Los Angeles-based actress Bev Flowers has a role in the upcoming series “Playing Dirty”. It’s the role of a lifetime, and the series itself is based on a bestselling series by author Kiki Swinson. Barely Twenty-One, Bev caught the attention of director Wes Clark and the rest is history-in-the-making.

Kreyolicious: How did your interest in acting come about?
As a little girl in Haiti, I always wanted to be a dancer. My mother had me in dance classes and so I fell in love with my first artistic expression at that time. My interest in acting started when I was a little girl living in Miami with my guardians. I was in this acting class in middle school, and I had a wonderful teacher and we did the play “Annie”. I enjoyed being a part of the show and that is when I fell in love with acting. Around that same time, I started teaching myself how to model by putting books on my head and walking over and over again. I am just absolutely in love with art in every way. I enjoy expressing myself whether it’s by acting, modeling or dancing. It runs through my veins.

Kreyolicious: Growing up, what was your biggest fear?
My biggest fear growing up was that I would never be reunited with my mother ever again. When I was little, my mom decided she could not take care of me anymore in Haiti. A friend of my mom told her she has a cousin who is childless in Miami who would not mind taking me in. Therefore, my mom made the sacrifice of sending me, her only daughter, to a complete stranger at the time in hopes of a better life than the one she could provide me. At my young age, I understood why she had to do that, but I always feared I wouldn’t see her again. She had promised me she would come join me, but every time she tried getting a visa, she got denied. I ended up spending twelve years without seeing my mom, and we are still not leaving together now. As I got closer to Twenty-One, the fear went away knowing I could file for her, but now she is terminally ill, and so, the fear of not reuniting with my mom and giving her all I ever dreamed of is back and it is very painful.

I’m so sorry about your mom. [pause] You share a quote on your social media recently where you encouraged your fans and followers to have “queen ambition”. And speaking of royal ambition, Queen Elizabeth II once said, “It’s all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you’re properly trained.” Was there ever a seemingly impossible thing that you achieved? How did you do it?
During my second year of college, I was 19 years old at the time. I got pregnant and automatically I went into panic. I felt like I was going to be a failure in life because society made me believe that if I had a child young, I could not amount to anything. However, with the support of my sons dad and his family, I ended up snapping out of that mentality. I was told I would not be able to graduate in four years like I intended because now I was pregnant. I was told I needed to stay home and care for the baby. I do not take no for an answer, so I had my son August 26th Via C-section and I went back to school full-time, taking seven classes, just two weeks after giving birth. I actually learned how to walk again on my way to classes. I did that for the last two years in college, while working 60 hours a week, and taking care of my son. I worked 10hrs a night and went to class during the day. I just graduated in May on time with surprisingly marvelous grades. Now, I have a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in theater, and my son is two. My point for that long story is that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. I really stand by the Queen ambition quote, which relates to what Queen Elizabeth II stated, once you have the ambition, you will train yourself to be discipline enough to get what you want.

Kreyolicious: You have a starring role in the upcoming TV series “Playing Dirty”, based on acclaimed author Kiki Swinson’s novels. What was the process like from audition to selection?
Yes, I have been blessed enough to be cast as Jeunesse Chisolm in Kiki’s Playing Dirty series, which is based on her bestselling novels by the same name. My character is the daughter of a Haitian drug lord, Sheldon Chisolm, played by Haitian actor and model Wilnor Tereau and together we run a powerful drug empire. Funny story, inittially I was just the assistant to the director of the show, Wes Clark. I was during more behind the scenes stuff. During the audition process, I was the one reading the script with every actor that came to audition for parts. However, Wes Clark, saw something in me and decided to create a character for me and that is how I ended up in the show. At the moment, I am the only character that is not in the book. The character Jeunesse was created specifically for me. I am so thankful and bless. I am so happy to be working with such an amazing group of people who have become like family to me.

[Bev Flowers photos: MFI Photography]

CLICK HERE to keep up with actress Bev Flowers on Instagram.

Welcome to the second (and final) installment of the interview with actress Bev Flowers. Flowers will be star in the TV series adaptation of Kiki Swanson’s “Playing Dirty”. CLICK HERE if you missed PART I of the interview with this rising thespian.

Kreyolicious: And to an aspiring actress, you would say…
To an aspiring actress, I would say “Believe in yourself and you will be unstoppable.” I encourage everyone who has huge aspirations that may seem impossible to have Queen Ambition, just go for it. Never stop believing, never stop working towards your goals. Make sure that even if you have to do other jobs to support yourself and your family. Don’t forget to invest in yourself and your goals. Make sure at least a few hours a day is spent doing something that puts you one step closer to your goals. One of my favorite quotes by Marianne Williamson states: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.” I think that quote sums it all up. Do not let fear rule you! The worst that can happen is that someone tells you, you are not good enough. So what? The way you battle that is to put in the work and prove them wrong.

Kreyolicious: What are some of your favorite books? Why?
That is a wonderful question. I love many of Mitch Albom’s books. Two of his books that I love very much are Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I love books that teach me something or inspire me to live to the fullest, love wholeheartedly, and not be afraid to take a leap of faith for the things I believe in, and Mr. Albom’s books always have such powerful messages about love, forgiveness, mentorship and living life to the fullest. I also love poetry. One of my favorite poems is “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” by Emily Dickinson. The poem is so powerful to me because it brings to light our mortality, and I take that as a lesson to not waste time and to do something meaningful in this world before my time runs out.

Kreyolicious: Is Haiti a place you go to often?
I have been to Haiti twice in the past two years. Before that, I had not been to Haiti in over 12 years. I went to see my mother a year ago and to work on our non-profit Vivehaiti.org, which provides free education, school supplies, and meals to under-privileged children in Hinche, Haiti. I also went to Haiti two months ago to go care for my mother who is now terminally ill. She was doing very bad so I took two months off work and went to nurse her back to health the best I could. I plan to go to Haiti a lot more often for vacation purposes because its a beautiful country, but also to continue to work on the non profit ViveHaiti and to assist my mother.

Kreyolicious: What actress do you look at, and think, “Man, I’d like to have a career like that!”
At the moment, I am so in love with Viola Davis. I admire her so much. I think she has such a powerful presence as an actor, and I truly hope I can grow to be an actor like her. She is never afraid to take on heavy and emotional roles, and she is not afraid to sob and look ugly with snot coming out her nose to create a powerful performance. I think Viola embodies the legacy I want. As an actor, I want to challenge myself to play those roles that pushes me to exceed my range or limit. I want to be able to make people cry or leave them stunned after watching any character I play. I want to be immortalized in people’s minds, even when I am no longer on this earth. I want people to continue to talk about how I made them feel and how I have inspired.

[Main Photo: Galore, MFI Photography]

CLICK HERE to keep up with Bev Flowers.