His father, Denzel, produces while his brother, Malcolm, directs the film adaptation of August Wilson's play about the Charles family in 1936 Pittsburgh as they wrestle with selling a family heirloom, a piano descended from ancestors who were slaves. "I don't think you have to be a Black American to relate to this story." But it wasn't just working with his family that meant something to him. "I'm thinking about Sam [Samuel L.] Jackson, who originated the role in 1987. Michael Potts. LaTanya [Richardson] Jackson. I'm thinking about Stephen [McKinley] Henderson. I'm a part of that now. That gives me so much power and encouragement." And while "the whale of truth that we're floating along here is the underbelly of the antebellum South, the Jim Crow era," Washington says the universal messages runs deeper. "If you understand that, we also talk about something else. It's what's so brilliant about August Wilson's work."being out in the world right now? For lack of a better word, excited, anxious, curious and relieved. I’ve been living with this character since 2019, so I’m curious how people will respond to it. What about this character did you respond to? Ultimately it was the love that I saw in reading and discovering what these words mean to me. The love that he wanted, that he coveted, that he had a hankering for from his family. I think he just wanted acceptance. I don’t even think it was necessarily about selling the piano, but more about, will you forgive me? Can you tell me that I’m good enough or tell me that I’m a man? What was it like working with so We could start with the pressure of it. Can’t mess this up or your life as we know it, as an actor, for me, is over. [laughs] How do you feel about all the Oscar buzz? I’m overjoyed that certain people in certain circles are talking about August Wilson that maybe don’t even have a relationship to the theater [and] don’t have a relationship to his work necessarily. Let’s say they didn’t see Fences or Ma Rainey’s [Black Bottom]. If this is their intro to an August Wilson play, then my goodness, mission accomplished.

John David Washington

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