Danielle Brooks talks second season of “Peacemaker” and balancing her career and motherhood: “You cannot do it by yourself”

Danielle Brooks, who stars in “Peacemaker,” a spinoff of James Gunn’s film, “The Suicide Squad,” reflects on the opportunity ahead of the show’s second season and what she hopes her daughter sees in her.

The Emmy, Tony and Oscar-nominated actor plays Leota Adebayo, who develops a friendship with Peacemaker — also known as  Chris Smith — played by John Cena.

Brooks explains Gunn, the director and creator of the show, reached out to her to see if she was interested in the role.

“When he was ready to do season one it was in the midst of the pandemic. I had just had my daughter, Freya. I had gained 60 lbs and now I’m being asked to be in an action TV show. I’m like, ‘how does this work?’ But I believed in myself. I knew it could happen,” Brooks said.

In this role, Brooks had influence on her hair and clothing, saying, “representation matters, as we know.” She explained she was able to work with the costume designer to customize her character’s style.

“I wanted people to say, ‘I know her, I am her.’ I didn’t want it to just be like her in clothes. Clothes matter,” Brooks said.

It’s a change in opportunity from some of her former acting roles.

“Playing characters like ‘Orange is the New Black’s’ Taystee where I’m just wearing a jump suit for seven years. Even ‘The Color Purple,’ that was a very like standard type of look, period piece. To show personality, a lot of us show who we are through what we wear, our hair, our clothes, our accessories,” she said.

On balancing her acting career and family life, Brooks credited those around her for their support, saying, “you cannot do it by yourself … You need your people, and I have my people.”

She said she wants her daughter to know that she’s ambitious, but added, “I never let the ambition get in the way of our bond and our time together. … You are my number one. She is my number one,” Brooks said.

Season two of “Peacemaker” premieres Thursday Aug. 21 on HBO Max.