Gail Bean on Favor, Faith & Finding Her Way

The InnerMission Podcast ❤️

Gail Bean shares her journey from auditioning for 'Snowfall' in 2017 to becoming a celebrated actress, reflecting on her name origin, Atlant

Key takeaways

• Gail Bean's name originated from a playful Atlanta slang nickname that became her official identity, symbolizing independence from her NFL father's legacy.
• Her name honors her aunt who drowned at age 12, creating a powerful emotional and spiritual connection to her identity.

Main topics

• Origin of the name Gail Bean
• Legacy of family and loss

Notable quotes

I call my brother crying, like, I just can't do this. It's so lonely. People are just like not kind.

My aunt Gail was in Georgia. She was in Camden County, Georgia. And my mom was up in New York and her and like three of my cousins drowned.

Conclusion

Gail Bean's story is a testament to how personal identity, cultural roots, and faith can shape resilience

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) I auditioned for Snowfall in 2017. Speaker 1 (0:03) We Speaker 2 (0:03) in 2026. And the spinoff of that is about to air. I'm the number one. Faber. I got a man that love me. Speaker 2 (0:16) He's so good, he Speaker 1 (0:17) not a brokie. Speaker 2 (0:19) I call my brother crying, like, I just can't do this. It's so lonely. People are just like not kind. And in that moment, I was truly broken. I got broke up with that morning. Speaker 1 (0:30) Golly. I sent the dude an iMessage that night before. Oh, I love you. I miss Speaker 2 (0:35) you so much. That morning when I woke up from my audition, he had responded and was just like, I think we should see other people. Speaker 1 (0:41) Come on, girl. Give it to me. With her? No. Speaker 1 (0:48) You know we gonna pump you up over here. Hello? Sarah! Big B! Let me in! I'm at the door! I'll see you in a minute, girl. I am so happy to have the one and only Gail being with me today, my sister! Speaker 2 (1:24) I Speaker 1 (1:24) think Speaker 2 (1:24) Gail Speaker 1 (1:25) being big being the biggest. Yes. So wait, am I saying this right? Soror or Soror? Speaker 2 (1:31) Soror is proper. Speaker 1 (1:33) Okay. Southern proper. Speaker 2 (1:34) You're an adult. Okay. You're a mother. You're a woman. You're Speaker 1 (1:37) a Speaker 2 (1:37) mamacita. Yes. But, you know, when you go to Greek picnic and do all the things. Okay. Sara. Speaker 1 (1:43) Sara. Speaker 2 (1:43) Sara is like, hey, Sara. Now, Speaker 1 (1:45) is that a Southern thing though? It is. Okay. It is. You're not going to go to LA and the West Coast and they say it. Sara. Yeah. Speaker 2 (1:52) They're going to be like, what? Girl. Sarah. Speaker 1 (1:56) Sarah. Okay. I'm going to work on that. First of all, and I have to just say, I'm very glad that I get to share that with you now. That's so special to me. But I want to know about your name. We love to start here at the intermission. You just caught that. I just caught it. As far as T-Rex. Here at the intermission podcast on the origin of your name. What is the origin of Gail Bean? The origin of Gail Bean. Speaker 2 (2:25) My legal name, my government, is Gail Mitchell. Speaker 1 (2:28) Okay, I did not know that at all. I'm late to the club. Speaker 2 (2:34) Welcome, girl. Speaker 1 (2:35) What? Yeah. So how did you get Bean? Speaker 2 (2:37) So we were in college, and my friends were like, it was an Atlanta thing where everybody would call something Bean. So if I Speaker 1 (2:43) say, pass me that Bean, Speaker 2 (2:44) or look into the Bean, or hey, Bean. So they would always say, Gail Bean. And then they told me to change my name on social. And, you know, once you put it on social, it's real. It's what it is. So it just took off like wildfire. And everybody thought my name was Gail Bean and we just, I kept it. And then when it came to acting, I used that because I didn't want people to like. Look into my family because my dad was in the NFL. I wanted to feel like I made it on my own. Speaker 1 (3:10) Yeah. Craziness. Speaker 