Tracee Ellis Ross Once Got Dropped By Her Agent | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

is it true that you have cuz you do all. these characters that you have. photographs of them you have photographs. of your other personas like. framed yeah. yes and by the way I'm in a I'm in a. temporary place right now and as you. walk in it's lined up it's like the wall. of Tracy like all the versions of me. there's Madame ver is is a a really. special one that I have performed as. done things as she I used to post her. videos all the time and then uh K champ.

has her own page she is a a fashion. architect not a stylist um she's not. French but she she only speaks with a. fren but she can't speak French at all. but no knowledge of French theen she's. actually from Detroit. but but she does that's a great idea. yeah but she is very connected to the. French. accent yeah I uh. treat which part made you laugh that. hard my mother no Detroit.

part Detroit but I. French poor. thing I'm curious about something. because you did your first big success. which is girlfriends right you're doing. that show and then that show ends and I. always thought right you went right into. blackish no God no and that's how other. people can experience your career like. when I think about you I think of just. oh I since the first time I heard your. name you've been a success but was a but.

seriously that's how it can feel to. other people and there was like a. six-year Gap or something between. girlfriend and black and and and. blackish what cuz cuz when you're when. I'm around you it just seems so obvious. that there should be a camera on you all. the time what do you think happened in I. agree. yeah um I don't know well I think some. of it you know is the segregation of. Hollywood and uh UPN then turned into CW. and we were on what is considered a. black show so there was so many people. who knew our show and we were a huge.

success but they were also the majority. of the industry did not got it and so I. really did think after being on a show. that I considered a hit uh that was so. beloved for eight years as the lead that. uh the Pearly Gates of Hollywood were. going to open when it finished they did. not they were locked there were no. scripts there was nothing and and um. that's actually when I started moving my. characters more to the Forefront and uh. doing the other things that I do and. then I did a show on BET called read.

between the lines uh did that for I want. to say a year and a half but even before. girlfriends so LC's Lounge came first uh. which was a hip-hop sketch comedy show. it was fantastic um really fun did a lot. of characters on there uh but preceding. that were years and years of auditioning. being dropped from the gers agency the. woman the agent said to. me she. said you just don't pop oh she said you.

come with all these things these bells. and whistles you're pretty your mom's. famous you have good style but then you. get in the room and nothing. happens so we're going to drop you o I. mean I carried that punch for so long I. was like I'm a person who doesn't pop. I'm a non-p popping. person like you need to pop as an actor. you got to pop I I couldn't pop isn't it. isn't it crazy though.

how when time goes by and then you look. at those statements it's it's so. appallingly wrong and it's from making. me think of we had Harrison Ford were. sitting in the chair you're in and he. was talking about how. um he was talking about you know he's. had Harrison Ford success just insane. but he remembers the guy's name who told. him in the in the. 1960s and he remembered EX actly what he.

told him Gary jakovsky Jerry jov Jovi. and he kept saying his name over and. over again but it was still a burning. coal lodged right under his sternum and. I'm thinking well wouldn't like at least. two of the Indiana Jones movies have. gotten rid of that burning hatred forget. the other two like No And what I know. just because it's human nature is uh. those things still burn even years even. years later yeah I remember there's a.

couple you you know they we all have. them I think my mom has one like. everybody's got them and they you know. to a certain extent they become your. fuel um and they help you answer. questions or they take you down you know. um I I I think I've transcended I think. I pop I hope I pop I'm a I want to. pop love that you you. pop. love you were one of the first um like.

late night shows that I went on but I. remember when I was on girlfriends I. could not get on a late night show and I. Remember The Tonight Show it was Jay. Leno at the time and the talent Booker I. will never forget what she said because. I asked I was like you have to tell me I. don't understand you have to tell me and. they kept saying call us when she gets. something and I was like but like what. like you guys got to tell me what I got. to go get because like I don't get it. yeah you know um but those are the kinds. of things that they become this mystery.

that you there's a very frustrating. thing I remember when I first got out to. Los Angeles in. 1985 and I was a kid not a kid but but. to me I felt like a kid and now I look. like a really little kid uh but uh I got. out here and remember there was this. Catch 22 of well you can't get a job I. want to break in as a writer you can't. get a job as a writer unless you're uh. you have an agent and no agent wants to. see you unless you have a job it's.

