Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It star Margot Bingham opened up about her new Spike Lee-directed series in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly. The show, which is an adaptation of Lee’s 1986 breakout film of the same name, introduces viewers to Nola Darling (DeWanda Wise) — a character who, according to Netflix, “struggles to stay true to herself and her dreams while juggling three lovers.”
Bingham, 30, plays Clorinda Bradford, a hip emerging curator with deep complexities and best friend of Nola. “I think that there is a lot of me in Clorinda,” the star told Us. “Clorinda has a lot of imagination, a lot of drive. I’d like to think I’m a little piece of that. She has a way of being honest with her best friend. She’s not being honest because she wants to drag her down, she’s being honest because she wants the best for [her] and that’s kind of what I always hoped for for my friends.”
The Boardwalk Empire alum went on to offer her character some playful advice. “Loosen up!” she said jokingly of Clorinda’s buttoned-up ways. “Clorinda is tight! She is wound up. She lives vicariously through her friends [who are more open]. I would love to see what happens if Clorinda just got smashed and let go. That would be amazing.”
The off-Broadway performer also touched on her experience working with the series’ critically acclaimed director. “Spike is a prankster! He is like a big, little kid. He knows exactly what he wants. He knows exactly what he wants to do. He has his mindset. If you buck back, he will buck back equally as hard. If you do what he says and he knows you’re working hard to get there … he will have fun with you.”
She continued: “Spike put me through a lot of tests for the first season. I don’t know if I came out with flying colors through the tests, but I definitely gave him a little bit of a challenge back and I definitely respect that. He just has a heart of gold and really think he wants the best for everyone that he works with and loves. He tricks you a little bit and sometimes tease you a little bit, but then will turn around love you so hard it’s unreal.”
Adding to the fun, the Blue Bloods star couldn’t help but gush over her costars. “The cast was super close. The only unfortunate part of the whole taping process was that we couldn’t be together more. The days that we were finally all on set together … because a lot of our storylines didn’t intersect, we all wanted to be in the same dressing room at the same time. We couldn’t get enough of each other. [It’s] crazy to say you get that out of set or out of work. We would wrap, leave set and go to a bar and spend more time. There was never enough time.” She added: “I’m hoping for a season 2.”
The Barbershop: The Next Cut actress believes viewers will connect with the message of female empowerment woven throughout the series’ 10 episodes. “Not all women are what every TV show portrays them as. Especially women of color. I think women are extremely complicated and complex and smart and layered and intricate.”
She continued: “I think it’s really important in today’s society that women are not just this one-dimensional way and we’re not just a damsel in distress all of the time. Sometimes we can even be in control of things. [It’s] very fun to see the real women I know on screen be portrayed in the real way.”
Season 1 of She’s Gotta Have It is available on Netflix now.
With reporting by Marc Lupo
