February 17, 2025 • 34 mins
Tika Sumpter has done it all, and she joins the show to share about her journey as a mother, actress, and creator. She dishes on the deep conversations she had with Jim Carrey on the set of the “Sonic” films, and creating content focused on emotional intelligence for kids with her podcast “Adventures of Curiosity Cove” and her book “I Got It From My Mama.” Plus, she discusses the importance of emotional repair in relationships, and how her creative projects spark meaningful conversations with her daughter.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello Sunshine, Hey fam Today on the bright Side, the
incredible Tica Sumpter is here. You know her from Sonic
the Hedgehog, The Haves and the have Nots, and the
Ride Along Franchise, And today she's sharing how she's reimagining
children's entertainment plus the key to getting kids to open
up and reveal their true emotions.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
It's Monday, February seventeenth. I'm Danielle Robe and.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I'm Simone Boyce and this is the bright Side from
Hella Sunshine.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Danielle. It's time for another on my Mind Monday. Yes
it is. We love this time a week. Yes we
do well.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Before I share what's on my mind, I'm actually going
to take a look back over the last month and
when I think about the days, the moments, the scenes
that really stand out in my mind. The highlights have
been these top tier YAP sessions with my girlfriends. Whether
it's watching Sex and the City with hyaluronic masks on
in our hotel room or just sitting around on the
(00:57):
floor in our pj's with the charcuterie board, it just
really fills my cup.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Oh my god, there's nothing better. I know.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I love a low key app session. Like there's something
that is so comforting about being able to show up,
like no makeup on, bear faced hair, not done, sweats on.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
It's just so liberating.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So my girlfriend's from college and I actually have a rule.
We get together at least once a month for dinner
at my friend Chloe's apartment, and pajamas are mandated. We
only order food in so that there's no work for anybody,
and everyone has their hair in a bun and is
just like ready to talk and laugh or cry and
do absolutely nothing.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
It's the best. It doesn't get any better than that. Yeah,
So now they're on the same page. I was delighted
to read this really sweet article in Self magazine that's
actually all about the mental health benefits that we get
from yapping with our besties.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Oh my god, tell me, I feel them. But I
want to know what the science says.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Well, it turns out science actually has our back on this, Danielle,
because this article cided a twenty twenty three study that
found that the social and direct actions you have with
your friends can improve feelings of connection and well being.
Now that might not be surprising to a lot of us, right,
but what I found particularly interesting is that it turns
out the content of the conversation doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
It's the conversation itself.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
So what you're saying is we don't have to have
our brain waves sync up and have this really deep
and meaningful moment. We can just be like giggling and
laughing and talking about nothing.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Right right.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I mean, I know you well enough at this point
to know that you and I are the type of
people to think that, you know, a really deep and
meaningful conversation with our friends is what's going to build
a more profound connection. But what this research reveals is
that mundane chitchat can be just as powerful.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So I actually have this theory about small talk because
a lot of people despise small talk aka talking about nothing,
But I think that small talk leads to big talk.
And so in a weird way, you're kind of signaling
to your friends or to strangers that you're with that
you're present, you're available for conversation. I think it reduces
(03:06):
social pressure and you're just you're there to have fun
and hang out. It's like a sign, hey, I'm here
and I'm ready for this non forced intimacy.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I think that's a really a stude observation, Danielle. I
think sometimes starting with that mundane chit chat can kind
of take off this pressure valve, and it allows this
release for the profound conversation to come out. Like I
think about some of the biggest, you know, mental breakthroughs
in my own life that I've had, have come from
(03:36):
these sorts of conversations with my girlfriends where we think
we're talking about nothing, but oh my goodness, we wind
up talking about these major life events that really shaped us.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Absolutely, it's like unscripted vulnerability, right, yeah, absolutely, Well, we're
chitchatting today and we have a really special guest.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
I can't wait to yap with her.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Tika Sumter has been dominating at the box office in
the mega hit franchise son the Hedgehog, but you've seen
her so many other places.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
You've seen her on Mixed Dish, You've seen.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Her on Gossip Girl, One Life to Live, the Haves
and the have nots. She even start along Snoop Dogg
in a sports comedy film named The Underdogs.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I'm still stuck on Sonic the Hedgehog, though my boys
are absolutely obsessed. When I told them that we're talking
to sonic's mommy today, they just flipped out.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
So she's a complete hero in my household.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And now she's actually building her own entertainment empire that's
focused on children's education. Tica's co created a new podcast
with her husband called Adventures of Curiosity Cove and it's
designed to help kids learn about the process of managing
their emotions. And it was actually inspired by her eight
year old daughter, Ella, and Ella is a huge fan
of the podcast. So I just love that this is
(04:46):
a family affair. And next month, TKA's releasing her debut
children's book called I Got It from My Mama.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
It's so good.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
I got to read the book and the main character's
name is based off of her daughter Ella. Her name
is Ella the Curious, which you know, I love. I
think it's so special that she creates content with her
daughter in mind.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You know, Oh completely, that's the dream come true. We'll
stick around, y'all. We'll be right back with Tica Sumter.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Tico. Welcome to the bright Side.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Thank you, thank you for having me. I'm excited to
be on the bright side.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Welcome, Welcome.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I am looking forward to the major street cred that
I'm going to get with my four year old for talking.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
To Maddie from Sonic. He is going to flip out.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Sonic is like a religion in our house, so this
is a big moment for me as a mom.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
We'll tell him Sonic's mom. Maddie says, hello, I will
Oh my gosh, I gonna love it.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, that's so cool.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Well, we're going to get into Sonic of it later.
But in addition to being a leading lady at the
box office, you recently began creating content that's geared toward
early childhood development and entertainment. And we know that there's
a ton of kids programming out there, right. I'm sure
that you were aware of that how saturated the market
was before jumping in, But what did you think was
missing as a mother, Like what gaps were you trying
(06:08):
to fill?
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Yeah, to be honest, when we were listening to some
of the podcasts that are out there now, they're different
genres of kids entertainment, right, Like some is more for history,
and I wanted more emotional intelligence and broader stories.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
It's not just one specific kind of stories.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
We have one series in there, but then everything else
is just dealing with different kinds of emotions that come.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Up for kids.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
And because this is what we do, we knew that
we could give a good listening experience to kids, not
only just through sound, but also we are creators, we
write stories, we are writers as well, and I knew
production value was I wanted to give that to kids.
And I also I knew I was onto something when
Ella was like, hey, Mom, can we listen to Adventures
(06:55):
of Curiosity Cove? And I'm like again, And it also
helped start conversation. That's what I knew something was different.
It wasn't just like geared toward Hey, this is only
for my kid, it's going to be annoying to listen
to this with them, but it was something for everybody
if they wanted to listen.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
To tell me about the kind of conversations that it
sparked in your home.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
So my husband wrote the story called The Dragon, and
it's basically about this little boy who is basically going
through the woods to walk to school. But every time
he walks to school, he's afraid. He's afraid of the woods,
you know, it makes these noises. And one day he
meets his dragon, and the dragon is actually a representation
of fear and one of the conversations that came out
(07:37):
of that, which was very random, well, I don't know
if it was random. My daughter Ella was sitting in
the back. She goes, Mom, what's your biggest fear?
Speaker 1 (07:44):
You know?
Speaker 4 (07:44):
And then she asked her dad, and then we asked
her what her biggest fear was, and she had an answer.
And so with all of that, I'm like, whoa, Like
just that fun story. It brought that up, and she
asked me what my biggest fear was?