2 (3:12) Diabolical. Please, please. Nepotism is... Use it. You were a nepo, baby. Speaker 2 (3:18) I hope Speaker 1 (3:19) Freya leans into it. She's a nepo baby. It is what it is. We all should lean into it. Okay. Don't worry. I'm going Speaker 2 (3:24) to try to nepo up. But Speaker 1 (3:26) you made it. I mean, you made it on your own. I mean, your dad must feel like super proud of that. Oh, he's so happy. He's Speaker 2 (3:33) so happy. Speaker 1 (3:33) Yeah. Now, how does he feel that you've now used Gail Bean and not Gail Mitchell? My Speaker 2 (3:37) brother tells me all the time I'm adopted because I don't have the same last name. No shade to nobody adopted. Adoption is awesome. I think, you know, we all deserve love. But it's not being funny. I'm so serious. But yeah, he's like, you know how to say last name was, you know, siblings always say like. They gonna say something. Yeah. Yeah. So then what about Speaker 1 (3:59) Gail? Speaker 2 (4:01) Oh, crazy enough. My mom's sister, her name was Gail. So I'm named after my aunt. She died. She drowned when my mom was 10 and she was 12. What? I didn't get to meet Speaker 1 (4:15) her. Oh, my God. Speaker 2 (4:17) Yeah, it's so crazy. She drowned while my mom was in New York. So my mom and her sister used to always go to New York during the summers. But at that time, our family up there in New York had just had a baby. And so my granddaddy was like, y'all go one at a time. You go have the summer and she come back because I don't Speaker 1 (4:34) want Speaker 2 (4:34) to have all that on them. Wow. Speaker 1 (4:35) So Speaker 2 (4:36) my aunt Gail was in Georgia. She was in Camden County, Georgia. And my mom was up in New York and her and like three of my cousins drowned. No way. Yeah. Speaker 1 (4:48) So Speaker 2 (4:48) that's why. Yeah. Speaker 1 (4:50) What? Nobody's ever asked me that before. Girl. Yeah. That's insane. Yeah. So you got your name from your auntie. Speaker 2 (4:59) What legacy? That must be. Speaker 1 (5:02) Wow. That's crazy. I just love hearing these stories. It's just it's so much fun to get to know the inner parts of how a person got their name. Speaker 2 (5:11) You Speaker 1 (5:11) know. So, yeah. Thanks for sharing that. Speaker 2 (5:14) That's crazy. Thank you. Shout out to Auntie Gail. I know. Auntie Gail, my mom would be so happy. Oh, wow. That's a first. Yeah. Well, I'm glad. Thank you. I'm glad. Speaker 1 (5:23) So speaking of Atlanta slang, we're going to do a little bit of rapid fire. Okay. And my first question to you is, outside of being, what's your favorite Atlanta slang word? Speaker 2 (5:36) Bruh. Twin. It used to be. Speaker 2 (5:46) Hell you talking about? Hell you talking about? Yeah, hell you talking about fucking me. Like, ooh, I used to use that heavy. Oh, you know what? You know what my favorite is? What? When we say, where you from, and somebody say zone six, five fingers in a fuck you. I don't know if this is PG, but for zone six, we would say five fingers in a fuck you. But that is like so old. But I used to love it, lived by it for a long time. But, I mean, all the time I say, bruh, twin. Speaker 1 (6:12) Okay, bruh, twin. Okay, okay, okay. Mm-hmm. What song immediately resets your energy when you're stressed? Speaker 2 (6:20) Withholding Nothing. How'd it go? Withholding Nothing. I cannot sing now. Come on, girl. Give it to me. This is not a place to be shy, girl. Withholding Nothing. Speaker 1 (6:32) No. Speaker 2 (6:33) You know Speaker 1 (6:36) we're going to pump you up over here. We're going to pump you up. I'm Speaker 2 (6:40) bad. I would say anything lotto. Speaker 1 (6:43) Okay. All the Atlanta girls love lotto. Big Speaker 2 (6:45) fan Speaker 1 (6:45) of lotto. Yes. Big fan of lotto. Huge. Which is actually harder for you to tap into, drama or comedy? I Speaker 2 (6:52) would probably say drama. Okay. Really? You're so good at it. Because I'm so silly. So I have to have moments where I'm like, okay. Get it together. Yeah. You be cutting up on