Over the course of her 25 years in the entertainment industry, Niecy Nash has never played a character quite like Desna Simms before. In 2017, fresh off her role on Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens–Nash stepped into the fabulously fierce nail shop owner’s stilettos, and it’s been a wild (and hilarious) ride ever since. The acclaimed TNT dramedy Claws is set in Manatee County, Florida, and follows Desna and her tight-knit crew of nail technicians. There’s Polly (Carrie Preston), Quiet Ann (Judy Reyes), Jennifer (Jenn Lyon) and Virginia (Karrueche Tran). When we first met them in Season 1, the women were caught up in a money laundering scheme at the urging of Desna’s lover Roller (Jack Kesy), and his ruthless crime boss uncle, Uncle Daddy (Dean Norris).
After striving to get out from under the Dixie Mafia, only to get entangled in other schemes and come-up attempts all while trying to be a source of comfort for her autistic brother Dean (Harold Perrineau)–Desna is ready to boss up in Season 3. Following the death of her volatile hubby Dr. Ruval (Jimmy Jean-Louis), Desna has inherited a casino, and she and the ladies are ready to take life by the balls. Ahead of the Season 3 premiere, STYLECASTER went to lunch with Nash to discuss the new season of Claws, why she stepped behind the camera, those fabulous nails, sisterhood, and if Denisa and Roller will finally make things official.
“Des has wanted to boss up for a hot minute now, and now that she has this casino, it’s like ‘more money more problems,'” the When They See Us actress revealed. “It impacts her relationship with these women because you find out with her that power corrupts. You always want to say ‘I’m doing this for a good reason, I’m trying to help everybody.’ But are you? We get to see her work out that struggle this season.”
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