Omar J. Dorsey Talks ‘Queen Sugar’ Season 3 [Exclusive Interview]

OWN’s hit show Queen Sugar, helmed by Ava DuVernay, is set to make its return for Season 3 tonight.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with actor Omar J. Dorsey, who plays Hollywood, about his role on Queen Sugar. You may also know Dorsey from his previous roles on The Blind Side, Ray Donovan, and Eastbound & Down.

The only person more excited for Season 3 of Queen Sugar than the fans is Dorsey.

“I am excited. The way we ended last season, you know, there’s a lot of cliffhangers on that one. As soon as I got the script for the first episode, the questions started to get answered right then and there on what’s going on with Blue, and how are Violet and Hollywood now that Hollywood has this windfall of cash coming in because he just settled the lawsuit,” Dorsey said.

“As soon as we jump into Season 3, it answers a whole lot of questions,” he continued.

When fans last saw Hollywood, he was on a high of good fortune.

“As we ended Season 2, we saw Hollywood propose to Violet, so now we’re going through all of that,” he noted.

“Violet, of course, has her own business, and now that Hollywood is not working, he’s, maybe, a little too much into her business or picking on himself to be the man he’s always been.”

Hollywood has already had the misfortune of having one sick wife, but Dorsey thinks that makes him better.

“I think he has this protective instinct about him. We just finished shooting episode eight, I believe, and he tells her ‘my job is to take care of you.’ That’s what he wants to do. That’s his love, that’s his life, and I think he believes in that.”

“He has this protective nature about himself. He doesn’t want his loved ones to suffer. He’ll do anything in his power to ease that stress, whatever it may be,” he continued.

Dorsey said there isn’t much of a challenge when it comes to playing Hollywood, except for one thing.

“This is a dream role. Any man who gets the chance to play someone who’s so righteous, so sweet, but still a man at the same time and has all of his masculine qualities is lucky. Maybe living up to that off-screen,” he laughed. “People think I’m Hollywood and I’m not, though. I’m not that attentive. He’s just a perfect man, and I do my best to be perfect, but I don’t do it as well as he does,” Dorsey admitted.

One thing he does share with Hollywood is the way he loves.

“I love my woman, and I’m extremely supportive of everything she does. It doesn’t come off as finessed as Hollywood does because, as I said, that’s a hard person to live up to, but that is one thing I do,” he said.

Dorsey sometimes sees himself in the same situations as Hollywood, which can be helpful.

“I’m glad I get a chance to read through the scripts so when I am in those conversations with my wife I can go back and say something that Hollywood says when she hasn’t seen that episode yet. I can say that and get myself out of some trouble,” Dorsey joked.

From a young age, Dorsey saw himself as an entertainer, and his mother did everything she could to help him.

“My mother was a high school theater teacher, and I remember as a kid, when I was 2 or 3 years old, I used to go to her rehearsals. I would always think ‘rehearsals are the best. I want to be just like them when I grow up.’ They were fifteen and sixteen-year-olds I thought they were the best actors in the world.”

“When I saw that I asked my mom if it was possible if she could start training me, so she started something at our church, called the drama ministry. She took a bunch of us kids, and we started doing plays. I started doing talent shows, and I never won, but I always came in second place,” Dorsey laughed.

One person that Dorsey wishes he had more screen time with on Queen Sugar is one of his good friends. “I wish I had more screen time with Nicholas Ashe; he plays Micah. We have a great rapport, and it’s like a big brother, little brother, uncle/nephew type situation.”

“We don’t hang out a lot, but anytime we’re together in the same scene we can’t help but look at each other and start laughing. We just love each other that much and have that much fun just being around one another,” he continued.

One thing that fans might not know about Dorsey is his love and talent for music.

“I am a well-accomplished jazz pianist. That’s what I want to do if I retire from acting. I just want to go somewhere in New Orleans and play jazz every Thursday night. I’d teach, too. I like to hand down some of the things that were handed down to me. I like to give insight to younger actors,” he said.

No matter what show he may be behind on, he’ll never skip this one show he watches on a daily basis. “Jeopardy. I like Atlanta, Game of Thrones, and shows that my friends are on. But, a show I watch every day is Jeopardy,” he said.

Dorsey also revealed the one person that he would love to work with one day, who is also the reason why he’s an actor today.

“Spike Lee. He’s the reason I’m an actor. I sat and watched School Daze; I saw that before She’s Gotta Have It and I always liked movies, but I watched School Daze and just imagined myself as one of those students. I just thought ‘I could be this one day.’ Hopefully, I get the chance to jump in and work with him one day.”

Queen Sugar Season 3 is going to start off strong, and give the fans everything they want.

“The family, the dynamics of it. I don’t want to tease anything, but the things between Blue, Ralph Angel, and Darla, that stuff hits a head at the beginning of Season 3. The first episode, even the second scene, we get answers to questions — the stuff that Charley is doing with the Boudreaux, why she decided to go the route she goes and why she’s doing business with them,” Dorsey hinted.

“There’s a master plan to all of that, and she breaks all of it down and what she plans to get out of going into business with these people who have terrorized their family for generations. With Violet, she’s becoming a businesswoman, not just a woman who’s cooking pies. There’s a lot of maturation of all of these characters and Season 3 is just amazing.”

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Be sure to catch Omar J. Dorsey on Queen Sugar when it returns May 29th and May 30th with a two-episode premiere at 10/9c on OWN.

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