Asia Monet Ray is ready to take on the world.
At only ten years old, Ray has already shown her talents in dancing, singing, and acting. She’s best known for the Lifetime reality series Dance Moms and her own docu-series, Raising Asia.
Ray also recently appeared on The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story as Sydney Simpson, and she can be seen playing the role of Jasmine on two back-to-back episodes of Grey’s Anatomy tonight on ABC.
I recently had the chance to speak with Ray about her roles on Grey’s Anatomy and on The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
For Ray, working on Grey’s Anatomy was certainly a learning experience. “The whole set is amazing. They’re so nice, and they take such good care of you. I love the set teacher, because he’s awesome,” Ray said. “I also loved working with Debbie Allen [Catherine Avery], because she gave me a lot of good advice to stay focused and block everything out — and get really into the character.”
Ray also said she really enjoyed working with Chandra Wilson, who plays Miranda Bailey. “I did most of my scenes with her. She’s just like, the life of the party. She can be talking – she can be super happy, and then when they say, ‘okay, ready, set, go’ she’s in character so quick. And that’s what I’m trying to learn to do too,” Ray said. “I’m so happy. I’m the life of the party every day. So I have to learn how to get into that emotion, and she is definitely an amazing person to look up to.”
Another cast member Ray got the chance to work with was Jason George, who plays Ben Warren. “He’s so, so funny,” Ray laughed. “He gave me a lot of good pranks to play on my sister.”
We also recently saw Asia Monet Ray play O.J. Simpson’s daughter, Sydney Simpson, on The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which was new territory for her. “I loved working with Ryan Murphy and Anthony Hemingway,” Ray said. She also explained that even though the role she was playing was serious and sad, she had a great time working on the set.
She also found herself doing a lot of research to prepare for the role. “Luckily, my dad had a book in the garage that I could look through a little, just to read about the trial and O.J. Simpson, because I didn’t know who that was at first.”
As for getting into character, Ray explained that it took a lot of focus. “It was a little difficult for me at first, because I’ve never done something dramatic like that. So I was definitely learning from all the cast members,” she said.
And it really was an all-star cast, with John Travolta, David Schwimmer, Sarah Paulsen, Courtney B. Vance, and of course, Cuba Gooding Jr., who played O.J. Simpson. “I loved working with Cuba Gooding Jr. He’s probably the best set dad you could ever have in the history of set dads,” Ray said.
Ray has been singing and dancing from a very young age, and said that her family has always been supportive of her goals, but also never pushed her into anything she didn’t want to do. Now, Ray is excited to be an actress as well. “I’ve always wanted to become an actress and singer and dancer. Even when I was little, and I was a gymnast and ice skater, I still wanted to become a little Beyoncé or an Angela Bassett,” Ray explained. “I love challenges, so I was definitely ready to take it on.”
“I have a good memory, and I appreciate the craft of acting,” Ray continued. “And I’ve been growing every single day with the help of my amazing acting coach. I’m just super excited to see where this is going.”
Be sure to catch Asia Monet Ray on Grey’s Anatomy tonight at 8/7c on ABC.
Photo credit: Birdie Thompson, Glam: Nichole Ray