set. Speaker 1 (7:02) Oh Speaker 2 (7:02) my God. Speaker 1 (7:02) I Speaker 2 (7:02) feel like you be cutting up. Yes. Speaker 1 (7:04) I feel like we would get in trouble. I'm serious, but then like. I'm bad too. Yeah. I'm a giggler. Yeah. It's bad. Like once I get started, it's a wrap. Once I get Speaker 2 (7:13) started, it's hard. It's hard. But I usually come to set and I'm serious and I'm like, let's get it. But it just depends on who. It depends on who I'm in the scene with because there's people, when I'm really cool with them, it could be anything that we just laughing at. That's Speaker 1 (7:28) why I think me and you would be trouble. We would. It would be bad because, yeah. We're going to have fun. We're going to have, my thing is just, just say action. Like, don't wait for me to get serious because it's not going to happen. So just say action and then I can drop in. But like, if you're waiting for me, you're going to be waiting for a minute. And then don't you start laughing in the middle Speaker 2 (7:47) of the scene because it's infectious. Listen, Becca, that's why. Until you Speaker 1 (7:51) start thinking about how much money you're starting to lose, but then I get serious. Okay. What is your go-to vocal warm-up? Speaker 2 (8:04) is the start because I got to start with my lips. Okay. Okay. And then I do the, hey, my lips are so big. So now that you're saying it. You Speaker 1 (8:12) have beautiful Speaker 2 (8:12) lips, Speaker 1 (8:12) girl. I feel like Speaker 2 (8:13) people are going to be looking. Speaker 1 (8:14) You need to, what they say, trademark your lips. You could trademark them lips, girl. You really could. You could get like a lip company or something, like a lipstick company or something. You better lean into this. Lip glosses, lip mask. Yes. Lip tint. Speaker 2 (8:32) Vocal warm up. I have this link where it does this whole thing where obviously you your lips. I can do that. And hum with it closed and hum with it open. Different little tricks you get. You want to try it? Speaker 1 (8:52) Yeah, let's do it. Speaker 1 (8:57) With your teeth closed. Then with them open. You Speaker 2 (9:03) see it's a difference though, right? Yeah. Speaker 1 (9:05) With the teeth closed and with them open. Speaker 2 (9:08) Then close. Speaker 1 (9:14) It's a difference. Don't you have a made up language with your friends? Speaker 2 (9:18) Oh, yes. Oh, my God. Yes. Okay. Let's see. Speaker 2 (9:32) Okay. I told you, I'm silly. So I'm trying to like be serious in this moment. You don't have to be serious. This is important. This is, we're having fun. You got fun. You can eat arcane, so I can eat pretty. Pretty. I'm so pretty? Yes. Speaker 1 (9:48) Tell me something else Speaker 2 (9:49) in the language, girl. Wait, no, that's not right. Oh, I got it. I said it wrong. Sorry. Okay. I was mixing languages because there's a couple of... Are you understanding anything I'm saying? Okay, let me do a simple sentence. Speaker 1 (10:13) Help me, Lord. Speaker 2 (10:14) Help me, Lord. Speaker 2 (10:18) It's very easy if you know it. Speaker 1 (10:20) It's Speaker 2 (10:20) like, okay, um... Speaker 2 (10:24) Who the hell Speaker 1 (10:27) did you just say? Girl, I think that we should go to the store. The one and only gal being y'all. The one and only gal being... I'm going to write a script and put Speaker 2 (10:36) it in. Speaker 1 (10:36) How Speaker 2 (10:36) did Speaker 1 (10:36) y'all come up with this language? Speaker 2 (10:38) You Speaker 1 (10:38) know, when you're in high school, Speaker 2 (10:40) you do things. You create Speaker 1 (10:41) things. Speaker 2 (10:42) Do you still talk to your friends and call them in this language? I don't call them in this language, but I do still talk to them. That's why it took so... Because I was like, oh, wait a minute. I almost mixed pig Latin with our language. Speaker 1 (10:52) Don't try to bring no pig Latin into that. You just made up some stuff, girl. Speaker 2 (10:57) See, I did not. Speaker 1 (11:00) Okay. We're going