insane and you can't get a job if you're. not in the union but the union won't. give let you in the union unless you. have a job yes and so I remember. thinking there's really this is. impossible and there are these things. that you encounter early on and you know. I'm saying this is a white male like so. I had as I'll be open I had about as. greased a track as anyone can have in at. that you know at that time still yeah uh. and um but now I'm old so uh what was.

your first writing job I worked on a. show called not necessarily the news. which was like I remember that on HBO. and this was the HBO where my parents. didn't have HBO so I was trying to tell. them you can go to a. motel uh there's a motel on Commonwealth. Avenue and if you check in um as Mr and. Mrs Smith you can you can maybe watch. one of my sketches but I didn't even. know we were so separated from the show. we would just write our sketches submit. them and then maybe they'd show up on. the show or maybe they wouldn't we.

weren't even present for the the uh the. you know casting of the sketch or how it. was made but it was great it was a great. first job it got me in but uh I. remembered thinking this is tricky and I. didn't have a fraction of the. difficulties that you're talking about. where you're saying I've been on a show. but it's considered a black show and the. rest of the industry doesn't seem seem. to recognize that yeah it's it was uh.

the realization of some of those things. were fascinating I remember on blackish. I went to do my first looping session my. first ADR session and the sound guy they. had said you know he's a very famous. sound guy just done all the shows he's. big at all the studios and and he was. like I just I mean you're it's like. you're like a seasoned vet I just loved. seeing such a newcomer be so look like. you're so experienced I said what do you. mean and he said well I mean you've. never been on a show and I said no no I.

I was on a show well I mean it wasn't it. wasn't a comedy and I was like no no it. was a comedy but it wasn't Prime Time. said no no no it was prime time he went. through the whole list he's like but you. weren't the lead I was like no iesus. he's wrong about everything my God this. is is this a comedy routine are you a. plant but you're not a woman yes I am a. woman your name's not Tracy but it. is and he said my god I've got to go. look up this show I was like yeah you.

should just go look it up God shut up. like my god um yeah it's a fascinating. the industry is you know it it is but it. is also interesting to think of how it's. changed I mean you know um growing up. and having three networks or whatever it. was and then all of a sudden you get a. new one there was UPN and you know what. I mean and now it's just I mean I don't. even know where to go to find things I. have to Google the name of the show that. someone told me so and where do you. stream it I write and then sometimes it.

still doesn't give me good answers it. gives me all these things and I'm like I. don't know what to do here I will often. figure out where it is the thing I want. to see and then I will go to that. streamer that I know that we are signed. up for yes but it will say no I'm not. letting you in unless you unless you. give me the 75 different passcodes and. my wife knows those and I don't and. often I crumple to my knees and a camera. lifts up to the ceiling and I go no.

like God himself has betrayed me and. it's just like no God fairly just text. your wife ex that no she doesn't allow. she doesn't allow that anymore I just. take I take the remote and I'm like I. just get so angry I'm like I I just want. to watch the show like but you can't get. in yeah and I know they already have my. money they already have my money I. signed up it says you don't have that. version of I'm like what do you mean I I. swear to God I paid the version I don't.

I did it last time I can't where's the. show I love I hate it I love knowing. that nobody escapes this meaning the. thing that I love is nobody escapes it. and uh I remembered uh once talking to. President Obama on this podcast and he. was I don't know if it was even off mic. but he started talking about how he. remembered being in the Oval Office and. like they couldn't get get the phone to. work and like two people came in and.

like you're the you're in the Oval. Office he had to get on customer service. with Spectrum internet himself and stay. on. Barack. Barack Barack it's CK not just a CK. representative. representative representative pressed. one yeah. yes are you a sitting president press. one they even have a whole president.

section great that's a great B are you a. two-term or one term president. Jesus and then you try to have someone. else do it I'm so sorry we'll have to. speak to the actual person who P the. bill no it's so funny because it made me. happy and then when we uh when I talked. to Biden recently and he invited me into. the Oval Office all I could do was stare. at the phone and guess what it looks. like a phone anywhere. people was super tech.

sad I got it all on a universal remote I. programmed it myself it's all on an app. I check it out he's like I control it. from my phone yeah oh no no I I I made. an app you made an app are you familiar. with oculus. rift be great if he was the most. techsavvy president of all time that's. actually a that's great I I wish that. were so I really do hey you know.

99.9% chance it isn't but you never know. you never know.