Tichina Arnold didn't want to misrepresent Chris Rock's mom while playing Rochelle on Everybody Hates Chris
If you were an actor, would you be able to play a character based on the creator of the show's mom? For the money, the answer would clearly be "yes," but it's more of a challenge than you'd think. Portraying a real person in a fictional universe comes with many things: potential accolades if you do it right and controversy if you do it wrong.
Tichina Arnold wasn't necessarily worried about playing Rochelle on Everybody Hates Chris horribly because she's a talented actress. However, it was a tad bit scary for the actress to play Chris Rock's mother.
"At first, it was a little scary," Arnold told Variety in 2006. "I didn't want to misrepresent her. Mostly, I gave her the characteristics of my mother, aunt, and grandmother all rolled into one. You see, I come from a line of very dominant women. I was raised in the '80s, and times have changed. Back then, there were no 'time outs,' I just got my behind beat."
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Everybody Hates Chris is based on the early life and childhood of comedian and actor Chris Rock. The events in the episode plots were dramatized to make for good TV, but supposedly, they portray his childhood pretty accurately.
His mom was loving but also tough and didn't accept rowdy kids; his dad was a penny pincher looking to save coins by any means possible; and his younger brother, Drew (Tony in real life), got all the girls and was "better looking."
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