Danielle Brooks talks ‘The Color Purple’ and her Oscar nomination: ‘I always dreamed it would happen’

It was 3:30 in the morning in New Zealand, where the actress was Danielle Brooks He had gone to shoot a movie based on the video game Minecraft. But she was wide awake.

“I am alive and, today, nominated for an Oscar!” she said during a video call, minutes after the nominations were announced. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to sleep.”

Brooks, Former Emmy Award nominee previously, Tony Award nominated and Grammy winner emerged in the series Orange is the new blackAND now she has been nominated for her work as a supporting actress in the musical film “The Color Purple”.

His is the only nomination for this film. She plays Sofía, an outspoken woman who knows her worth and insists on her autonomy, qualities that make her a target of racial violence.

The actress first played the role on Broadway in 2015, in a defiant and exuberant performance that the New York Times likened to a “homemade steamroller.” His work in the film is perhaps even more compelling.

Nominated for an Oscar

Wrapped in zebra-print pajamas, Danielle Brooks, 34, spoke, amid occasional tears, about the joy of the nomination, the differences between theater and film and how she’s learned to say “Hell, no” in her personal life.

-How do you feel about being nominated for an Oscar?

-It’s like winning the cup of a very important championship. He is very crazy. It’s what I’ve always hoped and dreamed would happen, but when it actually happens, I’m in shock! It’s like they say in The color purple: “Look what God has done.”

-What did you learn from playing Sofia on Broadway?

-There was so much electricity in the theater that all people had to do was simply come and see the show. I felt a lot of pressure.

Playing Sofía, this strong woman and so confident, was what night after night, when she sang Hell, no It gave me the confidence to tell them, Hell no! to my fears. Sofia taught me to live with my power. Playing her on screen was the moment I learned to own my power.

People assume that those of us who act are very confident and courageous, and we are, but we don’t hide behind characters. Now I can fully commit to something and believe in my heart that I am worthy of moments like this.

-You were nominated for a Tony for that Broadway performance and won a Grammy, but I read that your audition process for the film’s casting took six months. Did you have to fight for the role?

– Yes. But I went in without ego, because as much as I wanted to shout from the rooftops, shout all that praise, there was no reason to. Because part of our job is to try to be selected in castings.

I didn’t want anyone to say that they had given me a role. They didn’t give me anything. I worked hard for that role for six months, recording songs and attending meetings. I did everything they wanted me to do. And it wasn’t bad for me. The choice did not escape me. I am grateful that I have suppressed the ego. Because here we are today.

From theater to cinema

-What did you feel different while making the film?

-For the stage show, all we had were wooden chairs and a wooden stage. So I used my imagination. But in cinema I had all the elements I could want. In fact, I appear in the sun on a plantation in the state of Georgia. This puts me right where I need to be. It was the greatest gift as an artist.

Today, being the only participant in this film to be nominated, I feel very honored. I feel like there are a lot of people I represent who deserve it and who made a huge effort, every member of the cast and crew who was there in 32+ degree temperatures. This is for those people.

-Since you played Sofia in 2015, cultural attention focused on racial violence has increased. Has this influenced your work?

-Sofía is a radicalized woman; she seeks to break generational curses. She is trying to start her own family. She tries to build a home and distance you from the norms we establish for gender roles.

To me, she’s a woman ahead of her time, with enough courage to say I won’t take trouble from anyone, no matter what shape, size, color or creed you are, I’ll do what I want. desire to do. This is very powerful. And that’s what we need as women. We need examples like that in our fiction, so that people can rely on them.

-Since you played the role for the first time, you have become a mother, a wife. Did this influence this Sofia?

– Deepen the work. Now I truly know the sacrifices it takes to get married and maintain a relationship when the world is simply fighting against black love. I also know the sacrifice of bringing a child into the world. He requires immense work!

When I played the role of Beatriz (in Much ado about nothing, 2019) in the Shakespeare theater program in Central Park, I was five months pregnant with my daughter and that was the biggest freedom I took. Having her in my belly reminded me that I’m not alone. And I can do it because now I have someone to do it for. When she was with me on the set of the film (of The color purple), it was the same thing: I’m not alone and I have someone to do this for.

-Your big number is “Hell no.” Speaking as a woman who preemptively apologizes for everything, I really enjoyed it. I should practice that lesson more. Do you apply it in your life?

-Hell yes! Honoring what you want as a human being is the greatest gift there is. Women live by apologizing for everything. We pass very close to someone in the elevator and say, “Oops, sorry.” And we have no reason to apologize!

We’re trained to apologize, to cringe, to say, oh, I shouldn’t be in the room. It is not true!

We should strut our stuff like Sofia and her sisters, stand up for ourselves and stop apologizing. That’s why I’m so grateful for the role of Sofia. Each character gives you a gift when you play her role. And what she taught me is this. All I need is to validate myself. I don’t need anyone else’s confirmation. I appreciate it. But first he has to come to me.