'The Talk': Cicely Tyson gets emotional about her 7-decade-long career and mentoring actors like Viola Davis
On Monday's episode of the Daytime Emmy-winning CBS talk show ‘The Talk’, the co-hosts — Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood, rapper Eve, Carrie Ann Inaba and Marie Osmond — had Cicely Tyson and Xosha Roquemore as the special guests.
The 95-year-old actor, who has won three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Black Reel Awards, one Screen Actor Guild Award, one Tony Award, and an honorary Academy Award, got very emotional on the talk show as she discussed her 70-year-long and illustrious career.
When co-host Marie Osmond asked, “There are so many women that you have been their source of energy, especially in the African American community. People like Viola Davis, and Kerry Washington, they have said that you have been this incredible mentor and just this inspiration in their lives. When you hear people talk about you like that, how does that make you feel?” Tyson said, “Well, one thing I realized is when you start off to accomplish something you just don't know whether it's going to happen, okay. But it never deterred me. I stayed on the same track.”
Tearing up, Tyson added, “And so, when someone says that to me, it just lets me know that I made the right choice.”
Tyson and Roquemore also discussed their new Oprah Winfrey Network series ‘Cherish the Day’. Talking about the show’s director and executive producer Ava DuVernay, Tyson recalled seeing DuVernay’s first movie at a friend’s place. “She said, you know there's young woman whose done a film and it's in the theatre right around the corner, let’s go see it. And it was Ava’s first film. When I met her and I told her I saw your first film. She didn't believe me. She said, ‘Oh, you’re my friend for life,’” Tyson said.
Roquemore, talking about the gender parity on the show, said, “I felt good, but what I keep saying, is it felt normal. I feel like what is unusual is me in space with all white guys. That's weird.”
She further said, “It felt right. It was cool to like, even just logistically to have the option, if you are doing like a romance scene where maybe your shirt is off, to be like, well you know, I could have the guy boom operator in the room, or I could have the lady boom operator. To even have that choice was really great.”
‘The Talk’ airs Monday through Friday at 11 am PT.