Ghosts: Danielle Pinnock Opens Up About Alberta’s Journey and Paying Homage to Viola Davis [Interview]

At the center of Ghosts‘ showstopping ensemble is Danielle Pinnock‘s Alberta Haynes, a 1920s jazz singer with an angelic voice and infectious sense of humor.

I recently spoke with Pinnock about Alberta’s journey to becoming one of the sitcom’s strongest voices and the shocking finale to her murder mystery.

The actress was thrilled to see Alberta’s search for her killer finally conclude. “I’m excited to see this weight be taken off of Alberta and to see what it will allow her to now do in Season 3. Will she go after Pete knowing what’s happened with her murder? What will she do next? It is in the next that I’m most excited for,” she said.

Even so, Pinnock hopes to return to the murder mystery storyline to explore more of Hetty and Alberta’s fallout. “I love me some Hetty, and I want them to become friends. So, hopefully, they get this resolved.”

No one seems more in tune with what Ghosts fans want than Pinnock, who mentioned there are ghosts who could benefit from time in the spotlight now that Alberta’s podcast has wrapped.

“It is time that we focus on other ghosts. We have other throughlines for Season 3, and I would love to see what’s going on with my boy Sasappis. He has become the heartthrob of the group, so I want even more relationships for him. And Flower! We got to touch on the fact that her brother may still be alive,” Pinnock proclaimed.

“There’s so much richness and hundreds of years between these ghosts. So I can’t wait to see which one gets elevated for next season.”

Evolution of Alberta & Actor

Viewers witnessed Ghosts Season 2 Episode 21, “Whodunnit,” return to the roaring twenties to showcase Alberta in her element.

For Pinnock, these champagne-filled flashbacks were crucial in demonstrating the singer’s star power. “It was fabulous just to know that Alberta isn’t all talk. She could have been the character that was just reminiscing about extravagant times with these celebrities. But she truly walked the walk.”

“We see how gorgeous she is and the celebrities and the gangsters that she rubbed shoulders with. She was a fantastic performer who would get everybody excited.”

However, Pinnock opened up about her initial struggle to find “confidence” in the role.

“I had a lot of impostor syndrome in Season 1 because I was a replacement. There was another actor that was playing Alberta originally. So, I was cast in November of 2020, in the thick of the pandemic, and it was a self-tape audition,” Pinnock recalled.

“So, I didn’t really feel for Season 1 for myself personally. I was always overthinking everything, and I wanted the show to be great. I wanted to be great at the role, I wanted to do well. So for Season 2, it really was about me regaining my confidence in this role, and as a series regular, I figured out how to ride this vehicle.”

“This season, in parallel with what I was going through as an actor, gets to peel back the facade of the diva persona with Alberta. Yes, our girl has some of the best one-liners in the game — they are killer — but it was important for me to see more of her vulnerability, why fame is so important to her, what her wants and needs are. We know that she’s always wanted to be a parent, but she died too young.”

Pinnock had hoped pulling back Alberta’s layers would allow her to “build her back up again” as an even stronger character.

“For me as an actor, that was my journey as well, in Season 2, saying, ‘You can do it. This character is strong. You got the role.’ So those are things that I love exploring with Alberta and seeing her be messy but in a very emotional and mental way.”

By messy, Pinnock was referring to Pete’s failed attempt to kiss Alberta. “She wasn’t ready! That was like a facepalm heard around the world,” the actress joked.

“I think she’s off her game a little bit and trying to figure out what all of this newness means. What does it mean not to have to pretend to be confident all the time? What does it mean not to be the brassy jazz singer that needs applause? So I’m excited that we’re getting to get more in-depth with her because it’s fantastic.”

Paying Homage to Viola Davis

Alberta’s performance during “Whodunnit” is one for the history books, and fans will be in awe to find out the singer’s last scene alive was aided by Pinnock’s nod to a very famous TV moment.

“We get to see kind of her vulnerability as she is preparing herself for death. She puts that wig on, and we see her go back and say, ‘You know what? Let me put this hat on.’ And that moment wasn’t written in the script,” she revealed.

“That was something I brought to the job because I wanted to pay homage to Viola Davis in How to Get Away with Murder. I remember when Viola took her wig and makeup off on broadcast TV, and the whole world kind of stopped — I was so taken when she did that.”

“If Alberta was going to die, knowing how strong and hard-headed she is, I think she would want to orchestrate exactly how her appearance would look before she hit the grave. I wanted to get myself ready for death, and everyone was so open to that.”

“So that’s why you see her putting on the piece that is so iconic to this character — that little red hat.”

Surviving Summer Hiatus

Soon enough, the Season 2 finale will air and leave fans with a diabolical cliffhanger until Ghosts returns in the fall. Pinnock had the best answer when asked what we could do to prepare for the long hiatus.

“Well, as my girl does, Rose McIver, she’s a knitter. So I would definitely say you’re gonna get some yarn and knit because it’s gonna be a long wait!” she laughed.

But Pinnock also wants fans of the sitcom to know they are not alone, and the cast will be close by if we need to talk through our feelings.

“The finale is gonna be good, and honestly, a great distraction is just to chat with us, we are all on social media. I just love our fans. They truly are a family. We’re here to just give them a pat on the back and let them know that all will be well.”

—

Did you enjoy this interview? Check out our postmortem episode discussion of Ghosts Season 2 Episode 21, “Whodunnit,” with Danielle Pinnock here!

Ghosts airs Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Ghosts: Danielle Pinnock Discusses the Gasp-Worthy Finale to Alberta’s Murder Mystery [Interview]