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Are you sure this as a children's podcast and not
for adults, because I feel like I could benefit from it,
and I'm sure ten people I know could as well
who are fully grown.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
Oh my yes. And that's the point, right.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
I think that was the difference in the marketplace is
we know what it's like to sit through something and
being like I'm going to fall asleep or I'm.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
Just gonna go and look.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
I made it for when moms need a break or
moms or parents or whoever need a break, and they're like, yes,
go play with your toys and have this listening situation.
Speaker 5 (08:28):
Use your imagination. But it's also like we're in the car,
we're out of the.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Pickup line, kids don't want to talk about their day
at school because we used to just get yeah, everything
was fine, you know, so now it's like more of
a conversation.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
I'd be fighting for my life in that pickup line.
So thank you.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I feel like if you give kids the space to
actually talk, yes, they're almost like the mini Socrates of
our time. I feel like if you actually pay attention
and don't try to shush them so much. Our thing
was like we were rushing through life all time. And
when you rush through life like that, I know it's
hard for a lot of parents. But sometimes when you
give them just space to breathe and be silent or
(09:07):
just listening. And that's what we wanted to do, is
spark imagination, spark things that maybe you never get to
talk about with your kid and you didn't even know
they were thinking it. And I think if you just
give them a moment, like mister Rogers he said, sometimes
when they're talking slow, they're getting their thoughts, like it
takes them a moment and ed, we're so like, what
(09:28):
say the answer? Say the answer, you know, and we
don't give them space to just like assess.
Speaker 5 (09:34):
So I think that was really important.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Things that's such a beautiful learning to take away for anybody.
I'm curious what creating this podcast and these books have
taught you about how you understand your own feelings and
how you manage them when you were a kid.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Feelings. I don't even know what that is as a kid.
I mean, I don't know. It was more of a like, go.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Do what I told you to do because I said, so,
that's thee.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
That was the answer.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
And sometimes there are moments where it's like why because
I said, go, you need to go clean your room
right now.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
There is no explanation of why. Like sometimes that's just what.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
It is, right, I'm laughing because I was raised by
a black mom too, and that's just what it was.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
There was no fighting and what it was you crying.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Well, I'm gonna give you something to cry about, like
you know what I mean, like all those things that we.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
Know very well.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
And so I was just like or the look, you know,
like uh uh. And I always say like I don't
want to obviously my mom is my best friend, and
don't demonize her ever, But what I will say is it.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
Was a different time.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
She just didn't have time to do all that conversation stuff,
and I just said I wanted to raise my child
a little bit different. Now I do have those moments
of girl, if you don't, if you don't right now,
you know, the conversation's a little too long.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
And no, well we have to mention that your mom
was a corrections officer at Riker's and you're one of
seven kids, so you had a full house, like there
was a lot going on with a little Tika.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
No, everything you're saying, Tica is resonating. I was raised
by a mom who like spanked me and all that stuff,
and it's like now raising kids in this age, it
feels like we have choices now as to how we parent. Yep,
the conversation and the approaches and the philosophies have really
opened up. And while I think gentle parenting works for
(11:29):
gentle kids, I think that there's some there are some
aspects of gentle parenting that I'm trying to incorporate into
my overall approach.
Speaker 5 (11:38):
Exactly. I feel like it's a mixture.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I don't think it's all one thing, right, Yeah, I
don't think it's for me. I know I'm not an
all gentle parenting person. That's just not me same, but
I do. What I do like about it is teaching
your kid boundaries and teaching them respecting what they have
to say, because they're not just these little robots walking
around with nothing in their brains, Like you know, they
(12:00):
have genius in there, and so I feel like if
you don't create a world in which they can express
that genius or that emotional intelligence, it gets harder as
an adult to do it.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
The big thing for me that I've realized that I
missed from my own relationship with my mother was the repair,
you know, like after she would kind of overstep as
a mom or lose her temper as I do often,
you know, I'm human. There was no apology that came after,
but I found that like, just taking that time to
apologize to my kids, have that real conversation has been
(12:34):
like so beautiful for our relationship.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Listen, that's a huge part of your book.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
That's a huge part of my book.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
I Got It from My Mama is literally about this
little girl who's like she's trying to be like her
mom throughout the whole book. Right then her mom has
a challenging moment and yells at her hands, like get
out the kitchen, I'm done, and they have a quiet
ride to school, and then she goes to school and
literally is exactly what her mom did at home to
(13:02):
a friend and she yells at this friend and her
mom comes and picks her up and she's like, hey,
how was your day. She's like it was okay, and
she tells her what happened, and she's like the mom's like,
where'd you get that from?
Speaker 5 (13:13):
And she's like, I got it from you, mama, and
just like you said.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
Oof, she gets she bends down and she apologizes to
her child. So the repair is there, And I think
that's the difference now, right, Like we're gonna mess up,
we know that, yeah, but it's the repair.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
It's making it. Heyugh, I made a mistake.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
I was in a moment or whatever that was, or
here's why. And they repair and it basically ends with like,
you know, I get a lot I want to be
like my mama, but I also want to be a
lot like me. Like me is also great, and so
so sometimes I think what happens is we obviously hold
our parents on this pedestal and we think they're just like,
(13:53):
especially when you're young, it's like they're kind of untouchable,
and then you see the fallibility of them who they are,
and you're like whoa, because you start seeing it in
your own life. The quicker they know that you're not
this like golden statue, I think the better for me it.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Is what did you get from your mama at Tika?
What are you repairing? Ooh, that's good?
Speaker 5 (14:14):
What am I repairing?
Speaker 4 (14:16):
I think for me, like I remember now, like I
used to chase my mom for validation, like even now,
like you're like, does my mom like it?
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Like if she said it.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Was okay and good, then I thought it was good, right,
Like I remember wanting to She used to works corrections
and she would come home and I would just clean
the house. You know, I did something good for you,
Like I always wanted her to be like wow. And
so for me getting older, I had to create a
boundary for myself for knowing that everything I do is
enough for me and my family now like I created
(14:48):
my own family and it has nothing to do with
getting the okay.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
For my mom. That was a hard one.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
It was almost like taking the umbilical court away from me,
because I really do love.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
My mom's opinion.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
But sometimes I think parents getting in the mix of
our relationships can be detrimental to the relationship boundaries, boundaries,
and ourselves, not even just relationships, it's like our own
relationship with ourselves right, Like chasing after that validation is
the repair for me of Like, while I value the
opinion at times, I don't need it all the time anymore.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Mm hmm, that's so real.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
I used to joke with my girlfriends that my mom's
opinion mattered so much to me. I have brown hair,
but if she told me I had purple hair, I'd
be like, oh, yeah, I have purple hair.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Like what she said was gospel.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And it's so hard when you grow up like that
to take yourself out of that.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
I still struggle sometimes.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Oh my gosh, if she comes in my house and
she doesn't say anything about my hair, I'm like, she
hates my hair, she doesn't like my she doesn't like
my hair. Or when she calls me and she's like,
oh my god, girl, that was amazing what you wore
and then doesn't say anything else about anything, I'm like, wait.
Speaker 5 (15:55):
So only that one time, you know.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
It's so crazy how wrapped up we are in there,
like cocoon. It feels like for life, but kind of untangling.
It is also very nice.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
You've written such a beautiful book. And as I was
reading the description, there's a few lines that stood out
to me, and one of them is because parenting is
never perfect. Why was it important for you to include
that line?
