed casually in white overalls and a black-and-white striped shirt, which she pairs with a pristine smile. Until now, Sumpter has padded her rรฉsumรฉ mainly with supporting roles, most notably as Kevin Hartโs levelheaded wife in the Ride Along movies, and as Chuck Bassโs love interest in the fourth season of Gossip Girl. Before reading the script for Southside With Youโa subtle and sophisticated piece of writing that tracks Michelle and Barack (played by Parker Sawyers) as they crisscross Chicago, trading ideas on race, gender, and politicsโSumpter was enchanted by the filmโs synopsis, and got on board early as a producer, fulfilling a longtime ambition to work behind the camera. โThe great part about being a producer is youโre in the room when decisions are made,โ she says, adding that it also allowed her to create a choice opportunity for herself in an industry where theyโre hard to come by. โUsually, there arenโt any black people in the room,โ she says. โIโm in a place where I want to create because these characters arenโt being written for me.โ
A Queens, New York native and one of five siblings, Sumpter didnโt grow up a theater kid: โIt was over the top and just wasnโt for me,โ she says. But at 17, she began auditioning for commercials on the advice of her boss at the nightclub where she worked. As career insurance, she hatched a backup plan to become a publicist, but while studying communications at Marymount Manhattan College, Sumpter got hit with a $10,000 tuition bill. โIt looked like a hundred million dollars at the time,โ she says. โI was like, โIโm going after my plan A.โโ But while pursuing acting, she encountered resistance from her mother, a Rikers Island corrections officer focused on 401(k)s and mortgages. โSheโs proud of me now,โ says Sumpter, whose dad, a postal worker, died when she was 12. โBut she wasnโt like, โGo girl, yeah!โ It was like, โGirl, go finish school, go get a job.โโ
Sumpter instead spent much of her early twenties broke, in between service gigs and indifferent casting calls, while living with roommates all over Manhattan, from Flatiron to Washington Heights. When months of verbal abuse forced her to quit a hotel gig, she broke down in the middle of a sidewalk. Two days later, Sumpter landed a life-changing four-year contract on the soap opera One Life to Live. โWhenever I want to complain,โ she says, โI remember walking down that street and crying.โ
Now, with her first production credit cinched, Sumpter is hungry for more. โI have stories I want to tell,โ she says. โMy thing is making sure women know how dope they are, regardless of what the story is.โ Outside of work, sheโs an admittedly private person. She prefers simple pleasures like dinner parties, traveling, and quality time with her boyfriend, an actor whom she wonโt name. โIs he Chris Pine or anybody like that? No. Weโre in different spaces. But heโs there for me,โ she says. โYou have to have somebody whoโs mature enough to get it.โ For her, the Obamasโ relationship is an inspiration. โI want something like that,โ says Sumpter. โNothingโs perfect. He had a hole in his car. He didnโt always say the right thing, but he was still charming. They both reflected what they needed from each other.โ With a dreamy smile on her face, she adds: โRelationship goals.โ