‘Praise This’ stars Crystal Hayslett & Anjelika Washington on film’s message

Will Packer’s latest film, “Praise This,” is the perfect combination of praise and party!

“Praise This” follows aspiring musical superstar Sam, played by leading lady Chloe Bailey, as she moves from Los Angeles to Atlanta to live with her cousin Jess, portrayed by Anjelika Washington. Sam is forced to join her cousin’s struggling praise team at a church led by Pastor Nick Goodman (Tristan Mack Wilds) and his wife, First Lady Natalie, played by actress and singer Crystal Renee Hayslett.

Access Atlanta got to catch up with both Washington and Hayslett about their respective roles in the movie and their acting journeys thus far.

“I moved to LA when I was 18 and was pursuing acting… and I learned of this free acting class at a church, and honey, I was trying to do anything free… I was like, sign me up,” Washington told Access Atlanta.

As far as Washington’s hilarious role in the movie goes, she says she pulled from past inspiration.

“She (Jess) reminded me of people that I met when I was in Bible college for a bit — the ones that they use to call the ‘Jesus freaks’ or the ‘Bible freaks.’”

When it comes to Hayslett’s character, she says she enjoyed playing an unconventional First Lady.

“The thing I love about Natalie is that she hasn’t been saved all her life… It’s like that edge, like if you push me, I might flip back over to this side, and then I’m going to come pray for you,” Hayslett laughed.

While Hayslett may be new to playing the role of a church’s leading lady, she is far from new to the entertainment business. She moved to Atlanta in 2009, and years later, she found herself working at Tyler Perry Studios. The actress and singer eventually became Perry’s personal stylist, landing starring roles on two of his shows, but that wasn’t something that happened overnight.

“My stylist at the time was working there (at Tyler Perry Studios), and she was like, ‘Crystal, you have a knack for fashion. Try to come work at the studios… She said, ‘It’s an entry-level position; You’ll have to be a PA (production assistant) and work your way up.’”

“I was like, that’s fine, I just want to be around it,” Hayslett said. “It was very humbling… I was getting coffee, I was making copies, running clothes to set, the things that people did not want to do,” Hayslett continues. “I love telling this part of the story because people don’t want to put in that type of work to get where they’re trying to go and to trust the process.”