Demetria Mckinney - Really Getting Into Character

Actress, Tyler Perry's "House of Payne" Imagine the striking image that modelesque Demetria McKinney must have cut in the doorway of a dilapidated crack house. No, McKinney is not crazy, nor is she a relative of Chris Rock's Pooky. The actress, singer and writer was audaciously conducting a homework assignment for the character she plays in the history-making and record-breaking TBS sitcom, "House of Payne." McKinney dwelled in that frightening environment to literally learn what it looks like, feels like, even smells like, to be a hapless drug addict for the show produced by entertainment mogul Tyler Perry. "It was kind of scary. It really gives you a different perspective of what those people are really going through. I had a couple of family members that used drugs. And I was always so quick to judge, so quick to shy away from them," McKinney says. "And even though I don't agree with what they're doing, it brings more of a sensitivity factor that makes me want to help them. Because for four hours, I lived that." In fact, McKinney has imbued such depth and realness into her character that she often gets posted up on the streets by "House of Payne" fans that are indignant about something her character did. It was the type of response McKinney was looking for. "I've actually had people walk up to me that I did not know and say, 'You know, I don't like you. I don't like that your character let those kids' and they are literally clicking on me," she says in a voice as smooth as her caramel-coated skin. "We're in the grocery store and they are literally letting me have it next to the fruit juice."

-terry shropshire