Speaker 5 (16:23):
It was important because my parenting, I know, isn't like.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
I knew, literally how while I knew how imperfect I was,
is literally my daughter. I give birth to my daughter
and I'm like, literally, not even that long after, I'm like,
so we need therapy, like my husband and I I'm like,
I know I have baggage, I know I'm a mess.
I just know that parenting isn't perfect and your kid
(16:48):
doesn't need you to be perfect. And I wanted to
validate that for parents and for aunties and all of it,
for Godmothers, for all of it, Like, kids do not
need you to be perfect. They need you to show
up and they need you to listen, and they need
you to be there.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
But I just wanted to.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Give parents the past to say today was not a
good day, and that's okay, and even through that, you're
teaching your kid that's just not realistic that every single
day is going to be like this perfect brand of parenting.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
I read this book last year called Real Self Care
by Pooja Lakshmin, and it was honestly a big game
changer for me mentally. And there's this one phrase that
is in the book. She calls this idea the good
enough mother, and there are some principles that she says
the good enough mother lives by. She says, I'm okay
with making mistakes. I'm not defined by being selfish or selfless.
(17:42):
I can extend the compassion I give to others to myself.
And so the framing of being a good enough mom
has been so helpful for me to just own and
helpful as I try to move away from that impossible
standard of perfectionist.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Well, I even think if you're not a mom, right, like,
if you're just in general a woman.
Speaker 5 (18:06):
And because we're usually rough on ourselves the most, I
feel like I.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Feel like guys are able to be like, hmmm, I
look amazing or I'm great.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
You know, even when they don't, even when they.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
But I'm like, can I have some of that? Because
I want that?
Speaker 4 (18:19):
And so I always say things like, hey, Tico, would
you talk to your best friend like that. Would you
tell your best friend the things you're telling yourself? Absolutely not.
Would I tell my daughter that? No, absolutely not. So
it helped me to like reevaluate, reassess how not only
do I give myself the space to be like, Look,
(18:42):
I can't do all the things I told my husband Nick,
I can't do another thing. My brain feels like it's
gonna break. I feel like I'm gonna break, and I
can't even cook. I can't do anything right, like to
confess that and say I can't do anything, and then
he texts it back. He said, your only job is
to go and rest. Now go do that.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
That's a good man, Savannah, Savannah, that's a good man.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Yeah, he said, don't you lift a finger, Go sit
down and do nothing. I'm able to say that because
I went.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
To therapy and I created.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
This space that I think every person deserves in general,
whether it's a friend, whether it's a husband or whatever,
but the space to just say I just can't because
you can't, you can't do it all.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
I do want to know more about this, good man.
So your podcast is a family affair. You and your
husband Nick co created it together. Asking as someone who
does not work well with my husband. I am I
want to know everything about this girl.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
Nobody said we.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Work well, just working.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
I'm just working.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
We made a podcast. We made it.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
We did it and it was easy, but we made it.
Where do you feel like you're you're different? Like, where's
the contrast when you guys are working together. Where the
tension come from for you? And where's the success?
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Yeah? I think the tension comes from we both have
a well, it's more me.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
I'm more like control, like say it like this, do
it like this, and he's like, Tico, let me do
me you know what I mean. And I'm like, okay, fine,
like releasing control for me, Like that's the tension, right yes,
And for him it's like he's very like, give me
a direction, tell me what you need and I.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Can fulfill the need. Like he's easy like that. When
would you say you really hit your stride as parents?
Speaker 5 (20:37):
Ooh, that's a good question.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
I think we hit our stride at like five and six.
I feel like my sweet spot is now because I
think five and six we were like, oh this is
getting easier, and now eight we're like whoo. Every time
I'm like my my baby maker is like I want
one more. I'm like, ooh, we're out of the woods.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Wait now I'm excited to see if you end up
having one more.
Speaker 5 (21:04):
Oh, girl, I think that shit is sailed.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Well.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Part of it is that you're so busy working all
the time. You had a huge year at the box office.
Simone mentioned at the top. You're part of the Sonic franchise.
It grossed over a billion dollars at the box office
and it's probably a big hit in your household too.
Did you take on the role because of your daughter
at all?
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (21:29):
I did. Actually, she really can't watch many.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Things that I've done or are doing, so this was
like something for me and for her. When it came around,
I was so so grateful to be part of such
an amazing team and part of a legacy of things
that kids are going to grow up with, Like I'm
in their lives forever.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
So that made me really happy.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
I heard that she knows more about the characters than
you do. Does she school you? Girl?
Speaker 4 (21:58):
She embarrassed me the other day we to the Sega
offices and she's like, they're showing us everything. She's like, Mom,
you didn't even know about Rouge like you didn't. She's
like naming characters that She's like, you, mom, you did
not know about that character? And I was like yeah,
and I'm like, you're right, I didn't you help me?
You know, She's basically like calling me out on things
I didn't know because I was like, oh yeah, uh huh.
(22:21):
And she's like you didn't know that, mom?
Speaker 3 (22:24):
So rude. How dare you seem to Maddie that way?
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Dude?
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Like so rude?
Speaker 5 (22:30):
But yeah, she is teaching me, so hey, you got
to give it to her.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
We've got to take a quick break, but we'll be
right back with Tika Sumter. And we're back with Tika Sumter. Well.
Jim Carrey has made a lot of headlines being a
part of the Sonic franchise as well, just a comedy
legend all around, and I'm so fascinated by him personally.
(22:56):
What surprised you the most about working with him and
spending so much time with him.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
What surprissed me is like not on camera as off camera.
It's like some of us went out to dinner, and
it's the conversations that you get to have on a
human level, Like he's just like literally when they're like
they're just like stars, just like us. He's not only
valuable in the sense of like, oh, I'm Jim Carrey,
but in conversation you feel like he's listening to you.
(23:24):
Even when he gives advice, it's not like I'm giving
you advice.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
He puts himself in there.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I remember we were just talking about family and like
different things, and he was so vulnerable and I was like, wow,
you admitted that to me, Like he wants to connect,
and I think that translates in what he does, right,
it does.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Like I can tell that I've never met him, but
I can just tell that he would be a person
like that.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
He is a person like that. He really is.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Oh did any of the conversations that you had with
him change your own philosophy as to how you approach
the projects that you select?
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Hmmm, Like for me, he does things that he loves,
you know.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
And I think at the beginning.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
Of our careers, like while we would love that idea
of like do everything you love, like I love when
people are like when.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
I chose this project, you know, like.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
I mean, God bless everybody who says stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
I wand of love this about you.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
That is the realist thing anyone's ever said on our shows.
That was hilarious.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
I mean, God.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Bless everybody who can choose things like that, But it's
a very small percentage of people who can actually do that.
And especially because I remember coming up as an actress,
You're like.
Speaker 5 (24:37):
Dude, I need to pay my bills. I want to
do this full time, like anything that I can keep trying.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
You know, like, if you're not able to get on set,
how are you going to learn.
Speaker 5 (24:47):
You can't just be in a class all day.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
You got to be in the arena to learn how
to fight and.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
To do it.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
So it always baffles me when you know people are like,
as you get further in your career, yes there are options,
but it's even a different level of like okay, you're
an option, and now you're an option with just like
maybe two other.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
People that we are having, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Also, when you're in a creative field, it is a
gift to get paid to get your reps in and
like that's so underrated.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Say that again, Say that again.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
When you're in a creative field, it's such a gift
to get paid to get your repsin.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
There we go like people don't understand.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
First of all, the percentage of people going out for
the one role. Then even when you get a call back,
that's a another small percentage, and then getting the thing
and not getting fired is another percentage, and being replaced.
