Emayatzy Corinealdi knows what she wants, and isn’t afraid to go after it.
As the star of Reasonable Doubt on Hulu, she comes to streaming screens weekly as Jax Stewart, a beautiful mess of power and vulnerability, taking on high-profile, controversial court cases by day while navigating ambiguity in her own values and love life by night.
Like so many of the big wins of Corinealdi’s career, it’s a position she had to fight for –– despite already having the success of the proverbial bird in the hand right in front of her. But the character was too complicated, too controversial, too rare to be written specifically for a Black actress to pass up the opportunity.
“I’m very interested in people and why we do what we do,” Corinealdi says. “I think a large part of that is because of all of the moving around I did as a child, just always being very curious, having to make new friendships then leave those friendships abruptly without closure.”
A self-described army brat, Corinealdi moved from state to state to country with her Panamanian-born father, Ohio-bred mother, two brothers, and a sister throughout her childhood. Born in Fort Knox, KY, she spent years in New Jersey, Kansas, and Germany, among several other locations.
“I think that’s done something,” she continues. “It’s helped me be able to create characters and worlds. I’d make up stories about the friends that I had and what they’re doing now, that kind of thing.”
Like most children, Corinealdi tried many different hobbies and extracurricular activities in grade school before figuring out what her path into adulthood would be. “Of course, my parents wanted me to go to college and my dad wanted me to go to the military,” she says.
“Somewhere in there is where I…
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