Vivica A. Fox Has Been Setting It Off for 30 Years — She’s Just Getting Started

Although we see her with those burn scars, the film gives us a flashback in which she tells her own story about what happened with her husband, the twins’ father. You’re almost playing two characters. How did you differentiate between who she was in those sequences?

[In the flashback] she was with her twins. She thought she had escaped and was safe. She thought she was doing everything right to protect herself and her children. Whereas, when I was God, she was just hell-bent on revenge, right? She was the catalyst for setting these kids off on this revenge mission that then takes them to two other wives. And what I love about the script is that it was one man, three women [like in Why Do Fools Fall in Love], told so wonderfully differently.

Even though Sterling K. Brown is in that violent flashback, we really focus on your character. Can you tell me about shooting those scenes with him and invoking his character’s presence?

Well, Sterling is so amazing, and the way that Aleshea shot him, you didn’t see Sterling until the end of the film. I love the slow reveal of him, and then my description of him made it really believable. But he was great. And I made sure he choked me [in our scene]. I was like, “Come on, do it! Do it. I got choked out by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill!” He was wonderful. I said, “Sterling, you know, [the audience is] gonna be pretty mad at you.…” And he goes, “You know what, I’ve been waiting to play a villain.”​

This film is Tarantino-esque, similar to Kill Bill: Volume 1 — we even see your character in the opening chapter, kicking off the film. Did it feel like the stakes were high for you as a performer to initiate us into this world? 

Well, I’ve been known to set it off.… [Laughs.] 

Fox, third from left, shares a rooftop in the 1996 film "Set It Off" with Queen Latifah, Kimberly Elise and Jada Pinkett.

New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection

You beat me to it! It’s been 30 years since Set It Off, which definitely came to mind when I saw this film, because it’s also about strong, powerful Black women combining their forces. Why do you think it’s so important to see that on-screen? 

I think, finally, people are getting to appreciate African American female stories and to give them opportunities to play out their stories, to give their stories validation and to know that people will go see them and that they care. Our stories are being embraced and being told and being funded and being acted out by some amazing actresses. As Erika [Alexander] said: We’ve just been waiting on the opportunity [to play these roles]. It’s not that we didn’t want to do it. Opportunity was not there.

I imagine when you’re working with a young, first-time director like Aleshea Harris, there’s a sense that you’re giving back, to ensure that there’s a new generation continuing this work.

I’m glad that you brought that up. I once got the opportunity to interview my role model, Pam Grier [76]. I was in tears. I named my production company, Foxy Brown Productions, after her. She was the first super strong, beautiful African American woman that I saw. She said to me, “Why are you crying so much?” I said, “Because I can’t believe how kind and beautiful and generous you are with your knowledge.” And she said, “Vivica, it’s how I’m supposed to be, and I challenge you to do the same.” I’ve been passing the baton to the [next generation], and I’m always kind, because I believe a happy set is a productive set. 

Fox costarred with Vanessa L. Williams and Nia Long in the 1997 film "Soul Food."

20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

You’re also a prolific producer. When did you realize that’s something you wanted to do or felt like you had to do?

I’ll be honest with you; producing fell into my lap. This is why I tell young actors: Have a good team of people that work with you — your business partners, your agents, your managers — who see opportunities that you didn’t even see for yourself. After I green-lit the fourth film in a row, my business partner Lita Richardson said, “Next time, we are going to get you a producer credit.” I was like, “Does that mean I’ve got to do more work?” She said, “Vivica, you’re in a business called show business. The more that you can learn about the business behind the show, the longer a career you will have.”

It’s interesting that you asked that question, because the credit was for the work you had already done!

I’m very proud of that, to be very honest with you, and [it’s a compliment to] my team that they were paying attention and helping me pay attention. So many actors come and go, chewed up and swallowed by the business, which, that’ll happen. This is a journey, and there are different chapters. You can’t play one character. You’ve got to mature and play another character. Then sometimes, you step behind the camera. Then you’ve got to learn what your brand is. 

Looking back at the early days of your career, is there any advice you would give yourself, or anything you would do differently? 

The main thing for me is that now I’ve taken the time to smell the roses. I used to be [so focused] on the treadmill of success that I would forget to enjoy this. You start working and the phone starts ringing constantly, and then you forget to take a little time to breathe, right? You can take a little vacation, or you can go have a little bit of fun — but not too much fun, right? [Laughs.] Do everything in moderation, but enjoy the ride, because it’s beautiful. I look at some of my role models, like Beyoncé — she’s such a hard worker. I’ll never forget going to see her for the first time in France in a stadium and just kind of going, “Wow, there are 60,000 people here to see her dreams come true.” Nowadays, everybody thinks that they can just swipe to fame. And I always say to young actors: Don’t have a moment — build a career.