Fields plays Regina Upshaw, wife of Bennie (Mike Epps), a well-intentioned mechanic and lifelong mess trying his best to care for his family. She’s a mother to two young daughters, and she’s employed at a job where she’s underappreciated. Wanda Sykes plays her sardonic sister Lucretia, who’s none too happy with Regina’s choice of a husband, and isn’t shy about expressing her opinion. “Regina really is one of those ride-or-die chicks with her man, with her family, even as she’s consistently tested–her patience, her love, her commitment,” Fields tells Parade.com in this exclusive interview. “On top of that, she has the sense that most people often feel of being overlooked. That sense of, ‘I know I’m just as good, if not better than,’ and not having certain things come your way and feeling like you have to work so hard all the time. When does it stop being so hard?" Fields feels this is what makes Regina relatable. Fields has starred on successful sitcoms like The Facts of Life, Living Single and Living the Dream, and directs episodes of Nickelodeon’s Young Dylan, so it’s safe to say she knows her way around a comedy script. The Upshaws had her laughing out loud from the first read, so she knew that everybody affiliated with the show “really gets it.” “At this stage in my career, shows and characters that have a great deal of depth, relatability and complexity are all I would want to be bothered with as an actor, quite honestly, and as a director and producer as well,” she says. “Certainly, as an actor, you want to be delving into characters and doing deep dives that really resonate with people as well as stretch out your own skillset. And I definitely feel Regina Upshaw carries that.” Keep reading for the tea on working with comedic legends, Fields’ reunion with her Facts of Life castmates and her time on Real Housewives and Dancing with the Stars.
What was it like working with icons like Mike Epps and Wanda Sykes?
Mike as my coworker is just funny. Then when you add to that Wanda Sykes as your sister/coworker, it’s so funny…But, they’re not just stand-up comics. They both have a tremendous body of work as actors, and so as an actor, I was very happy and excited to work with them because I knew they were about the craft. It wasn’t just, ‘Well, I’m funny, write around me.'
You’re also a director. If this gets picked up for another season, would you want to direct an episode of The Upshaws?
There has been talk about me directing The Upshaws during Season 2, so we will definitely look forward to that.
We have to talk about the reunion with your Facts of Life castmates for Lifetime’s You Light Up My Christmas. What was it like getting back together with Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn and Nancy McKeon? Do you stay in touch when you’re not doing projects together?
I’m very close with all the casts that I’ve worked with from Facts of Life, Living Single, Dancing with the Stars, and Living the Dream.You develop that sense of family, you become this family unit. You definitely have that sense of friendship and camaraderie. For that particular movie, You Light Up My Christmas, I was also the executive producer and the star. So, I spoke with Lifetime and I said, “I’d really love to invite Mindy, Lisa and Nancy to do cameos in the film,” to show a sense of whimsy, because it’s a Christmas movie. And so, I sent them a text and asked each one…I didn’t want to put anybody on the spot, so, it wasn’t on our group thread. They all said yes, they wanted to support the film. We all support each other. It was great the couple of days that they were on set. It made such a wonderful splash as it related to the film, which was such a really tremendous and solid film already.
Before that movie, you were on a season of Real Housewives of Atlanta, where you didn’t really form that family unit you got from other projects. What was that experience like for you?
With that, I was at a stage where I was celebrating my 40th year in the industry, and I told my team, “I want to go into new waters and I’m going to really challenge myself as a performer, as an artist, as an actor, and just really delve into just uncharted waters.” So that opportunity, as well as Dancing with the Stars came up and they were great opportunities. With Real Housewives, I wasn’t there to fit in. To me, it was one of those situations where everybody is so unique and different in their own way. And it was designed to be a one-and-done thing because I had other commitments. But it was a great experience from the standpoint of you put your toe in the water in one of the most successful franchises. If you’re going to do something, go big or go home. I’ve been asked to be in the reality space for years and the timing was never right because of my commitments as a director and as an actor. With both of those experiences, I did what I had set out to do. I achieved exactly more, quite honestly, in terms of going into uncharted waters, not drowning, but being incredibly successful in those areas as much as I am as an actor, a producer and director.
In addition to acting and directing, you’re a businesswoman with a coffee line, Signature Blends By KF. Why coffee? And how did you know that you had this business acumen?
Growing up in the entertainment industry, I didn’t want to be a has-been at 15, 16, 17. I wasn’t about to be a statistic, and a negative statistic at that, when it came to going beyond life as a child star. So, if you’re smart, you learn the business. My dear friend Blair Underwood is always talking about the business of show and just understanding that part of it. So, transitioning into being an entrepreneur was natural. It was something that I had always wanted to do. And then it became: What is it that I want to be out there with? I’ve always loved coffee. I’ve always loved tea. And from a business standpoint, it’s a really great business because coffee ain’t going nowhere and neither is tea. It’s definitely a very successful industry. I also love that it’s very much a male-dominated industry, and so to be a woman and a fierce force in that is very exciting to me. Again, uncharted waters. And so, it really just all made sense and for the timing in my life to be able to pursue that, because I wasn’t going to be a celebrity that just slaps my name on something, or just licensed my name. I’m very hands-on, which is why it’s called Signature Blends by KF. I’m the one who names every single blend, my team and I really work on what the blends are in order to be a very unique company and offer unique products.
We’ve all learned something about ourselves during the last year. What has the pandemic taught you about yourself?
The pandemic taught me that I can make adjustments in real-time. That concept really was escalated and elevated for me as an entrepreneur, as a wife, as a mom, as a human being, that you can make those adjustments in real-time. And that there is so much work to do when it comes to self-love and self-care. When you’re forced to slow down and the things that took up some of your time like commuting to and from meetings or work or locations, when those things were stripped away, you definitely had that sense of, I have the time to really focus on me, as well. The Upshaws is now streaming on Netflix. Looking for more great shows? Try the 100 best shows on Netflix.
