Aunjanue Ellis Takes a Supporting Role in ‘King Richard’


Actress Aunjanue Ellis His screen career has almost 30 years, but until about a decade ago he thought it was all a coincidence.

The 52-year-old Mississippi native grew up on a farm and experienced no drama other than performing at church Easter and Christmas plays. He began his undergraduate studies at Tougaloo College, a historically Black university where his acting instructor encouraged him to consider taking the craft seriously.

“My feet had no way and it gave me a way,” he said in a recent interview.

Now, we’re just weeks away from the release of a biopic about her performance that has spawned Oscar babble: “King Richard” It is the story of Richard Williams (played by Will Smith), the father of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams. Ellis is playing Orosen Price, his wife.

From one perspective, it’s a typical part of a career that might perhaps best be described as a range of roles from junior to promoter. But Ellis, who went on to earn degrees at Brown and New York Universities, leaned all the way into them and made them his own: whether it’s showcasing the comedy chops in “Undercover Brother” or showcasing gravitas on TV shows like “Ray” and “The Help.” ”

In recent years, she has garnered critical acclaim on productions such as “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel” and earned Emmy nominations for her comebacks in “When They See Us” and “Lovecraft Country.” His performance in the role of Price could be another step towards reward: critics and Oscar experts Just like when it played on the festive circuit before it hits HBO Max and in theaters on November 19.

In a video call from Chicago, where he is shooting his next project, “61st Street” to air on AMCEllis talked about what she hopes audiences will get from her performance as Oracene Price, and the pressure to choose roles that reflect Black women well. Here are edited excerpts from our talk.

Your first on-screen role was in the “TV show”New York Undercover Officer.” Do you remember how you felt when you got the part?

I say this on purpose because someone will hear it and feel it reflected in my story. My grandma stood in line for state cheese, peanut butter, for us to eat—to keep us going. I grew up at AFDC [Aid to Families with Dependent Children]. I hid because I was so embarrassed that my grandmother was paying for our food with public assistance.

There was no place in my imagination to make a living doing anything creative. Absolutely none. I got the “New York Undercover” job, I just thought it was by chance. It probably wasn’t until 10 years ago that I started believing that I could sustain my life and my family through acting.

What makes you say yes to a role?

I am very childish about this. Will it be fun? Will I have a good time? Can I do this, without shame and stand behind the fact that I did it? This is a challenge I’m still navigating. I usually have a responsibility that the people I work with don’t have. I know what it’s like to make a movie, and when it’s done, Black women tell you, “Why did you do this? You disappointed us by doing this” and you had to answer for it. I think Black women should specifically respond to this in a way that no one else has. These are my thoughts: Is it fun to play and am I doing a service to Black women?

How did the script come to you and what were your first thoughts after reading it?

I know there are probably other candidates they’re looking at that they’ll go to first. I’m used to this. I just spent my time and waited for the chance to read it – and I did.

Playing the hero’s wife can be extremely boring because they are stick figures and their sole purpose, as I read somewhere, is to cause trouble for the hero. i felt it [the screenwriter] Zach Baylin had done something that wasn’t the case for Miss Oracene – she had a life outside of her husband. I thought it would be fun to play.

How did you prepare for the role? Did you have a chance to talk to him?

I play the character of Miss Oracene Price. I’m not making a fun of your life. So I approach him as I would any other role. The other great thing is that I have material to work on. There’s a history there, just information that I haven’t thrown out of my own head.

Director Zach and Reinaldo Marcus Green did extensive interviews with Ms. Oracene, so I listened to those tapes over and over. She’s a special type of woman that’s more of a challenge to me. When I play characters, I try to find things that I can catch on the outside, such as their accents, how they walk, how they talk. But Miss Oracene is a very internal person, so I had to trust her words about herself. Her daughter Isha Price was on set every day so she was a great resource too.

I wonder what he’s channeling. Is it a person? Where does this density come from?

[On] He was referred to as a coach on Wikipedia, and I gave a very sarcastic response. I wondered why he calls himself a coach. Isn’t that an exaggeration? I mean, it’s great to be in the stands with your kids and support them, but that doesn’t make you a coach.

And when you listen to these tapes, when you listen to her daughters talk about her, you learn that Miss Oracene is as much a coach to these girls as Richard Williams. He was designing their approach to their game. I did not know that. I think 99 percent of the world doesn’t know that about Miss Oracene.

Mr. Williams is the architect of the new face of the next generation tennis; Miss Price is the architect of this. Now he does all this while working two jobs (plural) and has trained himself for years to be able to coach his kids. There are many women who live this way. I wanted people to know who Miss Oracene Price is and who she is. That’s what drove me. I speak for this woman.

I wonder if you see parallels with your own career. Sounds like your time?

I do not know. It is strange. I struggled. I was in a pile of things that no one saw or liked. They let me know they didn’t like it. God knows I’ve been in gold and shiny things but I wasn’t that proud. But I’m proud to be part of something that will give this family its flowers.

What you bring to this role makes you a possible contender for the Oscar. How does this feel?

The truth is, there’s a practical side to this, right? When you have this next to your name, it will help you get more jobs. I always lose my job to chicks with that thing at the end of their name. It would be great if it did because it expands my job options and everything that goes with it. But the other side of it, shouting Oracene Price is just another extension for me. He stood in the stands and applauded for his daughters, but it would have been nice to hear people applauding him.

Are there any directors you want to work with?

Reinaldo Marcus Green from “King Richard” — I would love to work with him again. Raven Jackson, a Southern woman, is shooting her feature film debut. He is a great writer. I hope I have a chance to work with him.

There are things that people send me – my directors and representatives – they come from these well-known directors. I’m not interested in it. I’m interested in Black people who are hungry to tell stories about Black people and do it in really interesting, innovative ways.

Do you do a buddy cop movie or a romantic comedy?

Listen, there’s no one writing me a script. The voice you’re hearing isn’t people throwing screenplays at me.

This may change.

Not now. This is not my life. So if I had to choose, I would definitely choose a “King Richard”, I would choose “When They See Us”. I enjoy doing this kind of work.

Acting isn’t necessarily something you do for a hobby, it’s how you pay your rent. I do what I have to do to take care of my family. If I had to choose, this kind of job I do now is the kind of job I would continue to do.

Thinking about the type of movie you want to star in?

Definitely. There are things I am currently working on and trying to achieve. I’m from the South and one of the biggest bullshit is the erasure of Black women so central to the freedom rights movement. And I say the freedom movement, not the civil rights movement, because they were two different demographics. So what I live to do is fix that.





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