Anika Noni Rose on what drew her to The Quad

Johannesburg – While on a press tour in SA, Anika Noni Rose, star of BET’s The Quad, sat down with a few members of the media at an intimate press conference in Johannesburg.

The actress, who also attended the Veuve Clicquot Masters Polo while in the country, answered a few questions about her career and her role as Dr. Eva Fletcher in the popular BET show.

Speaking about what drew her to The Quad, Anika says she likes that her character is not perfect. “The thing that I found so interesting about her is that she is strong and she is multifaceted. She is messy, she’s somebody who does not make good decisions all the time,” she started, adding: “I find her interesting because she looks perfect, her clothes are perfect, her hair is done, and we know otherwise. I found that to be very attractive because I’m not very interested in perfection, that’s very boring.”

As far as any similarities between herself and Eva Fletcher, Anika says they do have some things in common. “Dr. Fletcher and I are very similar. She’s from Connecticut, I’m from Connecticut, which is in the north east of the United States right above New York. I did not grow up in a neighbourhood with lots of people of colour – I was one of two in my neighbourhood. I grew up in a family that spent a lot of time in the Ivy League world.” 

“The difference is that I very much know who I am. My family, many of them went to HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), so that part of my culture is not foreign to me. And I went to an HBCU so I really know that world. So, I have the good fortune to know this character inside and out because I’ve lived both sides of who she is,” she went on to say. 

The Quad airs on BET Africa (DSTV 129) on Mondays at 21:30.