to get to the big questions. Speaker 1 (11:04) Okay, in one word. Okay. Describe what this current season of life is for you. Speaker 2 (11:11) This current season. Oh, favor. Speaker 1 (11:14) This Speaker 2 (11:15) current season of life is favor in every category. Talk to me. Favor. I got a man that love me. Speaker 1 (11:22) He Speaker 2 (11:28) treat Speaker 1 (11:29) you right, friend. He treat me right. Speaker 2 (11:30) Care about your emotional well-being? He do. Speaker 1 (11:38) Do he open a door? He open a door. It'd be just simple things. He opens the door. It'd be simple things. Favor. Favor. Speaker 2 (11:45) Get into it. Oh. I Speaker 1 (11:47) love that for you. Yes. Speaker 2 (11:48) And he good. Speaker 1 (11:49) He's so good. He not a brokie. Speaker 2 (11:52) He has all the things he believe in God. He come from a beautiful family. He fine. He got money. Speaker 1 (11:59) He's like all the things. So you're in love. I'm in love. I love that Speaker 2 (12:04) for you. And he love me. Speaker 1 (12:05) He Speaker 2 (12:06) loved Speaker 1 (12:06) me back. I love that. So Speaker 2 (12:07) it's just like, and he liked me, you know, it's good. And he's, he believes in monogamy. Speaker 1 (12:13) Ooh. Yeah. Cause that's a big one too. He has no kids. It's Speaker 2 (12:17) like all these things that he takes off. So favor God. Favor Speaker 1 (12:20) in the relationship. You know what I've been through. What about the other areas of life? Other Speaker 2 (12:25) areas of life, flourishing, blessed, still all favor. My family is good. They are healthy. My mom is happy. My dad is happy, healthy. So grateful for that. Just sold my condo. Thank you to my best friend, Jewel. Speaker 1 (12:38) Yes. Everybody Speaker 2 (12:40) said it wouldn't sell because they're like the economy of the market. We put it on. It was, we had an offering within a week. The lady wanted to close within 30 days. Wow. Yes. So. Favor. Favor. We shot our audition for Snowfall in 2017. Speaker 1 (12:56) We Speaker 2 (12:56) in 2026 and the spinoff of that is about to air. I'm the number one favor. Yeah. Speaker 1 (13:03) Yeah. Ten Speaker 2 (13:03) years. This is going on ten years since that's one job has paid me. Speaker 1 (13:06) Let's talk about that because people might know you from your first intro into TV with Insecure. Yes. But I really want to know how you found a way to capitalize your opportunity and get to a point now where you are. the leading lady of a show. Can we just... Ain't that... That sounds so good when you say that. That's the truth. That's your life. That is my life. Yeah. So talk to me about that. Getting to that point. I would say... Speaker 2 (13:43) It's so crazy, right? This is how I talk to people about omens and God and how everything works. The casting director who auditioned me for Insecure was Vicky Thomas. Speaker 1 (13:52) Love Speaker 2 (13:52) her. She cast the pilot of The Drop. So it all just came full circle. Just crazy. I try to tell people, God gives you little blessings to see if you can handle the big blessings. Yes. And so I just feel like. It came to this because God was giving me different little blessings to see. OK, I already know I want you to be the leading lady of your own show, movie, all the things, theater. But let me see how you can handle some. Let me see how you can handle it on a smaller scale. If you'll get this role and be grateful or you'll be like, well, I mean, I'm only 87 on the call sheet or I only have one line or man, my scene got cut. So I'm not even in it, even though they paid me. And I was just always grateful. So I think showing up myself, showing up, speaking, being glad to be there, but also being a professional. Yes. Like people underestimate coming, having read the script and knowing your lines being off book. It's a real thing. It's a real, like you said, burning money. I play a Speaker 1 (14:54) lot, but I get it done. Yeah. Like we can get the take and they're like, oh, wow. But professionalism will take you