How To Play A Rocket Scientist

Hidden Figures’ Octavia Spencer spent some uncomfortable time in the ’60s to portray a math pioneer.

- Ashley Lee

When the United States launched John Glenn into space in 1962, it was thanks in large part to the vital work of three African-American female mathematicians: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. Their stories largely have remained untold — but that will change when Fox’s drama Hidden Figures opens nationwide Jan. 6. Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer portray the notable trio in the film, with Spencer recently nabbing supporting actress Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for her performance as the resourceful and persistent Vaughan, who manages the Langley Research Center’s “colored computers,” as they were called.

Just before spending the holidays back home in Alabama, Spencer spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about portraying a real-life character, channeling the 1960s throughout production and speaking up about diversity in the film industry.

What were your first thoughts after you were approached for your role in Hidden Figures?

I met with [producer] Donna Gigliotti in January 2014. I’d never heard of the story before, so I first thought it was historical fiction — I just had done The Help [which is historical fiction], so it wasn’t that farfetched. After doing a little research, I realized these women were real. I got a little angry that history had obscured their contributions to the space program and, with what’s going on in this country today, part of me just felt sad. It was about time the world found out about them, and I wanted to be part of that telling.

What do you admire most about your character, Dorothy Vaughan?