VIP: Tika Sumpter spends Christmas with Madea

Actress Tika Sumpter, 33, first made her foray into the world of Tyler Perry with a leading role in the media mogul's latest movie, A Madea Christmas, in theaters now.

"I didn't know what to expect," Sumpter admits of working with Perry for the first time. But, obviously they hit it off, because he next cast her in his primetime soap The Haves and the Have Nots, which returns for a new season on OWN Jan. 7.

Sumpter, who got her start on another soap -- One Life to Live -- describes A Madea Christmas as "kind of a Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" tale. Her family, including the sassy, gun-toting Madea (Perry), pays a surprise visit to her white husband (Eric Lively) and his kin in their small hometown for the holidays.

"My mother (Anna Maria Horsford) is not accepting of him," Sumpter says. Rest assured that the humor outweighs the drama. "It was a lighthearted, fun Christmastime movie ... a lot of laughs. You'll get to see, at the end, the bloopers."