There are so many levels to this creative thing that
we do that it's just like I think people think
(25:49):
it's like, oh, you should have did this, you should
have did that role, you should have did that part.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
And I'm like, girl, be stormed, you know in.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Marvel, like you should go and be And I'm like, really,
can you call them?
Speaker 3 (26:02):
That's so funny and so real? Yeah, so real? Yeah, Okay.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
One thing that you did choose though, that I think
is very cool is that you're about to work on
another movie with the mogul Tyler Perry, and it's a
project that you co wrote. So you and Tyler obviously
have a long standing relationship, but it's the very first
time that he's directing a movie he hasn't written.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Yeah, Antika, if anybody.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Saw his documentary, they know that he is so notorious
for being all of the things on all of the projects.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Yeah, how did you convince him to do this?
Speaker 4 (26:38):
Well? Okay, so I co wrote a script with my
friend Katori. She's actually a writer on Pea Valley.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
I'm so obsessed with her.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
So, my friend Kimiando Katuno is an EP. She's a
producer on the show, and she's a one of the
lead writers of Pea Valley, who my friend Katori.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
Is the creator of. And so we wrote this project.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
Together, and I brought it to other people before and
they were like, oh, we love it, but they couldn't
get it done. And I was like, you know what,
people call their friends all day long in this industry.
Speaker 5 (27:16):
They put their.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
Friends in every movie. I'll call my friend. I've known
him for a very long time. I've worked with him
multiple times, and he is like a big brother.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
And I call him and he's like, send me script.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
He calls me, matter days, love it, love it all right.
Let me call Netflix or Amazon and Seat or whoever.
Let me see if they want to do this.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Okay. He calls me. He's like, so, yeah, Amazon wants
to do the movie. And I go what. I just
fall on the.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Floor and I start crying and I'm like, are you kidding.
He's like, no, I'm not kidding, And we're gonna start
pre production in like.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
A few months. Do you know how long.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
It takes to do anything in this town? Do you
know how many meetings before the meetings before the meeting
before the meeting, at.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Least like two years, at least like at a minimum, at.
Speaker 5 (28:03):
A minimum two years.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
That thing was in production so fast. So that man,
let me tell you you want something done, he gets
it done. And then the fact that he wanted to
direct it. He's never he writes his stuff like that's
what he does. He does all the things. He's like,
this is you you're really going to be producing this thing?
(28:26):
And he did that, and we have most of the
movie in the cans.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
So I'm super excited.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
That's such a feather in your cap because that means
he really trusts you.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Tika, you said that you fell on the floor crying
when you got the news that you know, Tyler was
able to facilitate a production deal through with Amazon.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
What was it about that? Yes, that meant so much
to you.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
Hmm, that's a good question.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
In this business, there's little validations that you get along
the way, like yeah, you're onto something to me, the
concept of film execution, of actually getting it on paper,
and like my vision was validated, Like, wait a, Sey,
You're not crazy. You're not crazy, because the amount of
(29:11):
knows you get right in our industry will make.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
You feel nuts. It'll make you feel like.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
You're not valuable, you're always the maybe next time, and
you're like, no, the time for me is now, you know.
And so that validation that yes, that my first co
writing credit I've produced before, but like really producing this
and the thing that.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
Started as an idea is actually going to be on
the screen.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
And the fact that Amazon was like yes, and the
fact that Tyler was like yes, that was like, hey girl,
you're not crazy. So it was just validating all my
dreams that I've come thus far, and I'm like, trust yourself.
It just made me trust myself even more.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
I love that. Wait, we both just did the same
thing in it. Yeah, so much because you really touched
our hearts. Yeah, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
That was so vulnerable to share because I think everybody
in their own way is looking for that, Like we
all have this inner voice that we're just looking for confirmation.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
On confirmation and confirmation, I feel like sometimes it creates confidence,
like it just that's how you get more and more
confident you know, you're.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
Like, that's a bar, thank thank you, But yeah, no
confirmation does I feel like create more confidence because even
if it's small bits of confirmation, it's just it builds.
Speaker 5 (30:40):
It builds and builds and builds.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
And you're like, Okay, everybody just wants to know that
they're not insane.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
Some of my ideas work, some of them don't.
Speaker 4 (30:48):
But I know that in this field, like I'm not insane,
Like my ideas are good.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Mm hmm. It's a sense of belonging to like I
belong here, I belong here.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Okay, Tika, this has been such a meaningful interview, and
so I have a really dumb question for you.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
I love this. I love I love dumb questions. I
have them all the time.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Thank you for that. Happy too.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Okay, you have over two million Instagram followers that are
so obsessed with your life, and I want to know
something that you are obsessed with right now, whether it's
like a book, a hobby, a wellness trend, something that
like you haven't been posting online that you're so into
right now.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (31:31):
I told myself I need to get more hobbies in
my life because my husband and my daughter they have a.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Like a list of hobbies. They're like, oh, we're going
to go.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
Paddleboard in the ocean and surf and more time, like
all the and I'm like they're like, what do you
love to do? Mom?
Speaker 5 (31:45):
And I'm like work.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
I knew you were going to say that.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
I'm like create. They're like, no, nothing to do with work.
And so I was like, I'm going to figure something out.
I just started needle point. Wait, I am like obsessed.
So on Sunday, I finally opened this needle point kit
that I've had for like over a year. I gave
myself the the space to be like, I'm just gonna
(32:15):
like chill here and.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
Do needle point. I was like, I'm gonna just try.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
I went on YouTube. I'm like, wait, how do I
do this? This this one stitch or whatever? Learned it
on YouTube and then I could not stop. I was
sitting there for hours just doing this heart needle point
thing that I literally took a picture of.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
You have a hobby.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Congratulations and your mom approves of it.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
You got validation from your mom.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Oh my gods.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
See that is amazing.
Speaker 4 (32:45):
Yeah, I'm theme here see no, I know, it's so amazing.
I was proud of myself and when I showed my
husband and my daughter, they're like.
Speaker 5 (32:52):
Wow, mom, you're still doing that.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
I'm like, yeah, well, my daughter said, mom, my husband
doesn't call me mom.
Speaker 5 (32:59):
That would be that would be all.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Well question, it'd be a choice.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Tika, thank you so much for joining us on the
bright side. This is like such a corny thing to say.
What you really put the bright in it. You're such
a bright light.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
Thank you for this conversation. Tica.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
Thank you so much, Simone, Thank you, Danielle again, I
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Thank you so much. Tica, so awesome.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Tica Sumpter is an actor, producer, and author. Sonic the
Hedgehog three is available on Digital Now, and season two
of her podcast, Adventures of Curiosity Cove is available wherever
you get your podcasts. Her new children's book I Got
It from My Mama is out in April.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
That's it for today's show.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Tomorrow, we're joined by award winning entrepreneur, executive producer, writer
and founder, doctor Nikola Mitchell. She's here to talk all
about her incredible nonprofit Girls Who Brunch Tour, plus what
it means to be a Laurel Paris.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Women of Worth Honore.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Join the conversation using hashtag the bright Side. Connect with
us on social media at Hello Sunshine on Instagram and
at the bright Side Pod on TikTok oh, and feel
free to tag us at Simone Voice and at Danielle Robe.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
Listen and follow the bright Side on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
See you tomorrow, folks, Keep looking on the bright side.
