It wasn't that long ago when actress Tamala Jones, who's most notably recognized in urban films such as 'Booty Call,' 'The Wood,' and 'Two Can Play That Game,' revealed that she went through some physical changes to secure a job and later regretted that decision.

Things seems to be pretty rosy these days for the Pasadena, California actress as she sees dead people as a medical examiner on the ABC medical drama 'Castle,' which is doing well in the ratings.

She will also be seen in a film that most are saying is the best film of 2009.

Directed by Jason Reitman, 'Up in the Air' stars George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride and Melanie Lynskey.

Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate hatchet man who loves his life on the road but is forced to fight for his job when his company downsizes its travel budget. Jones plays one of the individuals that is being told her services are no longer rendered at her place of business.Booty Call tamala

In speaking with Black Voices, the 34-year old spoke about working with Clooney, her current gig, and the idol she would like to play on-screen.

So what attracted you to the film?

Tamala Jones: George Clooney and Jason Reitman. It was time for me to start playing with the big boys. I don't care how small the role is, I need to be seen with these guys. These are the guys who are getting films greenlit. I've been doing Black Hollywood, if you will, for a very long time and I said, "I have to start all over now." I have to start letting people see what I can do other than comedy. I love Karen Barnes because most of the movie is fun but when you get to her you wanna laugh but you don't know if she is quite serious in saying what she's gonna do, and she was.

You've done a lot of films and TV, but would you say your role here is your biggest exposure to date?

TJ: I would say so! It cuts to all the audience, not just one in particular. Everybody loves George Clooney, everyone loves a great movie.

As an actor you, like everybody else, go through spurts of unemployment. How do you deal with that?

TJ: It is turmoil. I don't like just sitting around not doing anything. When the writer's strike came you had no choice, you couldn't do anything. If you did you'd be fined. There really wasn't anything to do. It's hard going on auditions waiting to hear if you got the job or not. I was sitting around for hours doing nothing. I found myself cooking for my friends, just trying to do things.

Your character is obviously a colorless role, but as a black actress unless the role calls for a black actress the roles are not there.

TJ: They're not. What I decided to do, and I can't take all the credit; I got together with my manager Danielle Allman-Del and my agent Barry McPhearson, and strategized. "Okay, the work is not there for the black actresses, where do we go from here?" Barry was like, "We can get you parts for everything, no matter what the color is, we just need to check with the casting people and make sure they're game for that. We need to think outside the box." I was like, let's do that! Send me out for the role, I'll make it work. The last two roles I got were like that, the role I play on 'Castle' was not written for a black actress.

Last week we had 'The Janky Promoters' come out on DVD where you have a role opposite Ice Cube and Mike Epps. How different are these two films. It's good to see you go back to doing comedy and working with Ice.

TJ: Ice Cube and Mike Epps are like your cousins or your bothers or someone you went to school with who used to sit around and crack jokes. They're fun and not jaded at all, and continuously had me laughing. I certainly loved working with Mike, and I certainly love working with Cube. You don't know this about him, but he's not one of those guys that's hanging around the set and kicking it. He's very businesslike. He's in, he's out, he is an amazing person as well.

How's the TV show going?

TJ: The ratings keep going up and up, and I have to thank all of my fans who keep writing into the show because the producers heard you guys and they're starting to write more of my character onto the show. I was happy, because first of all I was not a series regular, they made me one. Two, she was not written for a black woman, they took a chance on me and they loved what I did. I was just happy to be employed and be on a great show.

This is a big year for you. You've got a TV show that's starting to blow up, you've got a film that urban folks can see you in, and now you've got a film that will probably be nominated for best picture. You were also on a magazine cover (Heart and Soul) talking about your personal life. How do you stay calm in all this?

TJ: My secret is family. Family and real friends that have nothing to do with the business, have known me forever. They don't care about the glitz and glamour, they care about your well-being and how you're accepting life and if you're happy and all the things that happen in an average life. To have those people around you, accepting you, making sure you're good. Making calls, wishing birthdays, hanging out, spending time with your grandmother, that is the best. It helps me enjoy everything that is going on around me.

Is there anything you want to play, anyone you'd like to portray? Biopics are pretty big right now.

TJ: Biographies are the best. I have two I would really like to do. One, I would like to do a story on Minnie Riperton. We know her but a lot of people do not know who she is, we don't understand the energy behind the voice. I think that would be such a great story because here is this woman who had such a beautiful spirit and gift to sound like a bird. I would love to do that. I have another one I'm kind of on the fence about, because it's two stories. The Tammi Terrell story, and if you're gonna tell her story you have to tell Marvin Gaye's story. I know there's been people who've tried to tell this story for awhile, and there's been some issues with the family. Not a lot of people know she was in the business at 15-years-old. She sang backup for James Brown. She married a champion boxer before the whole Marvin Gaye thing, that's where her name Terrell came from. I like doing period pieces, especially of those times. I love 'Cadillac Records,' I love 'The Temptations Story,' I even love 'The Five Heartbeats,' that's a cult classic. I love the dress, hair, and attitude of that time.