As Deputy Inspector Regina Haywood on CBS’ East New York (Sundays), Amanda Warren strikes that tricky balance of being tough yet caring. Haywood must be tough — find a woman who has advanced that far in a huge police department who is not. Warren, a New Yorker and NYU and Yale School of Drama alumna, was on Gossip Girl (2021-23) and Madam Secretary (2019) before taking the lead on East New York.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP3aPr3GgB4
She chatted with us about why she loves playing Haywood and answered our “5 Questions.”
1. Why is Haywood a good fit for you?
I found it difficult to see what I could contribute to certain cop shows. With this, it was different in the sense that with Regina, I embrace my femininity and my womanhood. She is stylish, and she embraces sexuality, feminism and style without apology or explanation. I find that with a lot of these, you have to be a certain type of woman to be deemed strong or to be deemed independent. And with Regina, she walks into a room, and she says, “You can like it or lump it.”
2. Can you tell us about a time that you were starstruck?
Probably when I met Lloyd Richards (the late actor and dean of the Yale School of Drama) because I literally froze. He was a very frequent collaborator with playwright August Wilson, and I was absolutely dumbfounded that he was right there in front of me. I was starstruck in awe, shocked, thrilled, nervous. I couldn’t even say anything. And he just said, “Hello. How are you?” Well, that was nice. That was the dialogue without me responding. My response was silence. You know, pure shock and awe.
3. What were some of your favorite shows growing up?
I was already at uni, but The Sopranos. It was masterful and had a very lasting impact on what I hope to contribute to television and storytelling through the medium. And, of course, Sex and the City, which I am partial to as a New Yorker. And growing up? Family Matters, Step by Step and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
4. What job did you have before making it as an actress that still influences you?
I was in hospitality, seating people at a steakhouse called The Strip House. And what it taught me was just care and kindness and patience, and a little bit of tolerance, depending on the diner.
5. What is the ideal day for you?
The ideal day for me, if I’m working, would be to do weight training, Pilates, get an oat milk matcha latte, then get in that van and go to work because I’ve always dreamed about working consistently, day in and day out. And if it’s a day off, hopefully I’m at the lake house my fiancé and I are going to have, and meditating and reading and sipping on hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick and maybe taking a hike or getting on a boat and just being so grateful for family, friends, health, work and life in general.