“Matlock” star Skye P. Marshall sees what she wants

A vision board, says “Matlock” star Skye P. Marshall.

To make a dream come true, “you have to actually see it,” she explains. “When you see it, you feel something. Feelings also have to be consistent with what you want.”

Marshall got into the vision board business after serving in the U.S. Air Force, graduating from Northwestern Illinois University and getting a job at a New York pharmaceutical marketing company.

“After two years, I realized it wasn’t my dream,” she says. “I said to my mother, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life, but this isn’t it.’ And she said, “Well, that’s what you have to ask God for: clarity.” I didn’t have a relationship with God, but I was so desperate to have it. I said, ‘Where should I go?'”

Since acting was a hobby, she thought that might be the key.

One day Marshall had a dream – to play in Los Angeles.

“Just two months after that dream, I got in my car, left New York and came to LA,” she says. “I had two months of unemployment to live off my business.”

Your first vision board: Procedural Drama.

“It manifested itself immediately,” Marshall says. “But as a background actor on ‘CSI: New York,’ I learned to be more specific.”

Marshall gave himself two years to build a foundation. Hill Harper, an actor on the show, agreed to offer advice.

“I started connecting with the right people, and (‘Matlock’) is my Cinderella story,” she says.

In the new CBS series, she plays Olympia, an aggressive lawyer and boss of Madeline “Matty” Matlock, played by Kathy Bates. Interestingly, the set is a reimagining of “Good Sam,” Marshall’s first regular role in the series.

“I would sit on these stairs,” she says on set, pointing to the stairs, “and imagine what I could do. I would hold on to it.”

“I can’t believe what I’m experiencing right now,” she says.

To prepare for “Matlock,” she drew on experiences from her jury service.

“In most courtroom scenes the extras are told to do business, but in the courtroom everyone is told to look directly at you, the lawyer,” Marshall says. “There isn’t a lawyer who won’t bring a little gimmickry to this room,” because all eyes are on you. This is not a comfortable position to be in when you are fighting for someone else’s rights or life. I always make sure my commitment is high enough, which is why Olympia is so careful about which clients she serves. That’s what makes ‘Matlock’ so original.”

Even on a television series, Marshall says she can draw on her experiences. For example, working in a company taught her to utilize all departments and be a leader. And since Olympia is a senior lawyer, she must ensure that her employees serve the master.

“The Olympics are all about the chain of command,” Marshall said. “When Matlock comes in, she starts to shake things up a bit. “Olympia has a piece of a castle wall around her and Matlock finds the crack in that castle wall.”

And that vision board? It goes back to her time in the military. “I was taught how to deal with fear in a very nuanced way,” she says. “So when a lightbulb goes off, you can’t judge that and say, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t call them because I know they’re busy.'”

Marshall had seen a reference about “Matlock” in one of the trade magazines. She asked her agent to get a copy of the script. When she started reading it, she felt like she had a lot in common with Olympia. Instead of asking for her name to be used, she sent a video to producers asking if she could be seen.

They agreed and soon after, she was doing a chemistry reading with Bates.

“If I had been afraid to send that DM, none of this would have happened,” Marshall says.

Today she’s starring in a hit TV series, newly married (she recently married actor Edwin Hodge) and thinking about her next move.

“I keep telling myself not to cry because that was part of my vision board,” she says. “But I never thought I would be sitting here with people like these extremely talented and supportive people and saying that.” Words from (creator Jennie Snyder Urman) and her team. It is a true honor and privilege.”

Marshall’s mission: “You can change the direction of your life at any time, where you want to go and how you want to get there.” It doesn’t matter whether you’re 18 or 75. Our journey doesn’t end until it’s over.”