#’Haves and Have Nots’ star breaks down its final season

Angela Robinson has played devious Veronica Harrington on “The Haves and Have Nots” for eight seasons — and says there’s more to her alter-ego than meets the eye.

“I don’t think Veronica is evil at all — I think she’s ruthless,” Robinson says. “I think she’s very upfront, very aggressive [and] she gets what she wants.She’s a bad ass. Men get to be all that and they’re rarely called evil. If there were more Veronicas in the world women would be running the world…literally.

“She just needs therapy.”

Robinson, 57, originated the role of Veronica on the soapy drama about affluent (and battling) families living in Savannah, Ga. and Jacksonville, Fla. Created by Tyler Perry, “The Haves and Have Nots” was the first original scripted series to premiere on OWN (in 2013). It kicks off its final season Tuesday at 8 p.m. on the cable network.

Robinson says she injects parts of her personal life into her portrayal of the catty, snobbish Veronica, who seems to dislike just about everyone and everything she comes across.

“I do sometimes take my [real-life] anger and use that for Veronica,” she says. ” I mean, I don’t hold on to [the anger of] people cutting me off on the road, but it’s just a mood of, ‘I’m not feeling anybody today’ so I put that into Veronica — and don’t take it out on anybody else.”

The homophobic Veronica, a millionaire, mother and ex-wife, has a particularly bad relationship with her gay son, Jeffrey, who’s played by Gavin Houston. The show’s large ensemble cast includes Tika Sumpter, John Schneider, Crystal Fox and Renee Lawless.

“I think there are a lot of people who, in real life, feel the way Veronica feels about her gay son,” Robinson says. “But I hope people will just be who they are. I’m not that way, so it makes me a little uncomfortable when people come up to me and say, ‘I’m with you on how Veronica treats Jeffrey.’

“I’ve definitely had that happen to me,” she says. “But that’s what drew me to Veronica: to be as truthful as I can and represent people as honestly as I can, because I do have many gay friends whose parents have that attitude. I just had to make a decision not to care if I was hated [by viewers] but to be more concerned with what I was really showing. That truthful [onscreen] homophobia and hate; it’s really been a blessing in the gay community.

“They have actually embraced me as well,” she says. “I thought, ‘Oh my God they’re going to hate me,’ but instead they’re like, ‘That is my mom, that is my aunt.’ ”

And, Robinson says, there’s another side of Veronica that she’s tried to show during all her years of playing the character.

“I think everybody can learn from Veronica,” she says. “She’s the victim of her ‘flip side,’ which I think every individual has, good qualities that can go bad if they’re not managed. It’s beautiful to be a perfectionist like Veronica, but not when you impose that on everybody around you.

“Being controlling and smart is what got Veronica out of the projects, through law school and into building nursing homes so she could become a millionaire,” she says, “but it’s also what got her into the most trouble.”

Robinson tells fans to expect the final season of “The Haves and Have Nots” to be an emotional rollercoaster.

“You can expect more shootings and more fights and it will be shocking each week,” she says. “Every season has its classic one-liner — and it won’t be any different this season.”