COVID-19 is affecting celebrities just like everyone else
A picture of Chrystee Pharris posing on the red carpet of the 50th NAACP Image Awards.
(Google Image/The Black Explosion)
The coronavirus is affecting the lives of millions across the world, and celebrities, like Chrystee Pharris, are not immune to the damages it’s causing.
“I was in the middle of doing a show. I was doing a play in Syracuse, New York, with Ted Lange, who is my mentor. …We flew out to do the show, and after a week of being there, it got shut down,” said TV and movie actor, Chrystee Pharris.
“I was getting ready to shoot another big project this month, and I don’t know when that’s going to happen,” Pharris said.
For her, the effects of the coronavirus disrupted her life just as fast as any other person.
Not only has it thrown off her daily routine, it also has left her confused about when things will return to normal.
“We don’t know if the shows are going to come back because of this whole situation. We don’t know if people are going to stop going to the movie theaters. (Viewers) could now be watching and streaming on TV, which ends up not being the greatest thing for actors or writers or directors,” Pharris said.
She said that the way people think actors make money isn’t true.
“(What) I don’t think people realize is that actors don’t make money really on the first initial thing. What sustains us and keeps us going are the residuals checks. So, every time someone streams a movie or TV show for free, we don’t get paid. So, we can’t make money and people don’t realize that you’re not working every day as an actor,” she said.
Pharris has been in the industry for 22 years with her fair share of hardships, as well as successes, and she isn’t planning to let anything stop her from staying in it.
Ted Lange, an American actor, playwright, director and mentor to Chrystee Pharris, raved about her skills as an actor.
“She is her own talent. … She knows how to cut to the heart of a part,” Lange said.
Natasha McCrea, life coach, entertainment professional and best friend to Chrystee Pharris, said, “She is truly taking the necessary steps and consistently plunging into things to better herself and improve her skills.”
Pharris credits her theatre studies at Emerson College and her professor at the time, Brad Lemack, for getting her a foot in the door.
Lemack taught her the business of acting, which helped her book seven shows within six months.
Pharris has done a lot as an actor, but she is most known for her roles in the TV shows “Scrubs,” “Passions,” “Monogamy” and “Goliath.”
McCrea said people can learn “to never give up” by watching Pharris’ work.
“She has a very good work ethic, and she has a very good technique for finding character. She does all of her homework on what the character should be. … She is very diligent. She’s going to do the work that’s needed to give you the best performance that she can as an actor, because she loves acting,” said Lange.
Many of Pharris’ current jobs have been on streaming networks. She said that due to the pandemic, she receives virtually no company support such as sick leave, paid time off or emergency funding.
Most of the support she has received has been emotional support from family members such as her mom and brothers, friends, boyfriend and others in the industry, but she still has to carry the financial burden of being out of work.
McCrea said she’s been best friends with Pharris for 20 years, and McCrea is no stranger to being there for “emotional support and sisterly guidance.”
Pharris said that is exactly what entertainment is doing for the public during the epidemic: providing support.
She said entertainment as a whole is “keeping people from going crazy (and) being bad.”
Since she doesn't have kids to look after, Pharris said, “I’m by myself. My family is everywhere, so I worry about my mom.”
However, going on three mile walks a day, binge watching TV shows such as “Ozark” and teaching her self-designed online course, “The Business of Acting,” keeps her mind off of things while being locked in the house.
“She’s doing what everyone is doing, we are all sheltered in place. That’s why I haven’t seen her,” said Lange.
Pharris said once this is all over, she has a couple of shows she is executive producing that will be pitched, and she is directing a musical.
Lange said Pharris is “so good (at acting and producing) and so good to work with, and that’s what you want to find. You want to find not only people that are good, but fun to work with.”
Pharris hopes she can return to the life she once had and continue to change the way people see black women.
Lange said, “Whatever you know you have to do to hang in [there], I say do that.”
“Be kind to yourself. Your dreams still matter,” McCrea said.