Cookie Lyon, Mary Jane Paul and Olivia Pope has a new brown girl joining their leading lady ranks. Meet Lara Vega, head detective in Steven Speilberg’s Minority Report, played by veteran actress Meagan Good. The California native, alongside Wilmer Valderrama and Stark Sands, tackles murders and crimes in the futuristic TV adaptation of the 2002 Tom Cruise blockbuster, set ten years after PreCrime in D.C. A series full of revolutionary technology, complete with high-tech contact lenses, hand controlled computers and augmented reality, the detectives collaborate with a precog freed at the end of the film, Dash (Sands) who can see crimes before their occurrence.
The Think Like A Man actress joins the pack of FOX’s new fall line up, alongside Morris Chestnut’s comedic medical drama Rosewood, plus the highly anticipated second season of Empire. With an impressive Hollywood resume, including Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, to Stomp the Yard, the 34 year old proves this isn’t as “good” as it gets.
The Source caught up with the gorgeous starlet as she talked about her new leading role and how she handles naysayers. – Angela Wilson (@SheisAngela)
The Source: Congratulations on your new FOX show, Minority Report, how did you get involved with the show?
Meagan Good: I had very specific things in my mind that I wanted to do and I know I wanted to action and a strong character. When pilot season came around I got other offers but I decided to wait because I just knew God was going to bring the right thing so I decided to wait for it. I decided to join the cast of Mr. Robinson– doing some comedy part time, having a blast. Then I got a few calls for some great projects and the one that stuck out was Minority Report and I thought I needed to be apart of this!
Come to find out the office of the producers of the show was located on the same loft I was already filming on, so I literally just took a golf cart over there. I met with producers and we instantly hit it off and they made the offer. Mr. Spielberg signed off on me and I started crying!
Can you relate to your character, Lara, in anyway?
Yes- she’s always told no, but she trusts her gut and trusts her purpose and she’s absolutely determined to do what she believes is the right thing. She doesn’t let anyone or anything stand in her way and that’s a lot like who I am. So that about her I just totally fell in love with.
She’s also very purposed. She wants the world to be a better place and she knows maybe she can’t change it all overnight or in the blink of an eye, but she can start by one situation. And that’s what motivates her as a cop; trying to save lives and solve murders. So I can totally relate to her.
See Also: Watch The Trailer For ‘Minority Report’ Starring Meagan Good
You’ve been in the game for nearly twenty years, and people are not shy about their opinions of you. How do you deal with haters?
It’s weird because when the Internet became really popular- I was around 21, and at first, I didn’t deal with it well. It literally hurt me feelings; I would cry about it and be upset for awhile. But I realized in those ten years I’ve learned how to deal with it and learn a lot of the things being said has nothing to do with me, I’m just on the receiving end of it because I’m out in a way that anyone can reach you and have an opinion about you.
What I wasn’t prepared for but ultimately realized that I was was when I got married. With my husband being in ministry and me being Christian, people may not feel like what I wear or what roles I take make sense. I’ve been saved since I was 12 and that’s why my husband and I got together because we did see eye to eye. So all the judgment and opinions before was so I could deal with this now because this was even heavier initially, but I’m much more equipped and prepared because of my past experiences.
Being someone not shy about how you dated and courted, what advice would you give to the woman who wants to give up on love?
Don’t! It’s not about being patient, it’s about not focusing on finding love. Not focusing on finding a husband or a mate but focusing on you- what’s going to make you better, what’s going to help you achieve your goals in life and purpose about why you believe you were created. Focus on making you better in every single way- make ‘you,’ your project, between you and God. And your husband, the right love, will come at the right time and because you’ve been developing yourself you’ll be able to identify what’s not right for you without going down roads that end in a certain way that it wouldn’t have to if you were more in tune with yourself and God. So don’t give up just don’t focus on it. God’s timing is always perfect.
Minority Report premieres on Monday, September 21 at 9:00pm EST on FOX.
Will you be tuning in?
Photo credit: Getty Images, FOX
