Actress Audrey Reid is thankful and appreciative for being among the 150 Jamaicans who will be officially bestowed with national honours and awards on October 21.
Her accolade (Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer) will be presented during the annual ceremony of investiture and presentation of honours and awards at King’s House on National Heroes’ Day.
“I am very humbled and appreciate the love that I have been receiving since the announcement. It has been a God-blessed journey from when I started out in the 1980s to this day. I have to give thanks because I’ve had my share of a roller-coaster ride, but, hey, who hasn’t? It has been about dedication, determination and keeping your eyes on the prize,” Reid said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday, Independence Day.
Entertainers Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Nadine Sutherland, Admiral Bailey, and opera singer Curtis Watson are the other individuals from the entertainment fraternity who will also receive national honours and awards.
Reid, whose role in the 1997 Island Pictures film Dancehall Queen and Third World Cup have earned her fans around the world, honed her acting chops in the theatre before she took on the big screen.
“I didn’t even know acting was a profession. What I knew from an early age was that I was fearless, never shy, and so to be honest, my interest in acting came from divine intervention. I did a few school plays [Vauxhall High] and speech and drama in festival [with Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC)], but even then I had no interest. Years later, when I was living in Vineyard Town, Ralph Holness [playwright and producer] was doing rehearsals for a play called Obeah Wedding. I used to sit on the road watching the rehearsals and one night the person who played the lead role was unable to attend and I was asked to fill in so that they could do a particular scene. I ended up opening the play at the historic Ward Theatre,” Reid recalled.
Reid later played roles in other roots plays such as Village Rooster, Scandal, Con Man, and Under Mi Nose. She also appeared in the 1984-1985 national pantomime Silver Slipper.
It was while working with the national pantomime that she met actor and comedian Oliver Samuels and they formed a friendship.
“It was there that I met Oliver, and it was his last pantomime. He took me with him to form his company and we toured all over, including England. It was while I was in England doing Ginger Knight’s Boy Blue that he asked me to stay back and play the role of Vinette in a play called Boops, which became an instant hit over there. I also did the play
Higglers,” said Reid.
The entertainer in her own right also did television series such as Me N Mi Kru, Traxx, Comedy Bus, Oliver at Large, and several others.
But it was her role as Marcia in Dancehall Queen that she is best remembered for. The film, which also starred singer Cherine Anderson, Clive Davis, and Paul Campbell, featured the hit theme song Dancehall Queen by Beenie Man and Chevelle Franklyn, which topped local charts for 10 weeks in the summer of 1997.
“They wanted an actress and not just a dancer. The directors heard about me and my volume of work and I went to the audition in the west end [Negril]. I actually did three auditions, and the last one had to be done in a dancehall-themed outfit and street vendor outfit,” Reid recalled.
She continued: “The audition was sent to Chris Blackwell [Island Records boss], and I got a call about three days after informing me that I was chosen to play Marcia, the lead role in the film.”
According to Reid, Dancehall Queen opened many doors for her to bolster her career.
“I pride myself in being versatile. To be cast in a film then to give birth to a character that eventually was etched in the minds of fans for years is a joy to me. Acting is my safe and happy place; it’s therapeutic. And, besides, not having any privacy, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to places that the theatre would not have taken me to. I’m still doing appearances up to this day, after so many years. Dancehall Queen has also opened opportunities for me to be cast in other productions,” Reid reasoned.
