Layla Crawford is an actress. She is in the movie King Richard. King Richard is a film about how Venus and Serena Williams. It follows how they became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard Williams. Layla portrays the role of Lynn Price. YEM was able to speak to Layla about her audition process. In addition she spoke about what it was like meeting Will Smith. She also spoke about what is next for her as well.
Young Entertainment Mag: What has the audition process been like for you? What’s one thing you wished you knew before going to your first auditions that you know now?
Layla Crawford: The audition process was really good for me honestly. I have been acting since I was 6 years old and I know that it plays a large role in my confidence and maturity in the real world. I know that when I first started auditioning I may have been a little bit awkward so I would tell myself to just let loose and become the character that I am portraying.
YEM: Who is Lynn in King Richard? What did you do to help get you into character?
Layla: Lynn Price, in King Richard, is one of Serena and Venus’ older sisters. She is funny, sarcastic, precocious, and intelligent. The entire movie is about family and the easiest way to get into character was just interacting with my siblings and parents on set. We grew very comfortable with each other which is why there’s a seamless transition on screen. I was also able to talk to the real Lynn Price herself and get pointers on how she wanted her character portrayed.
YEM: At what point in the process did you meet Will Smith? What was that first experience like? Was there anything you learned from Will that you plan to take with you on your career?
Layla: I met Will Smith on my first day on set. It was definitely a surreal moment and has been one of the only times that I have been starstruck. Mr. Will has an amazing energy that has stuck with me since the day I met him. He is a vessel for advocacy, inspiration, and love. He spoke a lot about playing the roles that will be impactful to the world and which is something that I hope to continue as I further my career.
YEM: What’s been your favorite thing about working on King Richard?
Layla: My favorite thing about being a part of this amazing film is the support and love that we all have for each other. The entire cast has a group chat that we text in almost every day, We truly are like family in real life. Us sisters also hangout and FaceTime regularly. I feel like I have so many amazing people that I can learn from who also have my back.
Photo Credit: Diana Ragland
YEM: What was the hardest thing for you working on King Richard and how did you overcome it?
Layla: The hardest thing about working on King Richard was the fact that I was playing a real person and that she was watching me every time we were filming. It was really nerve-wracking because I wanted to make sure I was making her proud and portraying her as authentically as possible. I was able to overcome this by having more conversations with her and being able to be comfortable while playing the character.
YEM: What’s next for you?
Layla: I have a lot of different projects in the works, but most of them I can’t give too much detail about. I just will say that you have to be on the lookout for me because I have a lot coming with my entire career as a whole. I hope to continue to be a part of projects that inspire people to believe in themselves.
YEM: What’s one thing you’d like people to know about you that they might not already know?
Layla: Most people probably don’t know that I am trained in Taekwondo and I will be getting my black belt sometime this year.
YEM: If you were to be in any film or TV show throughout time what would it be and what role would you play?
Layla: One of my all-time favorite shows is Manifest on Netflix. They would have to add me as one of the passengers that was on the plane. I don’t know exactly what my role would be, but I believe the way that show is put together is brilliant and I would love to be a part of it.
