Family, Valued

Javicia Leslie knows what it's like to be the voice of reason in a family, which is how she describes Ali Finer, her character on CBS's God Friended Me.

True-life example: when Leslie's older brother went to Burning Man without telling their mother, mom got upset, particularly when he didn't answer her call. Leslie pointed out that phone reception is poor in the desert.

"I have to tell her, 'You may not always agree with something he does, but let's not make him feel bad for choosing to be happy.'"

Her character, Ali, is similarly adept at understanding different perspectives and at balancing emotions and logic. In that way, Ali is emblematic of the show's theme: God Friended Me is less about the power of faith or a higher being, Leslie says, and more about the power people have when they reach out and connect with each other.

Leslie spent six years in Los Angeles before becoming a network series regular. In her early 20s, she worked a military nine-to-five job in D.C., helping the families of fallen soldiers get money they were due.

"It was definitely draining," she says. "But I come from an Army background and loved being able to help." She did theater in D.C. when she could, until 2012, when she bought a one-way ticket to L.A. Soon, she was cast as the lead in the Lifetime movie Killer Coach and also starred in two YouTube series: Hello Cupid Reboot and Chef Julian.

"YouTube gives people whose voices aren't normally heard a chance to be heard," she notes. "It's another avenue to showcase your talent."

Leslie likes that television allows actors to develop multilayered characters. She does just that on BET's family crime drama, Carl Weber's The Family Business, playing a party girl. "You start off seeing Paris as this spoiled brat," she says. "But as the series goes on, you see that this is a girl who just wants love."

Both series give Leslie the chance to learn from the actors playing her parents. Working with Joe Morton on God Friended Me is like attending acting boot camp, she says. And she's studying a special skill that Family Business mom Valarie Pettiford has down: "She can drop just one tear. Usually, you either cry your eyes out or can't squeeze out any tears. She's the queen of the one tear."

And as much as Leslie loves television, she welcomes movie roles: "Rom-coms and action are my favorite genres. I like to make people laugh and kick some butt."

This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, Issue No. 3, 2019