“Grotesquerie is nuts!” says Raven Goodwin. The actress, who stars in Ryan Murphy’s latest spooky FX series alongside Niecy Nash and Courtney B. Vance, is proud to be a part of the wild ride.
In the show, she portrays Merritt Tryon, the daughter of Nash and Vance’s Lois and Marshall, who, while knowledgeable and encouraging, is grappling with an eating disorder that keeps her sedentary and indoors. When Goodwin first found out about the character, and the series, she wanted in—but she admits to having some reservations because she had her own project cookin’.
“I was five months pregnant at the time, so I really had to make a decision because I knew if I took on the job, I would have the baby right in the midst of filming,” she tells ESSENCE. “I would hope that they would work with me. But it’s a part of life. I really love this project. Should I take it on?”
With the encouragement of her husband, Wiley Battle, she decided to throw her hat in the ring. She filmed an audition video and was blown away by her performance.
“It ended up being one of the best self-tapes I’d done in a very long time,” she says.
Someone else highly impressed by the audition was Nash, who, in addition to playing the lead character, Detective Lois Tryon, is an executive producer.
“Niecy called me, and she was like, ‘Hey! Is this something you really want to do? Because you know, people just be auditioning and you know sometimes they just be playing,’” she recalls, doing a spot-on impression of the Emmy winner. “‘If this is something you really want to do, I love you as my baby. I think you would be great as Courtney and I’s baby.”
Following a chemistry read with the star, Goodwin was hired on the spot. Shortly after, she let everyone know she was pregnant with her second child, which the cast and crew supported. She filmed at eight and nine months pregnant, stepping away for leave just a few weeks shy of the day she gave birth to her son in June.
“I got to film this really special show with my son being in my tummy,” she says. “That will always be a cool thing to look back on.”
Shortly after, she returned to work with the support of her husband, her mom, and her cousin, as well as a night nurse, who all made sure she could finish filming with no worries while her kids, daughter Riley and infant Raj, were well taken care of.
“We explain to our daughter, mommy and daddy, we work and we love what we do,” she says. “‘One day you may work, or whatever you choose to do in life, it’s going to take some of your time. But we’ll always be right back for you.’”
But for the record, the beauty dished that in addition to working on camera, her future will include building a brand that is inspired by and involves her family, including cooking on camera and showcasing her skills as a homemaker. “My home life is such a vibe,” she says excitedly. “I love being at home. I love curating experiences for my family.”
For now, she’s getting the word out about Grotesquerie while simultaneously relishing the life she’s curated off-camera, especially parenthood, which fuels her work.
“It’s a mirror. You see how patient you are. You see how not patient you are,” she says with a laugh. “I honestly don’t think that I would be where I am today without having become a mother, to be honest. It puts a little fire underneath the butt.”
Check out Goodwin’s full interview with ESSENCE above, and tune into Grotesquerie on FX on Wednesday nights and streaming on Hulu.