Hello Sunshine, Hey fam Today on the bright Side, the
incredible Tica Sumpter is here. You know her from Sonic
the Hedgehog, The Haves and the have Nots, and the
Ride Along Franchise, And today she's sharing how she's reimagining
children's entertainment plus the key to getting kids to open
up and reveal their true emotions.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
It's Monday, February seventeenth. I'm Danielle Robe and.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I'm Simone Boyce and this is the bright Side from
Hella Sunshine.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Danielle. It's time for another on my Mind Monday. Yes
it is. We love this time a week. Yes we
do well.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Before I share what's on my mind, I'm actually going
to take a look back over the last month and
when I think about the days, the moments, the scenes
that really stand out in my mind. The highlights have
been these top tier YAP sessions with my girlfriends. Whether
it's watching Sex and the City with hyaluronic masks on
in our hotel room or just sitting around on the
(00:57):
floor in our pj's with the charcuterie board, it just
really fills my cup.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Oh my god, there's nothing better. I know.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I love a low key app session. Like there's something
that is so comforting about being able to show up,
like no makeup on, bear faced hair, not done, sweats on.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
It's just so liberating.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So my girlfriend's from college and I actually have a rule.
We get together at least once a month for dinner
at my friend Chloe's apartment, and pajamas are mandated. We
only order food in so that there's no work for anybody,
and everyone has their hair in a bun and is
just like ready to talk and laugh or cry and
do absolutely nothing.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
It's the best. It doesn't get any better than that. Yeah,
So now they're on the same page. I was delighted
to read this really sweet article in Self magazine that's
actually all about the mental health benefits that we get
from yapping with our besties.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Oh my god, tell me, I feel them. But I
want to know what the science says.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Well, it turns out science actually has our back on this, Danielle,
because this article cided a twenty twenty three study that
found that the social and direct actions you have with
your friends can improve feelings of connection and well being.
Now that might not be surprising to a lot of us, right,
but what I found particularly interesting is that it turns
out the content of the conversation doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
It's the conversation itself.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
So what you're saying is we don't have to have
our brain waves sync up and have this really deep
and meaningful moment. We can just be like giggling and
laughing and talking about nothing.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Right right.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I mean, I know you well enough at this point
to know that you and I are the type of
people to think that, you know, a really deep and
meaningful conversation with our friends is what's going to build
a more profound connection. But what this research reveals is
that mundane chitchat can be just as powerful.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
So I actually have this theory about small talk because
a lot of people despise small talk aka talking about nothing,
But I think that small talk leads to big talk.
And so in a weird way, you're kind of signaling
to your friends or to strangers that you're with that
you're present, you're available for conversation. I think it reduces
(03:06):
social pressure and you're just you're there to have fun
and hang out. It's like a sign, hey, I'm here
and I'm ready for this non forced intimacy.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
I think that's a really a stude observation, Danielle. I
think sometimes starting with that mundane chit chat can kind
of take off this pressure valve, and it allows this
release for the profound conversation to come out. Like I
think about some of the biggest, you know, mental breakthroughs
in my own life that I've had, have come from
(03:36):
these sorts of conversations with my girlfriends where we think
we're talking about nothing, but oh my goodness, we wind
up talking about these major life events that really shaped us.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Absolutely, it's like unscripted vulnerability, right, yeah, absolutely, Well, we're
chitchatting today and we have a really special guest.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
I can't wait to yap with her.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Tika Sumter has been dominating at the box office in
the mega hit franchise son the Hedgehog, but you've seen
her so many other places.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
You've seen her on Mixed Dish, You've seen.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Her on Gossip Girl, One Life to Live, the Haves
and the have nots. She even start along Snoop Dogg
in a sports comedy film named The Underdogs.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I'm still stuck on Sonic the Hedgehog, though my boys
are absolutely obsessed. When I told them that we're talking
to sonic's mommy today, they just flipped out.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
So she's a complete hero in my household.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And now she's actually building her own entertainment empire that's
focused on children's education. Tica's co created a new podcast
with her husband called Adventures of Curiosity Cove and it's
designed to help kids learn about the process of managing
their emotions. And it was actually inspired by her eight
year old daughter, Ella, and Ella is a huge fan
of the podcast. So I just love that this is
(04:46):
a family affair. And next month, TKA's releasing her debut
children's book called I Got It from My Mama.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
It's so good.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
I got to read the book and the main character's
name is based off of her daughter Ella. Her name
is Ella the Curious, which you know, I love. I
think it's so special that she creates content with her
daughter in mind.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
You know, Oh completely, that's the dream come true. We'll
stick around, y'all. We'll be right back with Tica Sumter.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Tico. Welcome to the bright Side.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Thank you, thank you for having me. I'm excited to
be on the bright side.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Welcome, Welcome.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I am looking forward to the major street cred that
I'm going to get with my four year old for talking.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
To Maddie from Sonic. He is going to flip out.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Sonic is like a religion in our house, so this
is a big moment for me as a mom.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
We'll tell him Sonic's mom. Maddie says, hello, I will
Oh my gosh, I gonna love it.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, that's so cool.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
Well, we're going to get into Sonic of it later.
But in addition to being a leading lady at the
box office, you recently began creating content that's geared toward
early childhood development and entertainment. And we know that there's
a ton of kids programming out there, right. I'm sure
that you were aware of that how saturated the market
was before jumping in, But what did you think was
missing as a mother, Like what gaps were you trying
(06:08):
to fill?
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Yeah, to be honest, when we were listening to some
of the podcasts that are out there now, they're different
genres of kids entertainment, right, Like some is more for history,
and I wanted more emotional intelligence and broader stories.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
It's not just one specific kind of stories.
Speaker 4 (06:28):
We have one series in there, but then everything else
is just dealing with different kinds of emotions that come.
Speaker 5 (06:34):
Up for kids.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
And because this is what we do, we knew that
we could give a good listening experience to kids, not
only just through sound, but also we are creators, we
write stories, we are writers as well, and I knew
production value was I wanted to give that to kids.
And I also I knew I was onto something when
Ella was like, hey, Mom, can we listen to Adventures
(06:55):
of Curiosity Cove? And I'm like again, And it also
helped start conversation. That's what I knew something was different.
It wasn't just like geared toward Hey, this is only
for my kid, it's going to be annoying to listen
to this with them, but it was something for everybody
if they wanted to listen.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
To tell me about the kind of conversations that it
sparked in your home.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
So my husband wrote the story called The Dragon, and
it's basically about this little boy who is basically going
through the woods to walk to school. But every time
he walks to school, he's afraid. He's afraid of the woods,
you know, it makes these noises. And one day he
meets his dragon, and the dragon is actually a representation
of fear and one of the conversations that came out
(07:37):
of that, which was very random, well, I don't know
if it was random. My daughter Ella was sitting in
the back. She goes, Mom, what's your biggest fear?
Speaker 1 (07:44):
You know?
Speaker 4 (07:44):
And then she asked her dad, and then we asked
her what her biggest fear was, and she had an answer.
And so with all of that, I'm like, whoa, Like
just that fun story. It brought that up, and she
asked me what my biggest fear was?
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Are you sure this as a children's podcast and not
for adults, because I feel like I could benefit from it,
and I'm sure ten people I know could as well
who are fully grown.
Speaker 5 (08:10):
Oh my yes. And that's the point, right.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
I think that was the difference in the marketplace is
we know what it's like to sit through something and
being like I'm going to fall asleep or I'm.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
Just gonna go and look.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
I made it for when moms need a break or
moms or parents or whoever need a break, and they're like, yes,
go play with your toys and have this listening situation.
