Keke Palmer on ‘Password’.Photo:Sami Drasin/NBC
Sami Drasin/NBC
Keke Palmergot fans buzzing in January when she said that retirement was “around the corner.”
But with season 2 of her game showPasswordpremiering March 12 on NBC, the actress made it clear in an interview with PEOPLE that she’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
“People took that literally, but I was thinking in like 20 years!” she says. “But also, what I will say is I meant a different type of ‘slowing down.’ I think there’s a version of me that really wants to do more producing, that really wants to do more directing, that wants to do even more work, notonlyin front of the camera.”
“I’ll be still doing stuff, but I don’t know if I’m going to always want to be doing three movies a year,” she explains. “That’s amazing. Thank god I am doing that. But I don’t know if I always want to be doing it at that level or that way.”
‘Password’ contestant Sam Seitles and hosts Jimmy Fallon and Keke Palmer.Evans Vestal Ward/NBC
Evans Vestal Ward/NBC
In the meantime, Palmer, 30, teases there’s a lot to look forward to on this season ofPassword,including guests such asJimmy Kimmel,Wiz Khalifa,Chance the RapperandJohnny Knoxville, and fashion from designers including Dolce & Gabbana and Sergio Hudson. The show will also have new “touches” for contestants including Shoot the Moon and tie-breakers.
“Usually I’m just hosting, but this season, whenever there’s a tie-breaker, I get to also jump in on thePasswordfun,” she shares.
Some previous contestants will return, too, for another chance to win cash prizes. “We heard some of their stories of what their life was like and what was happening the first time that they wonPassword,” she notes.
Keke Palmer, Jimmy Fallon and a ‘Password’ contestant.Evans Vestal Ward/NBC
Although she wants to teach Leo how to eventually be self-sufficient and “his own person” as her own parents did, Palmer admits her son is also teaching her a thing or two, as well.
Keke Palmer with son Leo.Keke Palmer /Instagram
Keke Palmer /Instagram
“Leo’s teaching me that I have a right to enjoy life,” she explains. “I gave up a big part of my childhood for what my family and I have the freedoms to do now. We all put off parts of our lives for this career and for this opportunity to find generational wealth … So for me, there was often the feeling [with] my childhood of, ‘Damn, I’m never going to get that moment back,’ that moment that everybody has where they just get to say ‘to hell with it’ and be irresponsible and just be a kid.”
“I didn’t have that moment, because I was always having to show up, be on time and hold my own,” she continues. “With my son — not that I’m going to be irresponsible — but my son has given me the permission to explore some of those things I felt I missed out on. And I get to do it with him. We get to have fun together, let our hair down together, and he’s just given me the opportunity to remember what it was like to be a kid again.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Passwordseason 2 premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and will be streaming on Peacock.
source: people.com
