Woodard enjoys her latest professional stop: 'Memphis Beat'

By Nancy Mills, Special to USA TODAY

Alfre Woodard was not a huge fan of TV crime shows.

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  By Skip Bolen, TNT

  Alfre Woodard says she isn't a fan of crime shows, but now she finds herself on the case with Jason Lee in Memphis Beat.

By Skip Bolen, TNT

Alfre Woodard says she isn't a fan of crime shows, but now she finds herself on the case with Jason Lee in Memphis Beat.

"I'm a bit of a wimp," Woodard says. "My kids watch Law & Order and one of the CSIs, but I get freaked out because the crimes are too awful for me."

So Woodard, 58, surprised herself last year when she agreed to play a cop on Memphis Beat. The TNT police series, which also stars Jason Lee, Sam Hennings and DJ Qualls, returns for its second season on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

She said yes because she says her character, Lt. Tanya Rice, is as full-bodied as those she has played in films such as Passion Fish (1992) and Cross Creek (1983), for which she received a best-supporting-actress Oscar nomination in 1984. "We have some crimes," she concedes, "but they haven't been the ones where you turn the TV off."

Woodard elaborates about the show and her character: "We're just a little off-center. Tanya has five children, and she hasn't been great at raising them. I love that."

The actress insists on playing women who seem real. "A lot of people write middle-aged women as clich�s," she says. "I think it's because we either deify or demonize our moms. The last we saw of Mom while living with her was our teen years." She adds: "People look back and say 'Mom was a saint' or 'Mom drove me crazy.' When you see mothers that way and try to write a character, they come off as one-dimensional."

Tanya, however, has a lot going on. "I'm happy with her character development," Woodard says. "She's very good at police work or she wouldn't be there, but she gets thrown sometimes. We can't be afraid to let her make big mistakes."

For example, she says, "she can be too exacting. I think that's the problem with her children. She prides herself in having raised them and sent them out in the world, and they have made a success of themselves. But none of her children will speak to her. This season will address that."

For financial reasons, Memphis Beat shoots primarily in New Orleans. "It's a really big deal in Tennessee that we're not there," Woodard says, "and we hear from our fans all the time. But we try to bring the flavor of Memphis, and we visit and listen to dialects."

Throughout her career, Woodard seems to have spent more time on the road than at home. "I've never been a suburban type," the Oklahoma-born actress says. "I like the circus life."

After marrying writer/producer Roderick Spencer 27 years ago, she settled in Los Angeles but kept traveling. The couple eventually adopted two children, Mavis, now 19, and Duncan, 17.

"Throughout my career, what I needed to do fell within what was reasonable for my children at the time," Woodard says. "Until they were about 6, they'd pack their little roll-on bags and come along."

But as her daughter and son grew older and became more involved in organized sports, they would remain at home with Spencer, and Woodard would return from location whenever possible.

In addition to Memphis Beat, Woodard has a recurring role on HBO's True Blood as Ruby Jean Reynolds. "I'm definitely still Lafayette's mom," she says, referring to Nelsan Ellis' character. "But I can't say that you will see me soon."

After all, she has a lot going on in real life as a member of President Obama's Committee on the Arts and Humanities and with her work with Artists for South Africa.

The projects involve travel ? and they probably help her avoid watching those crime shows that are too awful for her.

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