Betty Gabriel Is Waiting for Hollywood’s Call

Betty Gabriel is working to break out of the Sunken Place. Not the one in her mind, nor her Get Out character Georgina’s mind. The one in your mind. See, the irony of playing trapped so well in that movie—so well, in fact, that one line, a mere series of hauntingly agonized no's, embodied and then transcended the film—is that Gabriel may have unwittingly trapped herself outside of the movie. More people likely know the meme that she’s the face of than know her name. Ask her about what that’s like, being memeified, and she’ll tell you “it's cool,” that she’s “glad that it's offering people joy and humor.” But then some doubt will creep in: “There’s a fear of being just that. And not being seen in my entirety.”

In preparing for Get Out, Gabriel studied Elsa Lanchester’s performance in Bride of Frankenstein, Lanchester’s character another imprisoned soul. But in the aftermath of Get Out’s release, and wild success, she’s been thinking more about Lanchester the person. “She’s got a long, illustrious career, and all I know her as is the bride of Frankenstein,” Gabriel says. “I guess it doesn't matter if [Get Out] is what I'm known for. But I definitely want to do other things.”

And she is. She’s got a small recurring part as a human paramilitary officer in Westworld; she plays a homicide detective in Leigh Whannell’s (of Saw fame) upcoming future techno-horror film, Upgrade (out today); and she’s currently filming the second season of Starz’s Counterpart. Are these the sorts of roles that might overshadow Georgina in the culture’s collective imagination? Probably not. But it’s a start. And anyway, for now, she’s just happy that her work has taken her back home, to Los Angeles, where she can enjoy the company of her beloved dog, Cocoa Pebbles (breed: “cutest ever”).

GQ: This new film, Upgrade, like a lot of the productions you’ve been in, is a horror film with a technological component. What's drawn you to those themes?
Betty Gabriel: Getting hired. [laughs] Predominantly I've worked with Blumhouse, and they've been really great to me. We are extremely grateful for employment. But maybe my dark soul attracts these darker, horrifying stories. But I don't particularly close myself off to any employment—any stories, I should say.

You're becoming more and more of a public figure. Do you worry about strangers' ability to invade your privacy?
Yes. But also no. I don't really know what that's like. People could hack into my phone and steal all my nudey pics. [laughs] I don't have any nudey pics on my phone, so I think I'm good there. But I think I'm so boring that there's really not that much there that would make me nervous.

I often wonder, when someone is building a following, if they worry about hitting that next level and what comes with that.
That's something I try not to think about. I'll be honest, maybe a part of me does think about, “Where's my line of perfume?” [laughs] “Where's my Gucci campaign?” But honestly, that's never been my intention in being an actor. It's always been to play dress up and, you know, potentially be someone cool. [laughs] Let's not go there... But live that glamorous, cool life.

But I just want to work. I've been through so many phases as far as being an actor goes—understudying at Chicago Theater, going to Julliard and having my ass handed to me for four years. So I've been humbled, if you will. Right now my drive is being in great stories with great storytellers, and that’s it.

After Get Out, were you getting a lot of offers? Were big directors reaching out?
Uh, no. I mean, I've seen some offers here and there, and it's very flattering. And it usually is in the same vein of horror or darker stories. So I do feel this need to branch out. But I'm also open to being a part of something that's good. I look forward to hearing from those directors, the big boys and girls.

Your Get Out performance was talked about as being considered for Best Supporting Actress, and it was widely acclaimed. It's surprising that there wouldn't be a lot of people reaching out. That must be frustrating.
When you said that, my initial reaction was to be like, “Oh no, I'm working, I'm great.” [laughs] But sure, I definitely have high ambitions. I want to work with the greats. And I would hope that being part of such a moment and being talked about—it's all very incredible. I have to recognize that. But I don't think it won't ever happen. I just think it's a matter of time. And it's a matter of constantly putting out good work and good vibes. And just having faith that what's meant to be will be. So corny.

Is there anything in particular that you haven't done that you would like to do? Characters you'd like to play, or people you'd like to work with?
I met Angela Bassett during the awards circuit. I was actually surprised at how moved I was to meet her in person. I was moved to tears. I find that feeling, it's happened occasionally, and I never know who it'll be with. Like when I met Jordan [Peele], it was a similar experience. I actually met him when I was doing delivery, and I delivered sushi to his house. But that feeling of meeting him, and also again in the audition room, and just being overtaken by this sense of magic.

What made those meetings so magical?
I think it's a sense of kinship. Feeling a familial connection there. And of course, obviously, we're all black. But I definitely feel that watching certain movies. Like, I really liked Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. So does that mean that I would have this wonderful experience working with Denis Villeneuve or Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman? I think they're brilliant, and yes, I'd hope to work with them one day.

In Upgrade you play a homicide detective. Did you spend time with anyone in law enforcement to prepare?
Yes. I didn't do any ride-alongs. [laughs] I don't know how that goes. You just walk into a police station and say, “Hey, let me ride along with you guys”? I did interview a police officer though. And there's also so much reality television now. They've got homicide detective shows. I think that's the best tool for an actor, all the reality television, believe it or not.

What kinds of things would you take away?
Homicide detectives, you would think they've seen so much death, that's got to be really hard and depressing. And maybe it is for some homicide detectives. But I learned from watching this show, The First 48, they have the best sense of humor. There was definitely this sense of ease with it all. And I think that's actually quite beneficial. Like how do you sleep at night when you see so much brutality?

Has it changed how you view law enforcement?
Yes. And people in the military. My dad was an army cook, so I sort of come from that. But, working on Westworld, a lot of the guys who I'm rolling up in there with, they're actually ex-military people. All these clashes going on, whether political or religious, when you actually get to know someone—because I'm very anti-military, and of course I recognize the horrors of police brutality—you don't see them as the enemy, you can't. A lot of times they agree with you, or they bring more of a truth to the whole picture, so you don't have just your one perspective on it.

Do you have a practice of making yourself do that?
I, from time to time, will listen to someone who has contrasting viewpoints on a certain matter, sometimes on a podcast. I do as much research into something as I can... I hesitate to bring it up because it's such a sticky situation. But as far as the #MeToo movement goes, it's not a black-and-white situation. I've definitely heard many different opinions from men and women. It makes it that much harder to stand on some moral high ground and say, “You're wrong.” Obviously, some things are very wrong, as far as violating someone else's body.

What's your view of it?
It's been constantly changing and morphing. Obviously it is very beneficial that this is all being brought to light. I don't think we can fight fire with fire though. I think all of us very much have to be in a listening space and increase our awareness. Honestly, throughout all of this, I go, “We do realize that people are being sold into slavery?” That's always happening. I can celebrate in this moment and also hope that we all say, “What do we do about the people who can never really speak up for themselves?” That's literally all I think about most of the time, that as I go about my day there are children being sold into slavery. And that's bad. That's the world we live in too.