Raven Goodwin & Courtney B. Vance Gush About Niecy Nash

Niecy Nash, Courtney B. Vance, and Raven Goodwin star in Ryan Murphy’s latest FX Networks drama, Grotesquerie. 

In the 10-episode drama /horror fiction, Nash-Betts and Vance reunite with longtime collaborator Ryan Murphy in Grotesquerie. This marks the first time Goodwin has worked with the popular television writer.

The show revolves around a series of heinous murders rocking a small community. Detective Louis Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts) is on the case. While she feels the incidents are isolated, something about them makes them feel very close to home, like there is some evil presence affecting her already strained relationship with her daughter Merritt (Raven Goodwin) and her husband, Marshall (Courtney B. Vance), who is in a coma.

Cassius Life’s Bernard “Beanz” Smalls spoke with Vance and Goodwin ahead of the show’s premiere on FX. During our conversation, both actors praised Ryan Murphy, their co-star Niecy Nash, and more.

Step into the interview below.

It Was A No-Brainer For Both Vance & Goodwin To Work With Ryan Murphy

Source: John Nacion / Getty

If you have noticed anything about Ryan Murphy’s series, the same great actors keep returning to work with him. We asked Vance why he loves spinning the block with Murphy and what Goodwin’s first time working with the television and film writer was like.

“What keeps me bringing me back is Ryan Murphy. I said it in my acceptance speech: Ryan Murphy, Ryan Murphy, Ryan Murphy,” Vance begins. “He provides all these wonderful characters for you to be able to show yourself well.”

Source: FX Networks / Grotesquerie / Courtney B. Vance

“For me, like he [Vance] said, Ryan Murphy. I’ve, obviously, watched his projects like everyone else, ” Goodwin said. “I’m a huge American Horror Story girl, so when this came about, I was like, oh, I have to be a part of a horror Ryan Murphy project.”

Source: FX Networks / Grotesquerie / Raven Goodwin

“That’s everything for me. So it was a no-brainer, and I sent in my tape. Niecy called me like, “You really want to do this?” I was like, “Yeah, I really want to do it. Yes, I do.” But it just felt right from the time I sent in my tape. It was probably one of the best tapes I’ve ever done. It’s like top five, and I’ve sent in a lot of self-tapes. I’ve been doing this since I was eight years old, and for some reason, I just immediately understood Merit, did my thing, sent it in, and it was on.”

Working With Niecy Nash Was A Beautiful Experience

Source: FX Networks / Grotesquerie / Niecy Nash

The high praise didn’t stop with Ryan Murphy; Vance and Goodwin had plenty of great things to say about their co-star, Niecy Nash.

“Niecy is beautiful. She’s professional. She’s brilliant and fun, and that’s what’s most important. Like I said earlier, I prayed for a really good work environment for my mental, because I go home to children and I go home to a man, and being in a peaceful work environment is top-tier for me,” Goodwin said. ” I really would only prefer that. So, being able to work with warm people such as Courtney, Niecy, Travis [Kelce], Ryan, who’s a mastermind, and the amazing directors Max and Alexis and Elegance. It feeds my soul to be able to work with good people, and it makes me want to do my job ten times over. I’m a little bit of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to the words. So they made that environment really amazing for me.”

Source: FX Networks / Grotesquerie / Raven Goodwin / Courtney B. Vance

Vance adds, “It’s not rocket science. It really is about talking and listening and being nice. Kindness and learning people’s names and just creating an environment that people want to come. It’s a lot. What we do, it’s grueling at times.”

He continues, “And it’s 14, 15, 16-hour days, and so when you work with the same people all those long hours, if they’re not nice, it’s really hard.”

“Yeah. It’s hard to collaborate with people you don’t see eye to eye with,” Goodwin adds.

Vance continues, “It is. And Niecy sets the tone. She is the center of our universe, and she sets the tone, and she makes you want to come in because she going to say,”

They both say, laughing, “What’s wrong with that?”

Grotesquerie is now playing on FX and streaming on Hulu.