My worst moment: The time ‘Girlfriends’ alum Golden Brooks tried — and failed — to dig herself out of a bluff

Different cities have their own distinct roller skating culture. Chicago-style roller skating is featured in the Disney Channel series “Saturdays,” starring Golden Brooks as the mom to a 14-year-old looking to create the hottest skate routines at her local rink.

“Chicago is the hub for and mecca of a JB (James Brown) style of skating,” said Brooks, “and let me tell ya’, I skated in the ‘80s and it was different back then! When I booked ‘Saturdays,’ I was so excited to roller skate again. I thought, how different could it be? Cut to: Um, it’s different! It was a thing, learning this new style of skating, which is so cool and such a culture and such a vibe in Chicago. They sent us all to skate camp and the kids are phenomenal.”

Brooks might be best known as Maya from the iconic sitcom “Girlfriends,” but her resume also includes everything from “Linc’s” to “Star Trek: Enterprise” to “Hart of Dixie” to “Blunt Talk” to “The Good Doctor.”

When asked about a worst moment in her career, she replied: “Girl, girl, girl — it’s actually sad. This is a story where you try to dig yourself out of a mess, but you’re sunk. You’re done. And this is a moment where they knew it, and I knew it.”

My worst moment …

“My agent called with an amazing script for a movie. It was a big deal because they wanted to see me but I didn’t really need to audition, the director just wanted to sit down and talk about the script.

“Well, I got the script late. And it just so happened that I got the script right around the time that my daughter had a track meet. And then something was going on with my computer, I couldn’t open the link. I had just moved and my Wi-Fi was all jacked up. So I tried to print it and my printer cartridge ran out of ink. It was just a comedy of errors, nothing was working out. I tried to reschedule the meeting and my agent was like, ‘No, they’re going out of town, this is the last day the director can see you.’

“So I wasn’t able to read it the night before. The next morning, I’m finally able to open the link. I’m skimming through the script and it’s very lofty. It’s close to 100 pages. It’s a period piece, by the way. Like during the Martin Luther King era. But I thought I could pull it off. I’m really good at paraphrasing and filling in the blanks and evading the question and making it seem as if I know what’s going on. I have that gift — or so I thought.

“Long story short, I get to the audition and I see other actresses there who are very impressive. I was like, oh, wow. This is really a thing! They’re looking at some heavy hitters.

“I go in, meet the director and there are all the pleasantries. The casting director was there and I think a producing partner was there too. They wanted to get my take on the script, so we’re talking about how I got started in acting and then we get into the role and they’re like, ‘We think you could be right for this.” And I’m thinking: Wow, Golden, you’re really knocking this out of the park, especially for not knowing the script.

“Then they said, ‘Tell us which part of the script you think is the most monumental moment for this character.’ So I said, ‘You know, for me, I really feel it’s at the end when the character dies. I think that really catapults everything else for her family. Everything she’s been working for, at the end, it’s almost like she knew that this was going to happen to her.’

“And they’re looking at me.

And they said, ‘Golden, she doesn’t die.’

“And I said, ‘Oh! Wait — what?’ (Laughs) They’re like, ‘No.’

“And I’m like, ‘Oh. Maybe I’m thinking of a different character.’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, you’re thinking of another character.’ There’s another character in the film who dies. But not me. Because I was skimming it so quickly, I got that completely wrong!

“So I said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. I must have gotten that confused.’ And they’re like (curtly), ‘Thank you, Golden.’

And that was the end of the meeting. Because I knew they knew I wasn’t prepared. They didn’t take me seriously because they probably thought I didn’t take it seriously. And that was that.

“I have to say, that was one of my most embarrassing moments. And I’ll tell you something else: I never heard from that director again.

“It’s not that I didn’t take it seriously. I just thought: I’m me, I’m Golden Brooks — they’ll be forgiving. You get a little, I don’t want to say cocky. But I was like, sure, I don’t know every aspect of the script, but you never know, sometimes you get directors and they don’t ask you really in-depth questions. But this director really wanted to do some character analysis.

“There’s always going to be that one time when they call your bluff.”

What did that feel like in the moment?

“You know when your whole body gets hot? And your underarms are really clammy and sweaty? I feel like they could see my heart beating really fast.

“That started when I could see in the director’s eyes that she was onto me. And that’s when I was like, ‘Wow, she is really not feeling me — she knows.’ So I said to myself: Golden, just get up and say, ‘You know what? I’m so sorry, I’m not prepared.’ Just say it, Golden. I’m having an out-of-body experience looking at myself saying, ‘Golden, tell the truth. Stop it, stop lying. Walk away with some kind of pride intact. C’mon!’ (Laughs)

“But no, I ignored my inner voice and I was like, I’m going to keep doing this because I can do this. I can still win this. This can be recovered. This can be repaired! But it went from bad to worse.

“You know the different stages of grief? That’s what I went through afterward. At first, I was like: How dare she! How dare she put me on the spot like that. So I was angry at the director. How dare you even come at me and make me feel like this. Then I felt doubt: It wasn’t that bad, was it? Then I felt sadness: Oh my gosh, I was horrible. They’re never going to call me in again. And then it just went into acceptance: OK, you know what? They don’t want me, I don’t want them. It wasn’t my best day. That’s fine.

“I’m normally very fastidious when it comes to being prepared. But every now and then you just can’t get it together. It just happens sometimes.”

The takeaway …

“If you get a script on a Monday and the meeting is on Friday, start working on it as soon as you can — and make sure your Wi-Fi is working!

“The thing is, I didn’t want to be the actress that comes in and complains: ‘My Wi-Fi went out, my daughter had a track meet, my cartridge ran out of ink, blah-blah-blah.’ Because that sounds worse. So I picked the lesser of two evils. I was backed into a corner and took my best option. I just didn’t know they were going to ask me to do such involved character analysis.

“But I’ll tell you the beauty of being a good bluffer: That is how you make it in life! I’m kidding. But I think I have had to learn how to fit a circle into a square at times and there’s something about that tenacity of plowing through. If you’re already gifted at something, maybe, just maybe, you can make it work. You have this lofty sense of self and you’re thinking, ‘No, I can do that!’ And sometimes you can. It’s like having a gambler’s mentality. And there’s the adrenaline of seeing if this can go your way.

“The older I get, the more I’m a cross your t’s and dot your i’s kind of lady. But I think in the past I’ve been a little more of an emotional gambler.”

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic

nmetz@chicagotribune.com