Wendy Raquel Robinson on The Varnell Hill Show, Tommy Davidson & Iconic Roles | The Sit

Wendy, who are you and what do you do? I am Wendy Raquel Robinson. I am an actress. I am a producer, director, and an entrepreneur. Be honest. Do you Google yourself? You know what? I don't. I stopped Googling myself after I went through a divorce. What are you personally obsessed with right now? Oh, personally, I am obsessed with the Varnell Hill Show and also travel. I am obsessed with travel. I love to get away. What habit are you actively trying to unlearn? Oh, a habit that I am trying to unlearn is controlling everything. Crossing every T, dotting every I, making sure that things are done efficiently, but I want to let it breathe. I want to just exhale and just have fun and be in the moment. One thing you're surprisingly bad at? Oh, one thing I'm surprisingly bad at is small talk. I really am. As much as I love to talk, but small talk and meeting new people and all of that, I'm not the best. Have you ever lied during an interview? I just did. No, I'm kidding. No. You know what? I have not, I guess because you can Google everything. So yeah, I have not lied. Have you ever sent a text and immediately regretted it? Not since iPhones created that unsend feature and you can edit it as you go. When I was younger, I used to just, you know, immediately just act out and respond. But yeah, I've learned patience. What are the last three photos in your camera roll? Oh, I just finished doing press for CBS and I'm in the same outfit. So those are the last three from the last interview I just did. Most random item in your purse right now? Ah, most random item in my purse right now? Those little headphones that are the fans. Yeah. First celeb crush? Oh my God. My first celeb crush I'd have to say is Michael Jackson. You play Rachel in the Varnel Hill Show. Yes. What can you tease about your character? Oh, what I can tease about my character is that she loves to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience. And then that way you get an insight of what she's thinking, but she's playing something totally different. How would you describe her in three words? Oh, three words to describe Rachel. Howard, Harvard, Inglewood. How much fun are you having making Varnel miserable? I love it. I love to hate him. We get along smashingly. Who would you rather work for, Rachel or Varnel? Rachel, of course. She's a narcissist. What's the biggest surprise about this series? The biggest surprise about the series is how much fun it is and how nostalgic it is. And just working with so many legends that just happen to walk through the door, you never know who's going to come. How much of your character is actually you? I'd say maybe about 65%. And that's all in the hair. What was it like working with Tommy? Oh my God, it's a pinch me moment. I've been a fan forever. And when I first saw him, we had never seen each other or let alone work together. And he's everything and then some come true. What's the best thing about working with him? Spontaneity, the improvisation. You never know what he's going to say, how he's going to say it, but it's always guaranteed to be funny, accurate, and in truth. You've played some iconic characters. What makes a character stick? Being true to that character and finding something that's really organic. I try and bring a little bit of myself to every character. And when you connect yourself to that character and bring real lived and life experiences, I think that's what really sticks and makes it genuine for the audience. One character you would love to revisit? Cruella de Vil from Disney. Who's someone in Hollywood you would never work with again? You know what? Let me tell you something on the set. Luckily, they're no longer in the industry. How about that? You've been doing this for decades. What still scares you? Auditioning. Auditioning still scares the hell out of me. Just walking into a room of strangers and feeling like you got to put on that show sometimes. But I'm learning to overcome it now that we have self-tapes. But yeah, it still scares me. One Hollywood rule you've never followed? That's a great question. A Hollywood rule I have never followed is showing up on time. Always late. Oh, God. One role you took purely for the money? It would be in theater. Theater doesn't pay. So when I say I've worked for pennies and peanuts, literally, I've done that in theater. Who's the biggest diva you've ever worked with? They're no longer in the business. Like I said, they've retired. But you know what? A real big diva that I've worked with and have admired, and I don't think they would call themselves a diva, but that would be Marla Gibbs. She's my diva. Who's the funniest person you've ever worked with? Tommy Davidson and Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer. Okay, fine. All of them. Yeah. And Martin Lawrence. Tell me about Amazing Grace Conservatory. Wow. 30 years ago, I discovered my passion project, which is a non-profit I co-founded with my best friend Tracy DeMarcoli in South Central to serve underserved youth in the performing arts. We offer classes in acting, voice dance, spoken word, and media arts for ages 5 to 18. And it is the greatest gift that I have given to this planet. And we're celebrating 30 years of changing lives through the arts. And it's not just performing arts, it's life skills. Most impulsive thing you've ever done? The most what? Impulsive thing. Wow. The most impulsive thing I have ever done? Cutting off all my hair. Not this hair. But I did. What's the secret to success? Honesty, kindness, hard work, discipline, respect for the craft, showing up on time and on point. And love. It's just that simple. And loving what you do. Most famous person in your phone? Would they answer if you called? Steve Harvey. And Tommy Davidson, you better answer. Most famous person in your DMs and did you reply? Oh, you know, I don't even check my DMs. I'm so bad on social media. But I think Dwight Howard hit me up years ago. It was so random. No, it was random. I did. What's your biggest pet peeve? Disrespect and being unkind. One word for your journey so far? Blessed. What do you want the viewers to know? That beyond what you see on screen, I genuinely love what I do and I don't take it lightly. And watch the Barnell Hills show as well as all of the other shows because my true intention is to not only bring kindness, joy, love and happiness to everyone. I sound like a fairy godmother, but it really is. It's to live life to the fullest and be happy. What's the most honest thing you can say right now? I gotta use the bathroom. Oh, God. It was too far. What's your rating of the sit? My rating of the sit is white. It's so I feel like I'm not blasted out. I was like, I would have worn more color. So I'm gonna give it about a five. Yeah, only because well, maybe I am the color. I don't even know how I look with this background. Okay, I'll give it a seven because I love the rapid question. You know what? I'm gonna give it an eight. I'm gonna give it an eight because you asked me questions that I had not thought about. So I'm gonna give you an eight, a 10 because I probably suck. But yeah, I give you an eight. And that's my time. That's my time, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you. The sit has set. Tommy Davidson, it's my turn. I'm sitting. She's still rolling. Thank you. Okay. It's a part of this.