00:00 When I've spoken to so many actors this awards season, they often cite American Fiction as their favorite movie of the season.
00:06 What has it been like to receive so much support from other actors?
00:09 It feels good. You know, support from your peers. It matters. They know what it takes and how hard it is to break through.
00:16 And so those are your first cheerleaders. They're also cheerleading because many of these actors on here have been working for decades.
00:22 And they've been doing good, consistent work. So it's a wonderful feeling.
00:27 What's been the highlight of your awards season journey with American Fiction?
00:30 Well, obviously, here is wonderful. But we got supported early on by interesting critics who thought that this could be a winner.
00:40 And they predicted it. And then I think along the way, they made sure that it was talked about and seen.
00:47 And we had really great support from Amazon and MGM and Orion, no doubt. And our separate representation.
00:54 So I think I get now why people are so overwhelmed when they get here, because you're just so grateful.
00:59 And it does take a village. It really took a lot of people to get me here today. So I'm glad.
01:05 You look amazing today. I love your dress. What inspired your Oscars look tonight?
01:09 Well, this is Kristen Seriano. He famously won Project Runway and has become this amazing designer.
01:15 But he also has a legacy of dressing untraditional women. And he dressed black women when nobody would.
01:25 Because we don't necessarily have the size six body and all the stuff that, you know, a designer might like.
01:32 And he did it beautifully. And I always remembered what he did. And so when they said he called and he would love to make you a dress,
01:38 I said, that to me is a blessing. He's giving me something as a garment that to me speaks to what American fiction is about.
01:46 No marginalization, no stereotypes, breaking through borders and also being available to yourself,
01:52 your best self to reach out and bring the community in. That's what this dress is.
01:57 I love it. And it was such an amazing movie. And one of the themes is about also the importance of family and family relationships.
02:03 How did doing this movie and being a part of it affect your relationship with your own family and how you think about family?
02:08 Well, family is tough. It's dysfunctional inherently. Doesn't matter who you are.
02:13 And I think that seeing a family like this, a black family, was being marginalized into stereotypes,
02:20 whether it was Cliff, who was dealing with his gender and felt like he couldn't tell his family the truth as a black man.
02:26 And then, of course, Monk, played by the great Jeffrey Wright, writing these stories that he said really had very little to do
02:32 with what his skin looked like, but then suddenly breaking through with something that was more stereotypical.
02:38 What we're talking about is the marginalization of people. It happens to everybody.
02:42 Women know about it, certainly people who are differently gendered, ageism, all that stuff.
02:47 Geography, people think people from the South are dumber. Those types of things go on and on.
02:52 And I think in America it challenges us to look at the types of stereotypes that move the market and say,
02:57 "Is this an authentic representation of who we are?" And the answer often is no.
03:02 This new generation will have to attack those types of storytelling tropes, and they will do it very well.
03:08 Why do you think it's important for movies like American Fiction to get made?
03:12 For that one reason. Because we need new voices. We need new Shakespeare's.
03:17 We need new people who think differently. We need all these different executives that are coming in.
03:22 We want to see the world that they grew up in, and it is a diverse world. It's also a global world.
03:27 We're speaking different languages, thinking about the idea of Afro, that music coming in, and the Korean.
03:34 We've got all this great love for the new types of filmmakers that are making different stories.
03:41 But this is America. This is exactly what we're supposed to do. So people should get excited.
03:46 Your exciting journey with this film has all led to tonight. What are you going to do tomorrow when this is all over?
03:51 I'm soaking my feet. My feet hurt. They went to sleep three times. You hear me? Yes.
03:56 I mean, people had to nearly push me and walk me down, I mean, carry me down the carpet.
04:00 Not today, though. I've used some bengue on my feet, so we'll see what happens.
04:05 And then also rest a bit, and just sit down and gather myself.
04:12 Because my life didn't necessarily change because of this, but my future did.
04:17 And there's life in that.
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