“No” is one of the first 10 words that a baby learns. Unfortunately, it is also a word most actors become accustomed to hearing, too.
But Betty Gabriel is an actress who rose to stardom for hauntingly saying the word over and over and over again in the award-winning Jordan Peele feature “Get Out.”
Prior to “Get Out,” Gabriel had roles in the action-horror film “The Purge: Election Year” and the Amazon television drama series “Good Girls Revolt.”
Since then, Gabriel has had a recurring role in the HBO sci-fi drama series “Westworld” and has starred in the wildly popular Netflix crime-drama miniseries “Clickbait.” Most recently, she was one of the stars in the Amazon action-thriller series “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.”
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Gabriel can also be seen in the Apple TV conspiracy fiction series “Manhunt,” where she plays historical figure Elizabeth “Lizzie” Keckley along with numerous other film and television appearances.
Gabriel just returned from working on a bank-heist-themed project in South Africa.
“It’s set in San Diego, but as the industry continues to become more global,” she said, “things are being shot in other places, because it is a little cheaper to do that.”
Many of Gabriel’s characters have been law enforcement officers, and she said it can be interesting to explore and uncover the differences in each of the roles beyond their professions.
However, as a Black woman, Gabriel said it is also hard to ignore the injustices inflicted on Black people by some of these officials when she is portraying these roles.
“Bringing those characters to life is challenging, given even most recent history,” said Gabriel. “What I do is lean into the fact that there are a lot of actual, real-world Black officers and Black CIA operatives and FBI members – that is a reality.”
Gabriel said she hopes to one day soon be a part of new stories that explore the complications and internal struggles of Black law enforcers who work within the confines of classically racist organizations.
“These stories that I’m a part of [and] bringing those characters to life – it’s more so for entertainment, so that’s a couple of steps removed from that real world trauma that I’ve certainly experienced with law enforcement… personally and from a distance,” said Gabriel.
For Gabriel, the scripted aspects of these stories facilitate escapism, which she enjoys. “I like leaning into the cool, sophisticated aspects of being the truth-seekers,” she said.
When thinking back to her breakout role as Georgina in “Get Out,” Gabriel said booking the film was serendipitous because Hollywood can be a tough place for actors.
“I’m grateful to be a part of it,” said Gabriel. “There’s no guaranteed track [to more opportunities]. It’s all about the right place, and the right time… it’s definitely a crapshoot.”
Gabriel reiterated that opportunities like “Get Out” are scarce for Black actors, which means that actors often don’t have a lot of discretion when it comes to whether they should accept an acting job.
“There are only so many options,” said Gabriel. “When [Black] people say, ‘yes,’ to most [jobs], I do not judge. I can relate.”
“I’ll be honest, I’m at that point where I’m pretty good as far as working with predominately white characters and white creatives,” Gabriel continued. “I’m grateful for the work that I’ve gotten and the people I’ve gotten to work with. But my experiences – I don’t always feel fed.”
Gabriel said no other group is going to tell Black stories like Black people.
“It is kind of discouraging when people are buying into this narrative that only white male leads will sell overseas,” she said.
Consequentially, Gabriel believes this commonly accepted fallacy controls which projects are made, and that Black creatives must continue to discover new ways to prove this narrative wrong.
“There’s ground to stand on when that happens. There’s air to breathe when that happens, and therefore the work becomes more meaningful. It takes a lot to find meaning in some of these worlds. I’m not going to lie, and it can just be really depleting,” Gabriel concluded.
