But there’s more to the series than Robyn McCall (Latifah) defeating bad guys. We’re loving the family drama of a working single mom raising her teenage daughter, Delilah (Laya DeLeon Hayes). In the first season, Delilah led a quiet life, blissfully unaware that her mother was a former CIA agent. But by the end of season 1, Delilah had discovered the truth. The new upended their relationship and serves as the basis for a deep new storyline in season 2 with Delilah learning to trust her mom again. Hayes, a 16-year-old rising star best known for voicing the titular character on Doc McStuffins, talks with Parade.com about her character and what’s in store for her in the new season of The Equalizer. Now that Delilah knows what her mom really does for a living, how will this affect her relationship with her mom? It’s going to fully affect their relationship. Last season, they were beginning to get used to one another, their walls beginning to come down until our season finale when Delilah found out the truth, and that wall immediately came back up. This season we’re starting right where we left off. She will feel anger and betrayal while directing that toward her mom. But as the season progresses, she will have to get used to her new normal and that may or may not benefit their relationship. What can viewers expect to see with Delilah this season on The Equalizer? Delilah is in an overwhelming headspace right now. She’s trying to process everything from what her mom does for a living to the aftermath of Jason’s death, which will force her to grow up. You will see Delilah mature and use her fiery attitude, that we got a glimpse of last season, to benefit others. You do a lot of voice work for animated shows, do you approach your voice work differently vs. acting in front of the camera? Definitely. One thing I do to prepare for voice-overs that I don’t have to do to prepare for live action work is vocal warm-ups and drinking lots of tea. For live action work, I prepare in a lot of different ways but, one difference is, I listen to music to get into character and do body warm-ups before work. Tell me something I might not know about Queen Latifah. She’s always singing and humming on set. Tell me something I might not know about Lorraine Toussaint (who plays Aunt Vi). She loves peppermint tea. What was the last show you binge-watched? Last show I binged was New Girl and BoJack Horseman. What’s your all-time favorite book or the last book you read? The last book I read was The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. I want to read more by him, but that book immediately became one of my favorites. You’re at Craft Services. What do you reach for? A granny smith apple and those cheese crackers with peanut butter in them. The Equalizer airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBS. Next, Donnie Wahlberg Reveals Danny’s Relationship Turning Point Moment on Season 11 of Blue Bloods
