A Day In The Life Of Regina King

Regina King is a woman who truly mazimizes her waking hours. She only sleeps for five hours a night— tops—but then again, her everyday existence is so fantastic that she simply can’t wait for the night to be over. As the star of HBO’s The Leftovers and ABC’s American Crime—a show which just earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie—the 44-year-old thespian simply loves her life. Here, she shares an average day on the set of Crime, from the moment she wakes up (and immediately begins exercising) to what she does every single night—without fail before heading to bed.

5 A.M. I wake up.

5:10 A.M. I begin my day with a five-minute leg burn workout. I don’t know how much it burns your legs, but I love doing it the mornings that I have an early call-time, because it really helps energize me. Then, I stretch and drink 24 ounces of water within the hour, followed by a shower, washing my face and brushing my choppers.

5:50 A.M. I start checking emails, and make a call list while I wait for the hot water to boil for my tea.

6 A.M. Tea is ready now, so I’m out the door and headed to my first day on the set of American Crime while listening to Jill Scott on the drive over.

6:20 A.M. Seated in the makeup chair.

7 A.M. Now moving over to the hair chair. I’m wearing my hair in braids on The Leftovers, so the stylist Rachel has to braid them up a special way to go under the wig smoothly for my role in American Crime. I will be in this chair for a minute, and will respond to some emails during the process.

7:30 A.M. Production just sent the script for the next episode of The Leftovers. So exciting, can’t wait to read! I put in an order with Barrett for breakfast. My order: egg whites, scrambled with all green vegetables and avocado. Salsa verde on the side.

8:15 A.M. I go to my trailer to eat and put on wardrobe.

8:45 A.M. Heading to set.

9 A.M. Start Shooting! Yay! The first day of filming is always a blast.

1 P.M. It’s a wrap for the day. Our family has officially been established, and it was a short day on set for me. I take off my makeup and grab something to eat.

3 P.M. I return a car to Nissan. They’ve been looking out for me while in Austin. I kind of like the Altima. Who knew?

4 P.M. Going for a work out. My friend works at Apple, so I get to work out at the gym as her guest today. Feels weird working out at Apple when I have a Samsung. LOL.

6 P.M. Driving home to shower and get ready for dinner and drinks with friends. While on the road, I have a quick call with my wardrobe stylist to discuss which designer I’m wearing to the Emmys.

8 P.M. Dinner at Uchiko. I usually don’t eat sushi in places that are landlocked, but the sushi here is pretty amazing!

10:30 P.M. Back home. I brush my choppers and cozy up on the couch to finally read the next episode of The Leftovers.

11:20 P.M. Just finished reading the latest script—wowzers! That Damon Lindelof is insanely good! Now, I need to call my son to see if his bed and furniture were delivered okay; and also, just to check on how things are in the house that he and his classmates just moved into.

12:10 A.M. All is well with Ian. I am tired and in bed. But first, I need to give gratitude to God for blessing me with another day, and then set my alarm for 5 a.m.