'It's A Heartfelt Show That Comes From A Real Place': Tichina Arnold On CBS' 'The Neighborhood' & 'Clover'

(CBS Local)-- Tichina Arnold has been acting professionally since she was 15 years old and continues to show why she's one of Hollywood's consistent actors.

She calls herself a survivor instead of a celebrity and Arnold has made a name for herself in show like "Martin," "Everybody Hates Chris," and most recently "The Neighborhood" on CBS with Cedric the Entertainer and Max Greenfield. Arnold plays Tina Butler, the wife of Cedric the Entertainer's character Calvin Butler. This is the first time Arnold has been on network television and she's loving every minute of it.

"It's a good heartfelt show that comes from a real place," said Arnold in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "CBS has created a new road for themselves. Inclusivity is really important and I'm happy to be on a predominantly black show that is on a major network. I hadn't been on a major network, which is kind of cool. I'm blessed be able to show my talents and have fun. I don't know how Cedric does it all, he has a lot of different hats. He is Cedric to everyone and he's a really nice guy that I've known for a long time and we had never worked together."

FULL INTERVIEW:

While many around the country now know Arnold for her work on "The Neighborhood," she first sprung into the national consciousness when she played Pam James on "Martin." Arnold is amazed at the legs of the show all these years later.

"I'm glad people can be at home and watching Martin. Everyone is watching reruns," said Arnold. "I've seen four generations watch Martin. I had a great-great grandmother tell me that she watches Martin. I realized that Martn is a sense of comfort for people because we've been in your home for 30 years now. That's a wonderful thing and means we did our job right."

On Friday April 3, Arnold has a new movie coming out on demand called "Clover" with Chazz Palminteri and Jon Abrahams. The actor is excited for people to check out the film and loves the opportunity to flex her comedic muscles.

"I wake up doing what I love doing. I love being a bad-ass and I love being the only black chick in a movie that's giving these two crazy white guys hell. I love it," said Arnold. "It was a dream role and to be able to work with Jon Abrahams... he's a great guy. We knew of each other back in the day. It was fun to do. It was cold as hell in Buffalo, but I didn't have a whole lot to do. I'm happy it worked out. It's a cool movie. Chazz Palminteri is in there and I wish I had a scene with him."