Interview: J. Harrison Ghee Reveals How Working With Billy Porter on ACCUSED Was 'Beyond' Their Dreams
The new episode of Accused airs tonight, February 21, at 9:00 p.m. ET on FOX.
By: Michael Major Feb. 21, 2023
Tonight, Some Like It Hot star J. Harrison Ghee unites with fellow Kinky Boots alum Billy Porter on the latest episode of Accused on FOX.
Accused is a collection of 15 intense, topical and exquisitely human stories of crime and punishment. Each episode is a fast-paced provocative thriller, exploring a different crime, in a different city, with an entirely original cast.
The episode follows Kevin, who, as a man, is shy and mild-mannered; onstage, she's Robyn Banks, a fierce drag queen who's all confidence and charisma. But when Kevin falls for a closeted guy secretly living a double life, their whirlwind affair leads to devastating consequences.
The all-new "Robyn's Story" episode of Accused airs tonight, Tuesday, February 21 at 9:00 PM ET/PT on FOX.
BroadwayWorld caught up with J. Harrison Ghee to discuss working with Billy Porter on the episode, giving visibility to the drag community, what they hope people take away from the story, and more.
What can audiences expect from tonight's episode?
They can expect some real moments of humanity, of love, of excitement, drag performance and then some depth with some very tender moments I get to share with Chris Coy.
When on Broadway, we sometimes see you in heightened realities and larger than life characters. What was it like tapping into a more humane side for such a serious episode?
It was such an honor and it was really great to have that space to play and that trust. I'm so grateful to Billy Porter for the opportunity, for him to trust me with the character of Kevin and Robin. I love the medium of television, it's fun to play in and to be able to jump back and forth between stage and TV is exciting.
What was it like working with Billy Porter as your director on the episode?
It was beyond dreams. Billy really did create such a wonderful set to be excited to go to work every day. Again, that trust, the availability, the space made to come in and to do what was asked of me was wonderful. Billy made sure that I had everything I needed to do what needed to be done.
I kind of injured myself the day before I had to tape the drag performances and Billy was so willing to do what was necessary to make it work, but we figured it out. And as Billy said, "When you hire a professional, it gets done!"
Something that is really interesting about the series is that you explore this character for 45 minutes. It's kind of a rare to be the star of a television series for one episode. What did you enjoy most about that part of the experience?
It was wonderful in the sense of Billy really didn't allow any of us to overthink it. And kept reminding us, he'd say, "Alright, we only got 45 minutes tell this story." Like, let's get the content, but also let's not overwork it. Let's not overthink it. Come in, trust yourselves, trust each other, and let's get her done and be efficient while we do it. We really had to drop in, trust ourselves and make sure that we were on the same page of the story we were telling, and it was truly a safe place to do that.
On a little bit more of a serious note, as we see in this episode and right now in our country, we are dealing with some really horrifying hatred towards the drag community and the LGBTQIA+ community in general. What is it like representing these stories on such a large platform for you?
I don't take it lightly, but it's not beyond me the scope at which it is an opportunity to do such things. As we started the interview and you said, it's like the opportunity to show the humanity of this drag artist meant the world to me. I've been doing drag for, oh God, over a decade at this point and it is a human experience and it is layered and complex and beautiful and just like any other person, experience so much in life, so it is an honor to be able to show the humanity and the depth and the love and the compassion and the sensitivity to which a drag artist, a drag human exists.
Throughout the episode's darkness and the serious moments, there are some really beautiful and uplifting moments. What is it like finding the positivity in the character throughout the darkness?
That is what I hope we all in life aim to work towards, finding the light and the joy and letting that be the lead. Oftentimes we make choices based out of fear and out of shame, as opposed to leading with love and joy. I operate in a place of intention and purpose and love, so to be able to share that through this character is such a wonderful opportunity, and I hope that that's what audiences walk away with, the joy and the the love.
Not to spoil much, but we do get to hear you sing a little bit. What was it like bringing that onto the show?
Oh my God, it was incredible. To have the opportunity to show such range of, of the artist that I am it definitely is exciting and I wait with antici...pation for everyone to experience it.
People from all over the nation are going to be watching tonight's episode. What do you hope they take away from this story?
To remove the shame and the fear of where we operate in life. Again, so much of what's happening in our world and in our society is based in fear and ignorance. If we lead with love and lead with joy and find the humanity and the connectivity in our existence, we can really get to be a better world so I hope that people will take away that from tonight's episode.
Watch a preview of Accused here:
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