No matter the on-screen role, Felicia Simone is up for the challenge of bringing a character to their fullest potential. This time, it’s a quirky coffee shop owner named Suzette in Hallmark Channel’s ‘Providence Falls: Chance of a Lifetime’.
“I see a lot of myself in Suzette,” says Simone. “I feel like she’s a heightened version of me. I try to be very aware of people’s feelings when I’m interacting with them… With Suzette and her relationship with Cora, she is very honest and very forward. I feel like that forwardness comes with her relationships.”
The three-part series, based on the book series by Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheets, combines romance and mystery with the supernatural. ‘Providence Falls’ displays the forbidden past life love between Cora, a detective trying to work their way out of their father’s shadow, who Katie Stevens plays, and her reincarnated, charming lover Liam, played by Lachlan Quarmby. Beyond the supernatural, a major plotline between the two is Cora’s fated love for Finn, who Evan Roderick portrays. As Cora and Liam work together to solve a murder, Suzette moves through the scene as Cora’s best friend, helping her navigate the stickiness of her love triangle with Liam and Finn.
Throughout the series, angels guide Liam on his mission of helping Cora and Finn come together despite his feelings for Cora. Suzette, who learns about Liam’s connection to angels by accident, then becomes Liam’s earthly confidant. Unknown to Liam and Cora, Suzette has already struck a deal with the devil, Bael, to fight against Cora and Finn’s fated love. The audience watches as this plot twist unfolds between Cora and Liam’s 19th-century life in Ireland, and Suzette’s current gamble with the enemy.
For Simone, it was exciting to step into a role where her faith played a part in the storyline. Suzette is stuck between a choice of life and death.
“For Suzette, it’s literally life and death. She had to make this deal, and she didn’t know [Cora]... It was fun to play, but also, me looking on and reading was like “Oh, man! I feel so bad!” That really helped with portraying that guilt on-screen with Suzette as a character,” says Simone. “As time goes on, it gets harder because, at the end of episode 3, I tell Cora, ‘I didn’t know I’d start to care for you so much.” So you see the difficulties there. I feel like, in any situation, if that were to happen to me or someone I know in real life, it would be really difficult.”
Simone approached this role as any other role she’s embodied thus far, engaging with a character that aligns with her morals. For Simone, it’s key to go beyond simply playing another role and has had key conversations with her agent to ensure each role personified aligns with those morals.
This time, Simone’s approach led to the role of Suzette. To Simone, Suzette is their “heightened self,” and we’re able to see the fullness of the Suzette beyond Cora’s best friend and a secondary character of the cast.
“It was fun to play because, you know, like the scene where they’re going into the ‘Wild Hog’ and she kind of flirts her way inside, I wouldn’t have the confidence to do that as a person,” says Simone. “You know, sometimes you have scenarios in your mind and you’re like ‘I wish I could do this ‘ or maybe I can do that– that’s the beauty of acting. You get to do the things and be in scenarios that you’ve already done or you wouldn’t necessarily do as a person.”
Suzette’s complexity comes out with each episode; the audience becomes more aware of her role in the story. Between Simone’s acting and the guidance of directors Lucie Guest and Siobhan Devine, and executive producer JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Simone shares to have been in “good hands.”
“A lot of the characters have difficult choices to make throughout the series… they made sure that Suzette wasn’t just perceived as a villain or bad character. They made sure that Suzette had an arc and a journey. I feel like it really allowed the viewers to have empathy for Suzette because it’s not just black and white; it’s life. We have choices to make,” says Simone.
With the story being based on a book series, it was important when translating Suzette from a “fiery red head” in the book to the Suzette we see on screen, played by Felicia Simone, that the process was smooth and well thought-out, even down to the plot twist. Simone is “grateful to everyone’s positive reaction to Suzette.”
“As I mentioned before, not viewing her as black and white, but going and following her journey and understanding the choices she had to make,” says Simone.
When the cast wasn’t filming, they were building relationships with one another off-screen, which translated to the chemistry seen on screen. From the choices made to the conversations had in the series, Suzette was given an arc that allows viewers to understand the difficult situation the character is in.
In Simone’s off-screen work, there’s a blend of the two worlds that can be “good and bad,” as Simone puts it. Floating in between being present as an actress and being aware of technical elements, Simone works to be present in whichever role she takes on. When it comes to writing and producing, Simone found inspiration in Issa Rae’s 2012 YouTube series “Awkward Black Girl”– the launching point for Issa Rae’s hit show “Insecure” on HBO. Rae’s work stands as a tangible guide for Simone in creating relatable characters.
“When you’re younger, you’re watching content and television, and you’re enjoying it. It’s not until something comes around that you really connect to, that’s when it clicks, and you’re like “Oh, ok. I really feel seen.”
The audience experiences that through Simone’s portrayal of Suzette.
“For the characters overall, it forces us to show empathy towards the characters and [not to] judge people right away. You know, biblical themes. You know, overall, God is love. Showing love and understanding to the characters in the show, and just to people in life. There’s so many difficult decisions that we have to make,” says Simone. “With that, of course, it’s exciting being a part of the supernatural stuff. The overall message iis very beautiful and I feel that it was very well received.”
You can watch Felicia Simone as “Suzette” on ‘Providence Falls: Chance of a Lifetime’ now.
Writer Bio:
Shonette Reed is the editor of Resolute Magazine.
Photo taken by Ashley Ross Studio