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Pernell Walker On Showtime's 'City On A Hill': 'Grace Campbell Is Not All Bad And Not All Good'

May 17, 2021 / 12:00 PM EDT / CBS Philadelphia

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(CBS Local)-- Showtime's "City on a Hill" wraps up season two this Sunday, May 16 at 9pm EST/PST and one of the stars of the season has been Pernell Walker. The actor plays Grace Campbell, a community activist who is working to make Boston a better place, while her sons get wrapped up in gang activity.

CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith talks with Walker about joining the cast of "City on a Hill," working with Kevin Bacon & Aldis Hodge and the many layers of her character Campbell.

"The writing is amazing. I've just been blessed in my career to work with people in a collaborative way," said Walker. "Once I saw that writing, I completely knew who Grace Campbell was. It was just that specific, that great and easy to learn. I love when I don't feel like I'm working. The writing was half of it and I'm so grateful to everyone. It's still relevant now, the things going on."

Walker's experience on this show was one to remember because she got to work with executive producer Tom Fontana. The actor grew up watching "Oz" when she was in high school and Fontana was a writer on that show. Walker also got the chance to work with Hodge and Bacon and she'll never forget that.

"They are amazing and I loved working with everyone," said Walker. "To see how grounded they are is really humbling for me. You can be great and what you do and still be nice to people that are learning or are new to the cast. I was so welcomed by everyone. I felt like I could just soar on set and let go and that's what you want as an artist. Grace Campbell is not all bad and not all good. When she got pushed to the point of trying to protect her babies, she did anything and everything. Even before she went to steal the check, she didn't want to. She was reaching out to get help from other people. It's really hard with the sons getting lost to the streets. It's difficult and you see her striving even so to give that dignity to her family."

Stream "City on a Hill" right now on the Showtime app.