Lorcia Cooper talks about her return to ‘Scandal!’, acting and destiny

Lorcia Cooper-Khumalo never thought she would be back on Scandal! after she left the show a few years ago. 

While there she and her then co-star Clint Brink, who played the character Tino, kept fans of the show glued to their screens because the pair were #couplegoals.  Fast forward and Lorcia's character is back in town.

“It feels like a complete time walk, I left there and Dintle is now a adult and has kids in the storyline. They were in school when I left. Dintle has a child and Lindiwe is married and I'm like, what this is crazy.”

On whether she had hoped to make a comeback on the show: “When you leave a show you kind of leave. There's no 'it is open for you to come back', When you leave you carry on with life”

The current Scandal! storyline sees the return of her character Erin after the dramatic resurfacing of Dintle’s child, Mo. Lorcia believes fans are going to love it.

“What will get them hooked is when they find out what happened in Tino and Erin's lives in the years they've been missing. They are going to meet this new teenage daughter, but they are going to meet her in relation to Erin, like what kind of mom Erin is and also the things that unfold between the mom and the challenges of the adopted child are interesting. The dynamic between Dintle and Erin, that's something.”

For Lorcia acting is more than just being in front of the camera, it being a woman who has worn the shoes of the many complex women she has played.

“Acting allows me the opportunity to transcend anyone wherever they are. Someone could be sitting watching a story that I'm doing on-screen and they could relate to it. Or they could find better understanding for why someone is that way or to have insight into someone else's life . Or someone could be struggling, crying and in pain for that time I'm on the screen and I get to take them away to somewhere else. It has never been about the fame or about popularity, it has always been about the work."

“I  come from a dance background. Until social media dancers danced and our intention was never to be famous. Coming from that background I always want my work to be what speaks. I want my work to impact people, to touch people. I sometimes giggle because I think that the red carpets and the events a are not at the top of the list of what I enjoy doing. I would love to t go in and do my work, and let my work speak.

"I'm of the belief that my work belongs to you, but my life doesn't. My work is yours, my life is not. Everything else that I'm about does not belong to you. It's a wonderful career but you only consume the product  I created and you don't get to consume everything about me. My life is mine. I'm very clear about that when I go into a job. I give everything I have because that's what I do.”