Candiace Dillard Talks Water in a Broken Glass

Candiace Dillard is making the jump from the small screen to the big screen.

The Real Housewives of Potomac star and former Miss United States, 32, has scored her first acting role in a major motion picture — co-starring in Water in a Broken Glass, director Jamelle Williams-Thomas’ adaptation of Rose Odessa's 2003 novel.

“It’s been such an amazing experience,” Dillard tells PEOPLE exclusively of the movie, which was an official selection of the Pan African Film Festival earlier this month and stars an all black cast with a principle creative crew made up of people of color. “To be able to show off this other side of me and help tell this important story? What an honor it is.”

The film — which was co-written by Williams-Thomas and Danielle S. Mooney — tells the story of Tonya Mimms (actress Billie Krishawn), a mixed media artist who finds herself in the throes of a love triangle with a charismatic man and a stunningly beautiful woman. Dillard plays Dr. Nikki St. Claire, a friend who helps Mimms navigate this obstacle.

“This is a story of self-discovery and how at the end of the day, you really have no choice but to face who you really are,” Dillard says. “You have to trust that when you let go and fall, when you get to the bottom and you’re on the way down, that the people who love you will be there to catch you.”

Aside from wanting to help tell this story, Dillard also leapt at the chance to play a doctor.

“My parents are doctors — my dad, stepdad, mom, and stepmom are all physicians,” Dillard explains. “I always thought I was going to be a doctor, and then I discovered that math and science hated me so I was like, ‘Let’s figure out something else to do.’ But to be able to play a doctor really was the next best thing.”

“I love Nikki,” Dillard adds. “She’s not a dumb girl, she’s a smart woman. She’s a lot like me. She’s spunky and loyal to her friends. She’s blunt, she keeps it real. She tells it like it is. And she has a soft side of her that can turn into a twinge of jealousy, which you see in the film while her best friend is kind of figuring out her life and neglecting her friendship with Nikki.”

Though fans are used to seeing Dillard on reality TV, she actually filmed Water in a Broken Glass inBaltimore back in the summer of 2007 — before ever stepping in front of the Bravo reality show’s cameras

Dillard had been studying acting for almost two years when she was cast, taking weekly classes in New York City.

Still, with a movie role and other smaller short films and web series under her belt, Dillard says she runs from the word “actor.”

“I feel like, it has to be earned and I’m still on my journey to earning the title of actor,” she says. “I still feel like there is a lot, lot, lot, lot more for me to do before I can start referring to myself as an actor. [Costars] Billie Krishawn and Victoria Rowell — those are actors. The stuff they’ve done in their careers is remarkable. It’s very humbling to be around all these people who love art so much and love the artistry. For me, that’s what this is about.”

Until she gets there, Dillard says she’s “actively auditioning” for her next part.

“I took a little break — as you know there’s this little show and it takes a lot out of a sister,” she says of RHOP. “It was a hard adjustment to get back into auditioning after my first season. But I intend to be an actor and be really, really amazing at what I love to do. … It’s therapeutic for me to be able to be someone else and tell someone else’s story.”

As for Water in a Broken Glass, she’s hoping fans learn something from the movie’s powerful message.

“With the times that we live in, it’s important to tell stories like this that include marginalized groups at intersections of race and sexuality,” she says. “Those are important stories to tell. It’s important to keep those stories alive in this time when we’re dealing with certain demagogues who like to create divisions and insight hate. You need stories like this.”

“The mantra of the film is that love is fluid,” she adds. “That’s the story that I’m proud to tell with this film.”

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