As P-Valley prepares to say farewell to its second season, fans have been drawn to newcomers on the back like the fearless dancer Roulette.
Roulette made her way down to The Pynk by way of Memphis, Tennessee. Gail Bean tells Shadow and Act that she used her own experience coming from a small town like Stone Mountain, Georgia, and working as a shoe girl in Onyx in the city of Atlanta to morph into her character.
“Roulette is 18, so I reflected on those times when I was fresh and young and just really sat with that, I also spoke to some of my friends and family members that are currently dancers,” Bean explained. “When you work in a strip club, you tend to go to other strip clubs, as well as Atlanta being the home of the strip club. So you already just go as if you to into a restaurant, so I just spoke to dancers about confidence.”
She also explained Roulette’s growth throughout the season.
"I think the beautiful thing about relocating from one city to another, even if it's just two hours up the road, is that you have an opportunity to grow, and shed some of the person that your home made you," Bean told Shadow & Act.
Yet, Bean reveals that it’s important to never forget where you come from.
“But still keeping your core and your moral values that your home gave you to help make you who you will become,”she continued. “When we go somewhere else, it really shows us who we really are.”
Characters like Roulette remind us that life may be tough, but at the end of the day everyone is working to heal the inner child that lives within them. Despite grief, trauma, and pain, Bean understands that her character is still just a child.
“Even though Roulette has experienced trauma, grief, and disappointment, she’s still just 18/19, new to the strip club, having a good time, with love of money,” said Bean. “Like she still has her youth and her refreshingness that I think is so beautiful, and we can’t lose that because those are the things that bring the humanity to who she is.”
Roulette has learned to find light in dark places and God-willing, fans will continue to see her grow in seasons to come. For Bean, taking on characters like Roulette in P-Valley and Wanda Bell in Snowfall, allow her to showcase the layers, and even the complexities that come with being a Black woman in America.
"Each time, God blesses me with something that is beautiful and Black, to be able to tell our stories on so many levels, we are well-rounded, fully dimensional, multifaceted Queens," said Bean.
“It’s a beauty to have the privilege to not just play one character, not two characters, but three, four, or five characters, where so many different Black women see themselves in the characters I play,” the Paradise Lost actress explained.
As an actress, this is not something Bean takes lightly, instead she understands that it is her responsibility.
“It is a blessing that I am truly grateful and aware of, and honestly every time I think the ancestors and I thank God and I just wish to bring no judgment and authenticity to each character,” she expressed.
The season finale of P-Valley premieres Sunday on Starz.
