CCH
POUNDER

CCH Pounder was born in Georgetown, in present-day Guyana, on 25 December 1952. Her professional initials come from Carol Christine Hilaria. Bagdad Café became a breakthrough film in a screen career that would move extensively between cinema and television. For FLM.RED, one rewarding way into her work is to follow what happens when a new person enters an established routine. An encounter can begin with irritation or suspicion, then change as two people discover that they have been reading each other too quickly.

The Television Academy records four Emmy nominations: The X-Files in 1995, ER in 1997, The Shield in 2005 and The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in 2009. In ER she played Dr. Angela Hicks; in The Shield she played Claudette Wyms. FLM.RED’s viewing interest lies in the different kinds of professional authority these roles allow. Someone can assert a standard without raising her voice, and a question can expose a problem that a more forceful speech would pass over. Listening to the reply becomes part of the action.

NCIS: New Orleans gave Pounder the role of Dr. Loretta Wade across seven seasons. A continuing television role gives the audience time to learn a character’s habits, so a slight departure from them can carry weight. In FLM.RED’s view, that familiarity is especially useful when a series moves between casework and personal concern. The same practical observation can sound different depending on who is present and what they have been through together. Her work invites attention to those changes within an apparently steady presence.

In James Cameron’s Avatar films, Pounder plays Mo’at, Neytiri’s mother and spiritual leader of the Omatikaya clan. The role brings a different setting to questions of responsibility and judgement. Outside acting, Pounder is also an art collector and patron with a sustained interest in African and African-diaspora artists. These activities add another dimension to a biography centred on screen work. The films below are those currently linked to Pounder in FLM.RED, rather than a complete filmography or list of her television, voice and arts projects.