Speaker 5 (08:28):
Use your imagination. But it's also like we're in the car,
we're out of the.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Pickup line, kids don't want to talk about their day
at school because we used to just get yeah, everything
was fine, you know, so now it's like more of
a conversation.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
I'd be fighting for my life in that pickup line.
So thank you.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I feel like if you give kids the space to
actually talk, yes, they're almost like the mini Socrates of
our time. I feel like if you actually pay attention
and don't try to shush them so much. Our thing
was like we were rushing through life all time. And
when you rush through life like that, I know it's
hard for a lot of parents. But sometimes when you
give them just space to breathe and be silent or
(09:07):
just listening. And that's what we wanted to do, is
spark imagination, spark things that maybe you never get to
talk about with your kid and you didn't even know
they were thinking it. And I think if you just
give them a moment, like mister Rogers he said, sometimes
when they're talking slow, they're getting their thoughts, like it
takes them a moment and ed, we're so like, what
(09:28):
say the answer? Say the answer, you know, and we
don't give them space to just like assess.
Speaker 5 (09:34):
So I think that was really important.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Things that's such a beautiful learning to take away for anybody.
I'm curious what creating this podcast and these books have
taught you about how you understand your own feelings and
how you manage them when you were a kid.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
Feelings. I don't even know what that is as a kid.
I mean, I don't know. It was more of a like, go.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Do what I told you to do because I said, so,
that's thee.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
That was the answer.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
And sometimes there are moments where it's like why because
I said, go, you need to go clean your room
right now.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
There is no explanation of why. Like sometimes that's just what.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
It is, right, I'm laughing because I was raised by
a black mom too, and that's just what it was.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
There was no fighting and what it was you crying.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Well, I'm gonna give you something to cry about, like
you know what I mean, like all those things that we.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
Know very well.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
And so I was just like or the look, you know,
like uh uh. And I always say like I don't
want to obviously my mom is my best friend, and
don't demonize her ever, But what I will say is it.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
Was a different time.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
She just didn't have time to do all that conversation stuff,
and I just said I wanted to raise my child
a little bit different. Now I do have those moments
of girl, if you don't, if you don't right now,
you know, the conversation's a little too long.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
And no, well we have to mention that your mom
was a corrections officer at Riker's and you're one of
seven kids, so you had a full house, like there
was a lot going on with a little Tika.
Speaker 4 (11:07):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
No, everything you're saying, Tica is resonating. I was raised
by a mom who like spanked me and all that stuff,
and it's like now raising kids in this age, it
feels like we have choices now as to how we parent. Yep,
the conversation and the approaches and the philosophies have really
opened up. And while I think gentle parenting works for
(11:29):
gentle kids, I think that there's some there are some
aspects of gentle parenting that I'm trying to incorporate into
my overall approach.
Speaker 5 (11:38):
Exactly. I feel like it's a mixture.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I don't think it's all one thing, right, Yeah, I
don't think it's for me. I know I'm not an
all gentle parenting person. That's just not me same, but
I do. What I do like about it is teaching
your kid boundaries and teaching them respecting what they have
to say, because they're not just these little robots walking
around with nothing in their brains, Like you know, they
(12:00):
have genius in there, and so I feel like if
you don't create a world in which they can express
that genius or that emotional intelligence, it gets harder as
an adult to do it.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
The big thing for me that I've realized that I
missed from my own relationship with my mother was the repair,
you know, like after she would kind of overstep as
a mom or lose her temper as I do often,
you know, I'm human. There was no apology that came after,
but I found that like, just taking that time to
apologize to my kids, have that real conversation has been
(12:34):
like so beautiful for our relationship.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Listen, that's a huge part of your book.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
That's a huge part of my book.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
I Got It from My Mama is literally about this
little girl who's like she's trying to be like her
mom throughout the whole book. Right then her mom has
a challenging moment and yells at her hands, like get
out the kitchen, I'm done, and they have a quiet
ride to school, and then she goes to school and
literally is exactly what her mom did at home to
(13:02):
a friend and she yells at this friend and her
mom comes and picks her up and she's like, hey,
how was your day. She's like it was okay, and
she tells her what happened, and she's like the mom's like,
where'd you get that from?
Speaker 5 (13:13):
And she's like, I got it from you, mama, and
just like you said.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
Oof, she gets she bends down and she apologizes to
her child. So the repair is there, And I think
that's the difference now, right, Like we're gonna mess up,
we know that, yeah, but it's the repair.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
It's making it. Heyugh, I made a mistake.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
I was in a moment or whatever that was, or
here's why. And they repair and it basically ends with like,
you know, I get a lot I want to be
like my mama, but I also want to be a
lot like me. Like me is also great, and so
so sometimes I think what happens is we obviously hold
our parents on this pedestal and we think they're just like,
(13:53):
especially when you're young, it's like they're kind of untouchable,
and then you see the fallibility of them who they are,
and you're like whoa, because you start seeing it in
your own life. The quicker they know that you're not
this like golden statue, I think the better for me it.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Is what did you get from your mama at Tika?
What are you repairing? Ooh, that's good?
Speaker 5 (14:14):
What am I repairing?
Speaker 4 (14:16):
I think for me, like I remember now, like I
used to chase my mom for validation, like even now,
like you're like, does my mom like it?
Speaker 5 (14:26):
Like if she said it.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Was okay and good, then I thought it was good, right,
Like I remember wanting to She used to works corrections
and she would come home and I would just clean
the house. You know, I did something good for you,
Like I always wanted her to be like wow. And
so for me getting older, I had to create a
boundary for myself for knowing that everything I do is
enough for me and my family now like I created
(14:48):
my own family and it has nothing to do with
getting the okay.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
For my mom. That was a hard one.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
It was almost like taking the umbilical court away from me,
because I really do love.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
My mom's opinion.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
But sometimes I think parents getting in the mix of
our relationships can be detrimental to the relationship boundaries, boundaries,
and ourselves, not even just relationships, it's like our own
relationship with ourselves right, Like chasing after that validation is
the repair for me of Like, while I value the
opinion at times, I don't need it all the time anymore.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Mm hmm, that's so real.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
I used to joke with my girlfriends that my mom's
opinion mattered so much to me. I have brown hair,
but if she told me I had purple hair, I'd
be like, oh, yeah, I have purple hair.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
Like what she said was gospel.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And it's so hard when you grow up like that
to take yourself out of that.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
I still struggle sometimes.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Oh my gosh, if she comes in my house and
she doesn't say anything about my hair, I'm like, she
hates my hair, she doesn't like my she doesn't like
my hair. Or when she calls me and she's like,
oh my god, girl, that was amazing what you wore
and then doesn't say anything else about anything, I'm like, wait.
Speaker 5 (15:55):
So only that one time, you know.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
It's so crazy how wrapped up we are in there,
like cocoon. It feels like for life, but kind of untangling.
It is also very nice.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
You've written such a beautiful book. And as I was
reading the description, there's a few lines that stood out
to me, and one of them is because parenting is
never perfect. Why was it important for you to include
that line?
Speaker 5 (16:23):
It was important because my parenting, I know, isn't like.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
I knew, literally how while I knew how imperfect I was,
is literally my daughter. I give birth to my daughter
and I'm like, literally, not even that long after, I'm like,
so we need therapy, like my husband and I I'm like,
I know I have baggage, I know I'm a mess.
