How Uzo Aduba Went From Quitting Acting To Winning An Emmy | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

it's this part of the book that is hard. to believe but you're you're doing. theater and you're auditioning. auditioning auditioning auditioning. trying to get these different roles and. you're getting by but a huge part of. auditioning is disappointment. disappointment so you audition for. Orange is the New Black haven't heard. back yet and you decide I think I'm out. I think I'm done so you decided more or. less to quit yes and then you get the.

phone call is that correct that is 100%. correct and it was also by the way the. first time I'd ever quit I have never. quit anything before and I was and I. never quit this more specifically acting. I had you know doubted I have questioned. I have been exhausted but I've never in. my mind been like I'm done and um it was. a Friday day and I was just wasted you.

know um I had been auditioning for film. and television the whole summer. exclusively I saw my bank account like. disappearing gone pretty much and just. kept hearing no after no after no and I. had made it up in my mind I was on. Monday going to call my agent and call. my manager and tell them that I was. going to go to law school.

I'm good the ultimate. humiliation and. cheap but I know yeah I was like can you. imagine there are lawyers listening. right now they're like damn. it I had hung in another. day yeah right but I did I was like. legit that was what I was going to do I. call my sister Chi-Chi I ordered some. wine I ordered some sushi and we were. going to be like an I'm out party.

and then um 5:45 p.m. on the nose oh and. I my phone rang and it was my team. saying um hi how are you I was like I'm. good how are you and they're like. remember that audition you went on for. uh that show Orange is a new black and I. was like yeah and they're like you. remember the part you went out for cuz. it was a different part I was like yeah. I remember and they're like well you. didn't get it I was like I'm leaving at. the right time now that agents are. calling you to tell you when you don't.

get. jobs this is a new part of our. service but you failed and we want to. talk about it for like 40. minutes and I was like okay and they. were like but they'd like to offer you. another role and I was like Wow and it. was I'd never done anything on TV it was. wild and I was just like this is crazy. and um I and I definitely did not know.

at all for real for real for real for. real for real that that was going to. change my life in anyway I knew that it. kept me in you know like but I had no. idea that it was going to do anything. you talk about this in the book so you. you get the role of crazy eyes. and the time between you getting that. role I I think it's within within a year.

mhm maybe less between getting that role. and sitting at the emys nominated yes. when you hear your name yes as the. winner yes that's that's yeah that's. fantastic and who gives you the Emmy. Morgan. Freeman my God Morgan Freeman it was. wild I was like walking up there and I. was like for some reason listing like. his resume and I was like Glory Bruce.

Almighty driving. this shashing Redemption a favorite like. I just like going yeah like this guy's. amazing yeah and he was just handing it. to you we started talking about the life. cycle of the. penguin no more again. no yeah but I mean to me that's it's. such a funny thing about this business. but there there's uh talk about you know.

famine and then Feast it's just there. are long periods or stretches of. disappointment and misery and then. this I'm always reminded of there's this. movie that was made I believe in the in. the 1950s and it's one of the later. Humphrey Bogart movies Humphrey Bogart. Katherine heurn it's a great movie. called The African Queen and it's about. the their basically it takes place in. the beginning of World War I and they. trying to make their way down this River.

because this they have this idea that to. accomplish this Mission together and. they're in this tiny little boat and. it's impossible odds and they're going. and they're going and they're going and. then finally and John Houston directed. this movie it's brilliant and and they. there's the scene that just resonates. with me so many times where they're. they're pretty much uh the river has. gotten really low and so Humphrey Bogart. is pulling them through the river and. he's covered in leeches and then finally.

the weeds just get too thick and they. feel like we'll never get to the main. river we're going to die here and they. resign that it's over and they get back. in the boat and he takes the leeches off. of them peels them off and then they. just cover under a blanket and they've. lost and the camera pans up and you can. see that they're about 20 ft from the. river and I always that always hits me. that has happened to me so many times in. my life where I didn't know how close I. was and what happens is overnight it. rains and their boat just floats onto.

the river but I think about that just. that image a lot which is you got close. to saying well this isn't going to. happen and if you could pan up you'd see. like no no no you. are you are seconds seconds from being. there yeah you just didn't know I a. needed that message B um thank you um. yes. like I I I didn't I really didn't like. I felt like all the time that I had put.

into this thing that I loved and I love. it you know like I really love it I love. it still you know and to not feel like I. could like would get was getting to do. it you know what I mean was really tough. to wrestle with um and make peace with. and I didn't want my and I've said this. since the beginning I'm like the minute. and I do mean the exact minute that I no. longer enjoy this I will go find.

something else to do um and I was just. feeling like. this fear and this this this this worry. really that I was not going I couldn't. love this you know I. couldn't excuse me I wasn't loving this. this idea of just trying to make. something happen that maybe God the. universe or energy whatever we're. calling it was telling me very clearly.

like no this is not for me and then you. know when that happened it made me think. of that um that quote from The Godfather. it's like just when I thought I was out. they pulled me back in you know and um I. tried to get out and it was like no. you're supposed to be doing this it came. like right in the minute that I needed. it to happen um like I said and it gave. it was not something that I had any. expectation of other than the two to. three episodes that I was asked to come. on to do and that felt like enough when.

I got them too like when I did two. episodes I was like that was enough and. they're like we we're going to see you. back I was like oh my gosh I'm going to. get to do that third episode awesome you. know what I mean like and I was cool. with that you know it was like it was. totally enough and then it became more. than enough and I was. like Wow right like just blown away then. what really happens in the show biz. cycle is then nothing becomes. enough. what you call this first class.

ass I can't lie down. completely um it is there is a sick. thing I've witnessed God bless that it's. never happened to me Sona more tea. please.