Chandra Wilson on homelessness, fame and being a role model

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Award-winning actress Chandra Wilson, 39, of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," trades in her stethoscope as Dr. Miranda Bailey for life on the streets as a homeless woman in Hallmark Channel's original movie "An Accidental Friendship," which airs 9 p.m. EST Saturday. The film is based on a true story about a policewoman who befriends a homeless woman.A conversation with the actress:Q: Did playing a homeless woman in any way change how you see the homeless?A: I have always been of the frame of mind that folks on the street have a story. And that I'm two seconds away from being there myself at any moment. One fire away, you know? One health-insurance crisis away.Q: You seem to be someone who knows what she wants. Were you ever in doubt or discouraged by anyone?A: Oh sure, you get discouraged every time you audition and don't get a role or a call back. You get discouraged by some family members wondering when you're going to get a regular job, that kind of thing. But from the time I graduated from college, I was an actor, whether I had a job or not. If it's a career, then this is a lifelong thing. Some people just have to see proof of things before they are convinced. (Laughing) I didn't ever need to convince myself.Q: Did your family have any issues dealing with your success and fame?A: Hmm. Everything that happened with "Grey's Anatomy" happened gradually and I was just plain, old me for a long time before this happened. I never get grounded in this job or grounded in this position that I'm in. The grounding came before. As a result of this (success), my kids in particular have to kind of watch their friendships a little more closely than what they did before, which is kind of strange. You know my mom gets a few more favors from friends. (Laughing)Q: It's not so much the money, but the power that comes with it.A: And that's still something I'm in the process of learning about. Until you start to exercise power, you don't know you have it. It's an interesting transition at this point in my career.Q: How and when did you meet your husband?A: At college, he was a security guard at my dorm.Q: Isn't that against protocol or something?A: Oh, in every way. (Laughing)Q: Your story line on "Grey's" was really substantial last season.A: The cool thing about this ensemble cast is, I feel, we rotate rather well. We get a chance to pay attention to the personal lives and professional lives of everybody at some point. The strange part about series television is you don't know what the end is. So it's kind of hard to know when anything is going to happen. I'm as lost as you are as far as all we are going to see. (Laughing) I'm never disappointed.Q: Is there competition among cast members for story lines and the spotlight?A: I don't feel it. We know that it's an ensemble and we know that it's all coming. It's just a matter of waiting until whenever that time is. In the meantime, we have such a huge responsibility as supporting cast, to support the rest of the stories that are going on. I don't think we are any less viable as cast members whether we are central to a story line or not.Q: Was there ever a time in your career you felt pressure to lose weight -- to fit the Hollywood mold, so to speak?A: Never, because I was never here in Hollywood, I was in New York. I never felt in New York that there was a criteria for how you are supposed to look. You show up and you breathe life into whatever character you are auditioning for, and folks either like it or they don't. I never let myself be a part of that.Q: As an African-American woman, what changes are you seeing in your industry?A: Change comes with positioning, meaning that opportunities get created by the folks that are in a position to create the opportunities. There is plenty of opportunity. You just have to take the opportunity you have and turn it into the next thing.Q: Do you sense you are a representative, a role model for African-American women?A: Oh, yes. I am, whether I want to be or not. The position puts me in a place to be that. So I'm mindful of that at all times. I know I'm a human being, and I know I'll mess up and, at times, I'll get things right.(Patricia Sheridan can be reached at psheridan(at)post-gazette.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)