I just know that parenting isn't perfect and your kid
(16:48):
doesn't need you to be perfect. And I wanted to
validate that for parents and for aunties and all of it,
for Godmothers, for all of it, Like, kids do not
need you to be perfect. They need you to show
up and they need you to listen, and they need
you to be there.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
But I just wanted to.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Give parents the past to say today was not a
good day, and that's okay, and even through that, you're
teaching your kid that's just not realistic that every single
day is going to be like this perfect brand of parenting.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
I read this book last year called Real Self Care
by Pooja Lakshmin, and it was honestly a big game
changer for me mentally. And there's this one phrase that
is in the book. She calls this idea the good
enough mother, and there are some principles that she says
the good enough mother lives by. She says, I'm okay
with making mistakes. I'm not defined by being selfish or selfless.
(17:42):
I can extend the compassion I give to others to myself.
And so the framing of being a good enough mom
has been so helpful for me to just own and
helpful as I try to move away from that impossible
standard of perfectionist.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Well, I even think if you're not a mom, right, like,
if you're just in general a woman.
Speaker 5 (18:06):
And because we're usually rough on ourselves the most, I
feel like I.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Feel like guys are able to be like, hmmm, I
look amazing or I'm great.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
You know, even when they don't, even when they.
Speaker 5 (18:14):
But I'm like, can I have some of that? Because
I want that?
Speaker 4 (18:19):
And so I always say things like, hey, Tico, would
you talk to your best friend like that. Would you
tell your best friend the things you're telling yourself? Absolutely not.
Would I tell my daughter that? No, absolutely not. So
it helped me to like reevaluate, reassess how not only
do I give myself the space to be like, Look,
(18:42):
I can't do all the things I told my husband Nick,
I can't do another thing. My brain feels like it's
gonna break. I feel like I'm gonna break, and I
can't even cook. I can't do anything right, like to
confess that and say I can't do anything, and then
he texts it back. He said, your only job is
to go and rest. Now go do that.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
That's a good man, Savannah, Savannah, that's a good man.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Yeah, he said, don't you lift a finger, Go sit
down and do nothing. I'm able to say that because
I went.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
To therapy and I created.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
This space that I think every person deserves in general,
whether it's a friend, whether it's a husband or whatever,
but the space to just say I just can't because
you can't, you can't do it all.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
I do want to know more about this, good man.
So your podcast is a family affair. You and your
husband Nick co created it together. Asking as someone who
does not work well with my husband. I am I
want to know everything about this girl.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
Nobody said we.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Work well, just working.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
I'm just working.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
We made a podcast. We made it.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
We did it and it was easy, but we made it.
Where do you feel like you're you're different? Like, where's
the contrast when you guys are working together. Where the
tension come from for you? And where's the success?
Speaker 5 (20:04):
Yeah? I think the tension comes from we both have
a well, it's more me.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
I'm more like control, like say it like this, do
it like this, and he's like, Tico, let me do
me you know what I mean. And I'm like, okay, fine,
like releasing control for me, Like that's the tension, right yes,
And for him it's like he's very like, give me
a direction, tell me what you need and I.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Can fulfill the need. Like he's easy like that. When
would you say you really hit your stride as parents?
Speaker 5 (20:37):
Ooh, that's a good question.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
I think we hit our stride at like five and six.
I feel like my sweet spot is now because I
think five and six we were like, oh this is
getting easier, and now eight we're like whoo. Every time
I'm like my my baby maker is like I want
one more. I'm like, ooh, we're out of the woods.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Wait now I'm excited to see if you end up
having one more.
Speaker 5 (21:04):
Oh, girl, I think that shit is sailed.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Well.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Part of it is that you're so busy working all
the time. You had a huge year at the box office.
Simone mentioned at the top. You're part of the Sonic franchise.
It grossed over a billion dollars at the box office
and it's probably a big hit in your household too.
Did you take on the role because of your daughter
at all?
Speaker 3 (21:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (21:29):
I did. Actually, she really can't watch many.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Things that I've done or are doing, so this was
like something for me and for her. When it came around,
I was so so grateful to be part of such
an amazing team and part of a legacy of things
that kids are going to grow up with, Like I'm
in their lives forever.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
So that made me really happy.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
I heard that she knows more about the characters than
you do. Does she school you? Girl?
Speaker 4 (21:58):
She embarrassed me the other day we to the Sega
offices and she's like, they're showing us everything. She's like, Mom,
you didn't even know about Rouge like you didn't. She's
like naming characters that She's like, you, mom, you did
not know about that character? And I was like yeah,
and I'm like, you're right, I didn't you help me?
You know, She's basically like calling me out on things
I didn't know because I was like, oh yeah, uh huh.
(22:21):
And she's like you didn't know that, mom?
Speaker 3 (22:24):
So rude. How dare you seem to Maddie that way?
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Dude?
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Like so rude?
Speaker 5 (22:30):
But yeah, she is teaching me, so hey, you got
to give it to her.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
We've got to take a quick break, but we'll be
right back with Tika Sumter. And we're back with Tika Sumter. Well.
Jim Carrey has made a lot of headlines being a
part of the Sonic franchise as well, just a comedy
legend all around, and I'm so fascinated by him personally.
(22:56):
What surprised you the most about working with him and
spending so much time with him.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
What surprissed me is like not on camera as off camera.
It's like some of us went out to dinner, and
it's the conversations that you get to have on a
human level, Like he's just like literally when they're like
they're just like stars, just like us. He's not only
valuable in the sense of like, oh, I'm Jim Carrey,
but in conversation you feel like he's listening to you.
(23:24):
Even when he gives advice, it's not like I'm giving
you advice.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
He puts himself in there.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I remember we were just talking about family and like
different things, and he was so vulnerable and I was like, wow,
you admitted that to me, Like he wants to connect,
and I think that translates in what he does, right,
it does.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Like I can tell that I've never met him, but
I can just tell that he would be a person
like that.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
He is a person like that. He really is.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Oh did any of the conversations that you had with
him change your own philosophy as to how you approach
the projects that you select?
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Hmmm, Like for me, he does things that he loves,
you know.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
And I think at the beginning.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
Of our careers, like while we would love that idea
of like do everything you love, like I love when
people are like when.
Speaker 5 (24:13):
I chose this project, you know, like.
Speaker 4 (24:17):
I mean, God bless everybody who says stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
I wand of love this about you.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
That is the realist thing anyone's ever said on our shows.
That was hilarious.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
I mean, God.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Bless everybody who can choose things like that, But it's
a very small percentage of people who can actually do that.
And especially because I remember coming up as an actress,
You're like.
Speaker 5 (24:37):
Dude, I need to pay my bills. I want to
do this full time, like anything that I can keep trying.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
You know, like, if you're not able to get on set,
how are you going to learn.
Speaker 5 (24:47):
You can't just be in a class all day.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
You got to be in the arena to learn how
to fight and.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
To do it.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
So it always baffles me when you know people are like,
as you get further in your career, yes there are options,
but it's even a different level of like okay, you're
an option, and now you're an option with just like
maybe two other.
Speaker 5 (25:06):
People that we are having, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
Also, when you're in a creative field, it is a
gift to get paid to get your reps in and
like that's so underrated.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Say that again, Say that again.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
When you're in a creative field, it's such a gift
to get paid to get your repsin.
Speaker 5 (25:22):
There we go like people don't understand.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
First of all, the percentage of people going out for
the one role. Then even when you get a call back,
that's a another small percentage, and then getting the thing
and not getting fired is another percentage, and being replaced.
There are so many levels to this creative thing that
we do that it's just like I think people think
(25:49):
it's like, oh, you should have did this, you should
have did that role, you should have did that part.
