Gail Bean From The Hit FX Series ‘Snowfall’ Talks Falling In Love With Acting In Her High School Drama Class, Black American Actors Deserving More Credit And More

Photo Courtesy of Stephon X

Gail Bean, who plays “Wanda” in the hit FX series “Snowfall,” opened up about the beginnings of her career as an actress, Black American actors not getting the credit they deserve and more.

From “Insecure” to “Atlanta” to “Snowfall,” Bean, or “Big Bean,” as she affectionately calls herself, is becoming the actress that everyone needs to know. The Hollywood Reporter said so itself when it named Bean one of the 10 Next Generation Breakout Actors at Sundance for her role in “Unexpected.” Her passion for acting started when she took a drama class her senior year of high school.

“I’ve always loved acting. I always loved performing. So, like, since little, I did ballet. I did like, coed competitions, cheerleading. I did theater; I did softball, I did track, I did everything that…you practice, and then you have a performance. And that adrenaline rush, the whole practice, practice, practice, and then you risk it all on pitch and toss, and it can go bad. That, like, excites me,” Bean said. 

“So, I’ve always loved performing and that whole work hard, and then you have that one opportunity where you see if your hard work pays off or if you’re cut off,” Bean continued. But, it wasn’t until my senior year of high school where I was taking a drama class, and I was like, ‘Hmm, I want to do this…in real life. Like, forever.'” While she knew what her passion was, her mother still wanted Bean to get an education. “My mother said no.’ She told me I had to go to college. She’s a high school teacher, so for her education is first.” Bean said that her mother told her to major in a subject that she could get a job in. That major ended being accounting.

“A lot of people when they start their own business, they usually failed because they don’t know how to handle their finances and so they put somebody else in place,” said Bean, adding that she wants her own production company one day so she decided accounting would be the best choice for her degree because it would help her understand money and budgeting. “The plan is to own my own production company one day. So accounting, finance, those would be a good major,” she said of her decision. 

Later on in the conversation, Bean spoke on the skillset of Black American actors and how it is often compared to Black U.K. actors. There has been a lot of talk surrounding British actors playing Black American figures and roles. While U.K. actors are talented as well, the talent of Black American actors is sometimes overshadowed and overlooked.

“This is the thing. I’m only going to say this because you mentioned British actors. And everyone gives them clout. A lot of American actors have a strong theatre foundation. But, people don’t acknowledge it or recognize it. Some people don’t mention it. But, some of the greatest and the best actors here have a theater foundation,” said Bean, who added that the conversation regarding Black American actors versus U.K. actors should be discussed more often. 

Bean attributed that feeling of being overlooked to how Hollywood often sees talent coming out of Atlanta, her hometown. “I know true talent that has come up out of Atlanta. I know how we’re made here. Like, we great. We gone grind. We will over grind people. People talk about my career, my journey, and I feel like yes, it’s God and the ancestors. But, it’s also because I’m from Atlanta.”

Gail Bean Full Interview: