As America prepares to commemorate Juneteenth, Jason Herbert sits down with legendary actor Ben Vereen and breakout star Amethyst Davis for a powerful conversation about The Grey House—the Civil War-era drama that explores freedom, resistance, and the unfinished legacy of slavery. Drawing on their experiences bringing the series to life, Vereen and Davis reflect on portraying Black Americans during Reconstruction, the importance of telling stories that many would rather forget, and why history remains a battleground today.
The conversation moves beyond filmmaking to explore Black liberation, historical memory, women's leadership during the Underground Railroad, and the resilience that carried generations through slavery and beyond. Vereen shares why America still needs "another slave story," while Davis discusses portraying an educated, formerly enslaved Black heroine whose intelligence and courage challenge long-held stereotypes. Together, they reflect on filming in Romania, working with director Roland Joffé, the emotional weight of key scenes, and why Juneteenth should become a day for families to gather and honor their ancestors.
This is more than a conversation about television—it's a discussion about why history matters, why these stories must continue to be told, and how remembering the past offers hope for the future.
Ben Vereen is a legendary American actor, singer, and dancer whose career has spanned Broadway, film, and television for more than six decades. He became a Broadway star with his Tony Award-winning performance in Pippin and earned widespread acclaim for roles in productions including Jesus Christ Superstar, Wicked, and Fosse. Television audiences know him especially for his Emmy-nominated portrayal of Chicken George in the landmark 1977 miniseries Roots, one of the most influential television events in American history.
Vereen continues his remarkable career in The Gray House, the Civil War-era historical miniseries produced by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman and directed by Roland Joffé. In the series, Vereen portrays Old Pete, bringing his extraordinary presence and decades of experience portraying American history on screen to a story centered on espionage, slavery, resistance, and the Civil War. From Roots to The Gray House, Vereen’s work has made him an enduring figure in American theater and television.
Amethyst Davis is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Mary Jane Richards in the historical drama The Gray House, executive produced by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. The series tells the story of a network of women who risked their lives gathering intelligence for the Union during the Civil War, with Davis portraying Richards, a formerly enslaved woman who became part of Elizabeth Van Lew’s Richmond spy network.
A native of Clemson, South Carolina, Davis attended Winthrop University before moving to Atlanta to pursue acting professionally. She began her career with the web series Dick Kelly and went on to appear in productions including Atlanta, Fatal Attraction, Genius, Kinfolk, and FX’s adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred, in which she played Winnie.
Her breakout performance in The Gray House brings together her Southern roots and her interest in portraying overlooked figures from the past. As Mary Jane Richards, Davis gives life to a remarkable woman whose intelligence, courage, and contributions to the Union war effort remained largely absent from popular accounts of the Civil War for generations.
Roland Joffé directed movies like The Killing Fields (1974) with Sam Waterston and Haing Ngor, about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, The Mission (1986) with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons, about Jesuit missionaries in 18th century South America, Fat Man and Little Boy (1985) with Paul Newman, about the building of the atom bomb during World War II, City of Joy (1992) with Patrick Swayze and Om Puri, The Scarlett Letter (1995) from the 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, with Demi Moore and Gary Oldman, There Be Dragons (2011) set during the Spanish Civil War about the founder of Opus Dei, The Forgiven (2017) with Forest Whitaker as Desmond Tutu.