Speaker 5 (25:54):
And I'm like, girl, be stormed, you know in.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Marvel, like you should go and be And I'm like, really,
can you call them?
Speaker 3 (26:02):
That's so funny and so real? Yeah, so real? Yeah, Okay.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
One thing that you did choose though, that I think
is very cool is that you're about to work on
another movie with the mogul Tyler Perry, and it's a
project that you co wrote. So you and Tyler obviously
have a long standing relationship, but it's the very first
time that he's directing a movie he hasn't written.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
Yeah, Antika, if anybody.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Saw his documentary, they know that he is so notorious
for being all of the things on all of the projects.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Yeah, how did you convince him to do this?
Speaker 4 (26:38):
Well? Okay, so I co wrote a script with my
friend Katori. She's actually a writer on Pea Valley.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
I'm so obsessed with her.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
So, my friend Kimiando Katuno is an EP. She's a
producer on the show, and she's a one of the
lead writers of Pea Valley, who my friend Katori.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
Is the creator of. And so we wrote this project.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
Together, and I brought it to other people before and
they were like, oh, we love it, but they couldn't
get it done. And I was like, you know what,
people call their friends all day long in this industry.
Speaker 5 (27:16):
They put their.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
Friends in every movie. I'll call my friend. I've known
him for a very long time. I've worked with him
multiple times, and he is like a big brother.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
And I call him and he's like, send me script.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
He calls me, matter days, love it, love it all right.
Let me call Netflix or Amazon and Seat or whoever.
Let me see if they want to do this.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Okay. He calls me. He's like, so, yeah, Amazon wants
to do the movie. And I go what. I just
fall on the.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Floor and I start crying and I'm like, are you kidding.
He's like, no, I'm not kidding, And we're gonna start
pre production in like.
Speaker 5 (27:49):
A few months. Do you know how long.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
It takes to do anything in this town? Do you
know how many meetings before the meetings before the meeting
before the meeting, at.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Least like two years, at least like at a minimum, at.
Speaker 5 (28:03):
A minimum two years.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
That thing was in production so fast. So that man,
let me tell you you want something done, he gets
it done. And then the fact that he wanted to
direct it. He's never he writes his stuff like that's
what he does. He does all the things. He's like,
this is you you're really going to be producing this thing?
(28:26):
And he did that, and we have most of the
movie in the cans.
Speaker 5 (28:29):
So I'm super excited.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
That's such a feather in your cap because that means
he really trusts you.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Tika, you said that you fell on the floor crying
when you got the news that you know, Tyler was
able to facilitate a production deal through with Amazon.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
What was it about that? Yes, that meant so much
to you.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
Hmm, that's a good question.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
In this business, there's little validations that you get along
the way, like yeah, you're onto something to me, the
concept of film execution, of actually getting it on paper,
and like my vision was validated, Like, wait a, Sey,
You're not crazy. You're not crazy, because the amount of
(29:11):
knows you get right in our industry will make.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
You feel nuts. It'll make you feel like.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
You're not valuable, you're always the maybe next time, and
you're like, no, the time for me is now, you know.
And so that validation that yes, that my first co
writing credit I've produced before, but like really producing this
and the thing that.
Speaker 5 (29:37):
Started as an idea is actually going to be on
the screen.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
And the fact that Amazon was like yes, and the
fact that Tyler was like yes, that was like, hey girl,
you're not crazy. So it was just validating all my
dreams that I've come thus far, and I'm like, trust yourself.
It just made me trust myself even more.
Speaker 3 (29:58):
I love that. Wait, we both just did the same
thing in it. Yeah, so much because you really touched
our hearts. Yeah, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
That was so vulnerable to share because I think everybody
in their own way is looking for that, Like we
all have this inner voice that we're just looking for confirmation.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
On confirmation and confirmation, I feel like sometimes it creates confidence,
like it just that's how you get more and more
confident you know, you're.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
Like, that's a bar, thank thank you, But yeah, no
confirmation does I feel like create more confidence because even
if it's small bits of confirmation, it's just it builds.
Speaker 5 (30:40):
It builds and builds and builds.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
And you're like, Okay, everybody just wants to know that
they're not insane.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
Some of my ideas work, some of them don't.
Speaker 4 (30:48):
But I know that in this field, like I'm not insane,
Like my ideas are good.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
Mm hmm. It's a sense of belonging to like I
belong here, I belong here.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
Okay, Tika, this has been such a meaningful interview, and
so I have a really dumb question for you.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
I love this. I love I love dumb questions. I
have them all the time.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Thank you for that. Happy too.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Okay, you have over two million Instagram followers that are
so obsessed with your life, and I want to know
something that you are obsessed with right now, whether it's
like a book, a hobby, a wellness trend, something that
like you haven't been posting online that you're so into
right now.
Speaker 3 (31:30):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (31:31):
I told myself I need to get more hobbies in
my life because my husband and my daughter they have a.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Like a list of hobbies. They're like, oh, we're going
to go.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
Paddleboard in the ocean and surf and more time, like
all the and I'm like they're like, what do you
love to do? Mom?
Speaker 5 (31:45):
And I'm like work.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
I knew you were going to say that.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
I'm like create. They're like, no, nothing to do with work.
And so I was like, I'm going to figure something out.
I just started needle point. Wait, I am like obsessed.
So on Sunday, I finally opened this needle point kit
that I've had for like over a year. I gave
myself the the space to be like, I'm just gonna
(32:15):
like chill here and.
Speaker 5 (32:17):
Do needle point. I was like, I'm gonna just try.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
I went on YouTube. I'm like, wait, how do I
do this? This this one stitch or whatever? Learned it
on YouTube and then I could not stop. I was
sitting there for hours just doing this heart needle point
thing that I literally took a picture of.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
You have a hobby.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Congratulations and your mom approves of it.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
You got validation from your mom.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
Oh my gods.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
See that is amazing.
Speaker 4 (32:45):
Yeah, I'm theme here see no, I know, it's so amazing.
I was proud of myself and when I showed my
husband and my daughter, they're like.
Speaker 5 (32:52):
Wow, mom, you're still doing that.
Speaker 4 (32:54):
I'm like, yeah, well, my daughter said, mom, my husband
doesn't call me mom.
Speaker 5 (32:59):
That would be that would be all.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
Well question, it'd be a choice.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Tika, thank you so much for joining us on the
bright side. This is like such a corny thing to say.
What you really put the bright in it. You're such
a bright light.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
Thank you for this conversation. Tica.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
Thank you so much, Simone, Thank you, Danielle again, I
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
Thank you so much. Tica, so awesome.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Tica Sumpter is an actor, producer, and author. Sonic the
Hedgehog three is available on Digital Now, and season two
of her podcast, Adventures of Curiosity Cove is available wherever
you get your podcasts. Her new children's book I Got
It from My Mama is out in April.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
That's it for today's show.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Tomorrow, we're joined by award winning entrepreneur, executive producer, writer
and founder, doctor Nikola Mitchell. She's here to talk all
about her incredible nonprofit Girls Who Brunch Tour, plus what
it means to be a Laurel Paris.
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Women of Worth Honore.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Join the conversation using hashtag the bright Side. Connect with
us on social media at Hello Sunshine on Instagram and
at the bright Side Pod on TikTok oh, and feel
free to tag us at Simone Voice and at Danielle Robe.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
Listen and follow the bright Side on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
See you tomorrow, folks, Keep looking on the bright side.
Hosts And Creators
Simone Boyce
Danielle Robay
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