LAST YEAR, WHEN SHE WASN'T driving to Baltimore to shoot episodes of NBC's Homicide, flying to Hollywood to tweak her budding film career or volunteering at a local women's shelter, Queens, N.Y., actress, comedian and single mom Hazelle Goodman struggled to find time with her son Brandon, 10. So both were thrilled when Goodman landed a starring role in Woody Allen's new comedy, Deconstructing Harry, which was filmed in nearby Manhattan. "One day he had off school so he went on the set," Goodman says of Brandon. "He met Woody and got an autograph. That was show-and-tell. Oh, sure! He took it right to school the next day."
With her turn as Cookie, the film's outrageous but wise hooker, Goodman, 38, is enjoying her first high-profile role since making a splash with her one-woman 1995 HBO comedy special, Hazelle! By her mere presence in the film, she is also making a bit of cinema history. Goodman is the first black actress Allen has ever cast in a major role. Allen has dismissed as "meaningless" criticism that he hasn't cast more blacks, and Goodman herself says the distinction is no big deal. "To me," she says, "this was just an opportunity to work with a great director."
Goodman, who emigrated from her native Trinidad at 8, has endeavored to entertain since 1985, when she began her one-woman cabaret act. "I take from my life experiences," says the actress, who is filming a Showtime movie, The Seed. With film offers following in Harry's wake, Goodman won't leave Brandon home with her church pastor mother for just any movie. "I want roles that are funny," she says, "because laughter heals."
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