Reader TTS

Gina Torres, 54, plays a glamorous, cutthroat fashion mogul in the new Netflix romantic comedy _The Perfect Find._ And although she loves playing a bold villain on screen, in reality, she

tells AARP, she prefers a low-profile lifestyle, watching black-and-white movies and keeping up an aura of mystique.    YOUR CHARACTER IN _THE PERFECT FIND _IS MORE OF A VILLAIN. WAS THAT

FUN TO PLAY? Of course. Villains are the best. Villains are great. Villains are therapy. You get to say all the things that you’re really taught not to say. And spare no one’s feelings and

get what you want. Those are juicy parts, and then the fun part is to actually really find the space to make them human so that you love to hate them — you don’t just hate them. WHAT ARE

YOUR FAVORITE ROM-COMS? I gotta go way back — like way, way back. Like black and white all the way back. _High Society, _which is just great and so much fun. It’s the musical version of _The

Philadelphia Story._ Also _The Shop Around the Corner_ with Jimmy Stewart, which is the original version of _You’ve Got Mail. His Girl Friday_ and _Bell, Book and Candle_. I’m not just more

than qualified to be [an] AARP [member], but I’m also an old soul on top of that. The new [movies] are fun, [but] I just loved how romance and language was expressed during a time when you

could be so naughty and it doesn’t sound naughty at all. It’s just the flirting, and the flirtation, and the less is more. I love that. When you can’t say everything, what’s left? How do you

express that? How do you show someone? In "The Perfect Find," Gabrielle Union, left, plays fashion editor Jenna Jones, who falls in love with the son of her villainous rival

turned boss, Darcy Hill, played by Gina Torres. Alyssa Longchamp/Netflix WHO IS YOUR DREAM ROM-COM COSTAR/CELEBRITY CRUSH? Oh, my guy and I have this joke all the time because we talk about

our crushes. And I’m like, “Well, you’re safe because most of mine are dead. So you’re really OK. You’re safe.” I’ve always had a massive crush on James Garner, and I’ve heard from people

who knew him that he was a lovely man. Among the living, I would say Hugh Jackman, Pedro Pascal, Idris Elba. WHAT ABOUT YOUR ACTING INSPIRATIONS? There are many. But I always come back to

the “OG” — the one so many actresses of my generation have studied: Bette Davis. Her intelligence and power are both unnerving and seductive.