'Bluff City Law' star Jayne Atkinson on Della's coming out story and the backlash she faces: 'It's not a deliberate mess'
Tonight on 'Bluff City Law', we got to see the vibrant mama-bear Della come out to live her full truth.
We have seen her as the motherly, affectionate link between the father-daughter duo Elijah and Sydney, who are trying to mend their long-estranged relationship slowly.
But what Della brings to the table is a general warmth and air of compassion packed with abundant humor — facets of a personality hardened by the brutal backlash from the entire community she believed was her home, back when she decided to come out as a lesbian and subsequently end a marriage of 15 years.
And while the move did more than just raise a few eyebrows, veteran actress Jayne Atkinson, who plays the role so eloquently, will have you believe that Della's first priority was always how her son would take it, especially since it wasn't a deliberate mess.
Episode six shows Della preparing for a lifetime achievement award she is about to receive, and it is also for the first time that we get to see her wife, played by Beth Malone.
As the rest of the people at the law firm she works with find out about her sexual identity, they and viewers together go through the journey that has made Della the wonderful human we have come to love and adore on the NBC legal drama.
With short grey hair and timeless chic suits, Della wasn't always the woman she is now. "She's a southern woman who grew up with money — a very powerful and strong father and potentially mother, but there's a very good relationship with the father," reveals Atkinson in an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW).
"She went to Southern College. She was in a sorority. She was part of a church community — a very funny warm life-of-the-party smart gal with a lot of friends and a lot of people who really adore her," she shares.
As for her "no-nonsense, will say it as she sees it" stance, Atkinson believes Della has "grown into that". After being married for 15 years, Della becomes aware of her sexuality and how she can't put that away any longer.
"She sort of shakes up her community, her family, and everybody by saying 'This is really who I feel I am. This is something that I have known, but I sort of put it away because I didn't see how it would fit. I love my husband but this is who I am'," Atkinson tells us.
"And when somebody chooses to step into a different truth of who they are, it creates a ripple effect. So, of course, there were difficulties with her family, with her church and with her child."
Coming out at her age is no piece of cake and Della had to undergo more than just backlash from a religious community just for trying to be comfortable in her own skin.
However, the best part about all of that is how she has shaped herself into the woman she is. Speaking about the impact of the backlash she faced and how that has influenced the character, Atkinson gushes: "She has been through a lot, but you won't see that on Della's face."
"What you'll see is somebody who has taken that that pain, that difficulty, and moved forward with it with wisdom," she shares.
Atkinson believes this has helped Della in becoming the compassionate and funny woman she is, but "There's also a very tender part of her because of that. It's soft in terms of how she views human experience and other human beings. She's quite a mixed bag."
When it comes to portraying Della, however, it is Atkinson's personal life experiences that allow her to shape and empathize with a character for whom breaking up a family wasn't a "deliberate mess".
"You hurt people that you love when you're not intending to," says Atkinson about the difficult choices Della has had to make in her life. "In this particular instance, it is a moment of authenticity."
"As a parent, I can relate to the feeling of how do I recover (my child) when I've done something that's difficult for them. The difference is that this isn't something that she deliberately did, but she does question the timing of it; that perhaps had she held on longer, it wouldn't have been as difficult for him. This makes her feel guilty."
That, however, doesn't justify the stigma Della faces when she finally comes out. It could be the age, but for Atkinson, the reason could be Della's gender-conforming commitments as a family-woman.
"She has a child and a husband and that is a very powerful commitment," Atkinson remarks, adding: "I think that's where the condemnation might lie, and certainly with the church. They don't necessarily think about the age as much as they think that it is a sin against God. I think it's more about responsibility both to family and church."
Age does come into the equation for Atkinson, but that's about all the groundbreaking facets of this character she portrays. "From the girls (fans) I've talked with, they think it's refreshing that Della is older and just a person who loves who she loves," she shares.
"I think age in general on television is a hard road, especially for women of a certain age. But we're seeing more and more of them as our actresses are starting to hit 50 and up there, they're taking no prisoners," she reveals.
"They're saying excuse me, we are not redundant. We are here and we are making noise." That and, of course, the fact that an aged woman belongs to the LGBTQ community, thriving in her own truth and giving back is what's inspiring.
"That orientation being represented on the show is saving lives," Atkinson says, quoting one of her fans. "I think it actually is a really good thing for the community. It shows progress in terms of American television."
Catch Atkinson as the unmissable Della on 'Bluff City Law' every Monday at 9 pm, only on NBC.