Back in the late-'80s and early-'90s, there weren't many African American actresses getting as much work as the sexy Lela Rochon.

From playing the incredible Sunshine opposite Eddie Murphy in 1989's 'Harlem Night's' to starring with Angela Bassett and Whitney Houston in the 1995 blockbuster 'Waiting to Exhale,' the former model and Los Angeles native landed some big roles in high-budget films.

Over time, she worked on various films and TV shows, including recurring roles on 'The Wayans Bros.' and Lifetime's 'The Division.'

Her roles as wife (she's married to 'Training Day' director Antoine Fuqua) and mother haven't slowed her down. In her latest film, she's featured opposite Nate Parker in 'Blood Done Sign My Name,' which is a civil rights drama based on the acclaimed book of the same name by prize-winning author and scholar Timothy Tyson.

The movie recounts the life of Henry Marrow, a 23-year-old black Vietnam veteran who was shot and beaten to death by a prominent white businessman and his grown sons.

Black Voices recently caught up with Rochon who talked about her latest work and staying in the business despite the challenges black actresses face.

What was your attraction to doing 'Blood Done Sign My Name?'

Lela Rochon: The nicest thing always is they offered it to me. I thought it was a really important film to be a part of. I didn't just read the script, I read the book, and I really, really loved it and really wanted to be a part of it. I play a role that is really connected to the author ... I try to teach him love in the middle of all this hatred that's going on around him and try to explain things that are basically unexplainable. It's the kind of movie I can show my children that aren't rated R, and they can actually watch this five, 10, 20 years from now.

Is your character fictional or real?

LR: It's a true-life character.

You said you read the book. Did you do other research for the role?

LR: Yes I did, even though there was a lot more of her that's not in the film, which is more why I accepted the role, but some of it didn't end up in the film unfortunately. I insisted on talking to Tim Tyson and his parents, who were available to me, and what I realized is they love this woman. They love her like family. She helped raise him, and he loved her right back. I never had the opportunity to talk to her because I understand she's old and not in great health, but he still loves her to this day.

Did you do anything physically for the role in terms of language or appearance?

LR: Oh yeah, I got as frumpy and down as I could.

This is a little different from what your fans recognize. Do you still get people calling you Sunshine?

LR: Forever. (laughs). It's a 20 year-old movie, I guess it says a lot about me or the movie. I used to hate it, but now I think it's sweet. It's amazing to me. That was my first film. Every role can't be the glamorous sexy girl. I just wanted to do something different.

You've done a ton of work throughout your career in both TV and film. What other roles are you looking to play?

LR: I'm looking for mature, powerful women now. I've done the Southern thing now. I've done an age range from 17-years-old to this woman who is a little older than I am. For me, I'm really looking for some espionage, CIA-type strong women.

You're married to a film director, and between the both of you, there's probably more access to what's out there. Is it still a hard ball game for a black actress?

LR: I think it's even worse because I have too much information. I know the reality of how much we're not thought about and how they speak of us when we're not in the room. Being privy to that it's sometimes too much information, and sometimes knowledge is power. We have a huge fight, and it's about dollar amount, and your last film, and how they don't market black people in Europe. It's really hard, and when they ask what I'm doing next, it's about producing. I have a few projects through the company me and my husband have. It's about creating those roles and those movies, because studios aren't doing it and they're certainly not thinking about women, let alone black women.

It's ironic that you both have projects in the same time period, with Antoine's 'Brooklyn Finest' coming out in a few weeks.

LR: I do a little cameo in his, too. If you blink, you'll miss me. I play the CIA investigator with Richard Gere. We spent the whole day together, and I had a really great time doing it. The scene was in, the scene was out, the scene was in! Because his film is so complicated and so long, and it's in, but it's trimmed, but I really enjoyed working with him. My God, I was in high school when 'American Gigalo; came out, so it was a treat for me.

Is it possible for you to get a bigger part when your husband is the director?

LR: In good time we will. There's no sense of urgency. A lot of the times the films he does are not geared toward women. My husband's a man's man and he does guy films, and there's rarely any female parts in them, period. But we have some projects that are for me that we hope to do in the near future.

What do you have planned next?

LR: I plan to focus on producing a one-hour episodic show I developed, a film I've written with another writing partner, and other projects that Antoine and I have the rights for which we want to eventually do.

'Blood Done Sign My Name' opens Feb.19 in limited theaters.