Regina King has shared some of the reasons why she was moved to work with Barry Jenkins on the director’s new film “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
The Emmy Award-winning actress joined The Hollywood Reporter on “The Close Up” to discuss what it was like to work with the Academy Award-winning director on the film in a video published Friday.
“I am attracted to projects that not only are good stories, but the creators of that project, the producers of that project are true collaborators,” she said. “Because I want to have ownership in telling the story, what’s the point of being a part of it if not?”
“Barry, the first time we met was over a Skype call,” she added. “An hour later, I was like if it’s not this film, I am working with him on something because he is truly a collaborator, and I know I’m going to learn something – I’m going to leave the situation bigger than I was when I came in.”
The New York Film Critics Circle named King best supporting actress for her role in the highly anticipated film earlier this week.
“If Beale Street Could Talk” is a film adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel of the same name. The book, covering complexities of race, gender, society and politics, follows the love story of Tish and Fonny. The couple and their family’s lives are interrupted when Fonny is falsely accused of a horrific crime.
Jenkins told HuffPost last month that the book gets “directly to the truth of the political situation of black folks in the time the movie is set.”
King, who plays Tish’s mother, Sharon Rivers, said her character’s role in the story is “beautiful and powerful.”
“She created this for me, this home,” King said of her character. “Her and her husband Joe that there was no shame within the walls of their home – shame was not allowed.”
“If Beale Street Could Talk” has a limited debut in U.S. theaters Dec. 14.