Cassi Davis: “House of Payne”

Cassi Davis plays Mom, Ella Payne, on Tyler Perry’s hit show “House of Payne.”  Cassi had given up on her dream of stardom until an unexpected meeting turned into an opportunity of a lifetime. 

CASSI:           I think that when people look at this show, they will see themselves.  They will hear issues that are going on in their homes.

ERICA: How is it that you came to meet Tyler Perry?

CASSI:           I was doing a favor for a girlfriend of mine at the National Black Theater Festival, and Mr. Perry was there, and we had done a show Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  He came to the Thursday night show. I’d never heard of him and he came backstage and everybody was, “Oh my god, Tyler Perry is here!  Tyler Perry is here!”  And I was just like, “Well, whatever.”

I was packing up my stuff because I was going to fly back out to Los Angeles.  And he came in and he was towering over me and he asked me, “Hi, what’s your name?”  And I said, “What’s your name?”  And he said, “I’m Tyler Perry.”  I said, “I’m Cassi Davis, thank you.”  He was like, “No, no, no, no, no.  Where do you live?”  I was like, “Where do you live?”  And he told me.  He was like, “I live in Atlanta.”  I said, “Well, I live in Los Angeles.”  He said, “You’re in Los Angeles and you’re not on TV?”  I said, “Are you in Atlanta and you’re not on TV?”  And so he was like, “Okay, ma’am, I think you’re funny and I would like for you to be in my plays.”  And I said, “Sir, I got out of the business about 3 or 4 years ago and I’m good.  I don’t want to do it anymore.”

He was like, “No, please.  I have this play.  I play this character Madea, and I want you to be a part of the play.”  And I was like, “You play a woman?”  He said, “Yeah.”  I was like, “Okay, well, you can forget that.  I ain’t doing that.  I don’t want to be in a drag show.”  And he was saying, “No! No, it’s not a drag show.”  And I said, “Okay.”  And –

ERICA:          As the saying goes, “And the rest is history.” 

Cassi toured with Perry’s hit play, “Madea Goes to Jail.”  And when Tyler made the move to television, he took Cassi with him.   

ERICA: What attracted you to the character Ella Payne?

CASSI:            The fact that I was not working anywhere else.

ERICA: I understand you grew up in the church and you kind of walked away from God for a period of time.  What happened?”

CASSI:           I got mad at Him.  I got mad at God.  Actually — in my high school year, my family experienced  a fire.  And it was a shortage in the wiring of the dryer.  And at that particular time I was, you know, going to church and I was president of the Youth Group, and I was leading the choir and always going to conferences.

And so when this fire came and it destroyed everything six weeks before it was time for me to go to college, I was furious.  And I was just like, “This is the thanks I get?  Okay, well God, later for you, I’m out. I don’t want to do this.”  I didn’t really have a relationship with Him, I was just going to church and uh I thought that was it.

Cassi went on to college where her life began to spiral downward.  She abruptly left school only one month before graduating because of a dispute with the college.

CASSI:           I was a music major and I had to do a senior recital AND I thought I was making a stand for God because I wanted to sing my Tribute “To God be the glory,” and they told me I could not do that.  And I so I just said, you know, well, forget it.  You see the irony? I was mad at God, but I wanted to sing “To God be the Glory,” they wouldn’t let me, so I was just like, “You know, what, forget Him, forget you!  I’m out of here!”

Cassi took a role in a play which led her to Detroit, Michigan and to the church of Gospel Music legend, Marvin Wynans. 

CASSI:           I heard Pastor Marvin Wynans preach a sermon entitled, “Choose Ye This Day Whom You Will Serve.  Will it be God or Man?  The Choice is Yours.”  And I chose God that day.

ERICA:            Why?  What struck you about that day?

CASSI:            There was a void and there was uneasiness and I needed direction and I needed answers quickly, and the message was just so curtailed for me.  It was man cannot do it for you.  And the desires that you have before you, if you want them to come to fruition, the only way you can get that is if you give your life to Christ and you actually allow Him to come in and make a change and create in you that clean heart.  And forgiveness.  And I wasn’t really angry with people, I was mad at God because I was saying I was doing all of the right things and you allow this tragedy to come in my life.  But I did not realize that tragedy for a moment can be a mountaintop experience later.

ERICA:            Not a lot of Christians who are in entertainment have the opportunity that you have to express your faith on television and to be able to be open about it. I mean, I saw one day, I’m like, “Is she speaking in tongues?”

CASSI:            Sure did!

ERICA:          I think she’s speaking in tongues.  I’m like, “I think I heard that!”

CASSI:            Yes, I did.

ERICA:          To have the opportunity to do that, how important is that to you?

CASSI:           I couldn’t do it if I did not have that outlet.  I just love God, period.  And He comes first, so, for me to come out of the business and really not be a part of the business, I really like my testimony.  I like the fact that I don’t have pictures and resumes and agents and managers.  And I’ve never taken a class.  And I like that.  I like being able to say that and I like  God getting the glory for it.

ERICA:            What encouragement or advice would you give to people who are coming up behind you, who are Christians and they want to be in the business?  What advice would you give them?

CASSI:           I would have to say if God is not first, then it’s just not going to work.  And if you do not have Him at the helm of it, and if He is not leading you to do that particular thing, you really probably shouldn’t even want it.  But I think, if we would just stop, everybody, just calm down and just get to know who you are and whose you are, then God will direct us all.