00:00And I sort of go, I remember the song but can't remember the title of the song.
00:04I love Wicked, but I've just talked about it ad nauseam.
00:08Did I say that?
00:18I'm gonna be free or die.
00:21Oh, that was from Harriet.
00:23I'm gonna be free or die.
00:27I think the whole story moves me, to be honest.
00:29But I think when she finally goes back to get her family,
00:33we needed to get a shot by the end of the day and the sunlight was running out
00:37and the weather was coming in and we were about to get some rain.
00:40Just as we got there, the rain stopped, sun came out and there was a rainbow.
00:44It all felt a little bit like magic, we just, we didn't expect it.
00:48It just felt like it was meant to happen.
00:50It was a really special moment for us all, yeah.
00:56My singing's always been my guardian angel.
00:58Keeps me safe.
01:00Is that from Bad Times at the Ariel?
01:03Oh!
01:06Aretha.
01:07Genius Aretha.
01:08My singing's always been my guardian angel.
01:12It keeps me safe.
01:14We found that one, didn't we?
01:15We dug for that one.
01:16That could have been any number of things.
01:18I was right at the beginning of my career, so I did not expect to see her.
01:22But it was really cool.
01:23She's, she was cool.
01:25I'd done a lot of research on her and in my research,
01:27I realised how much she liked to joke with the people she was around.
01:31You know, you know about her music, you know about what she did to get to where she was,
01:35some of the interviews and everyone always refers to like the shade.
01:39I think that's such a reductive way of thinking about who she was,
01:42because actually she had a really funny, witty side to her that I don't think people
01:48quite understand or realise and that was something I learned about her,
01:52that I really enjoyed learning about her.
01:55No.
01:56No.
01:57No.
02:00And we're really going to try and get one from Wicked, aren't we?
02:04You're the only friend I ever had.
02:06This is our alphabet in Wicked.
02:08You're the only friend I ever had.
02:11Do you mind if we do another question that isn't about Wicked,
02:14because I feel like I've spent the last two years talking about it
02:17and I think that we have an opportunity to start talking about something else.
02:21Is that okay?
02:22And I love Wicked, but I've just talked about it ad nauseam.
02:27Okay.
02:31Oh, lovely.
02:31Can't Hide This Any Longer, Your Being Makes Me Weak.
02:36That is one of my songs.
02:46Oh, why can I not remember the song?
02:48We can't remember the title of the song.
02:50I Might Be In Love With You, that's the one.
02:57That was a hard album to release because we recorded it all during the pandemic.
03:04So my producer was in, I think he was in New York,
03:10and I was recording between Atlanta and L.A.
03:17Atlanta was where we were shooting Aretha and L.A. was home.
03:24So because we couldn't be in the same space, we recorded everything where we were,
03:29where we were, which is really hard.
03:31I had to sort of figure out how to make a studio in my house,
03:34and that is not my strong suit.
03:37Well, Wiles, who produced it for me, was a really special human being and very,
03:42very patient and helped me get it together, yeah.
03:49Lining and Scars is all I've got left of me that's worst of me, right?
03:52Yeah, from my recent album.
03:57I was really proud of this album.
03:59I am really proud of this album and I actually really enjoyed sharing it with people.
04:05This was the first time I got to sort of like sit with fans in listening rooms and
04:11have people and watch people react to the music.
04:13And it felt like the first time for me releasing an album.
04:17I felt really, really supported when I did this one.
04:20I got to do all the things that I would have wanted to do with an album
04:22in order to share it and put it out.
04:24And everything was going on at the same time, but it still felt really special.
04:29This felt like a really beautiful moment.
04:32It felt like almost like a redo of the first album.
04:37You spend your life getting shook, you learn how to spot a shaker.
04:40This was Bad Times at the R.I.L.
04:42You spend your life getting shook, you learn how to spot a shaker.
04:45Darlene Sweet, Drew Goddard, who is the director, what was really lovely about shooting this movie
04:50is that there's a scene at the casino table and when I first saw it, I was like,
04:57I wonder if Darlene can sort of share what she's thinking in that moment.
05:04And without any hesitation, he was like, yeah, what do you think she would say?
05:10So I wrote a little bit, sent it to him.
05:12And then he, because he's a genius, sent me back the speech and it was perfect.
05:18And it was one of the first times that I felt that kind of respect come from a director who
05:23didn't have to,
05:24because he's Drew Goddard and he's done a million things and is a genius.
05:27He was just really kind and understood that what I wanted was just to make sure that the character
05:33was really alive.
05:34But I loved shooting this.
05:36This was insane.
05:37It was mad.
05:39I'd never experienced anything like this until this point.
05:41This was like one of my first, I think it was my second movie to shoot.
05:45And when I got the part, I remember when we were on the call, we were going through the contract
05:52and said, oh, you're going to be, you know, second billing.
05:55And I was like, oh, that's very nice.
05:56Why did they do that?
05:57And it took me up until then to realise that I was one of the leading ladies.
06:02And I was just, I had no idea.
06:03I remember.
06:04And everyone in the cast is amazing.
06:06Jon Hamm, he had Dakota.
06:07It was lovely.
06:08Kelly Spaney was awesome.
06:09Louis Pullman, a good cast.
06:11And Jeff, I love him so much.
06:13Jeff Bridges is one of the most wonderful people in the planet.
06:18I'm going to sing out, sing out.
06:19This is The Colour Purple.
06:23I'm here.
06:28How I learned the role on Broadway is unconventional.
06:31So I chased after the role here in London.
06:35We did it in a little theatre called the Menier Chocolate Factory.
06:38When it was coming to town, they wouldn't see me.
06:42So I badgered them and badgered and badgered.
06:45And I don't know why.
06:46I just knew this was the role I was supposed to play.
06:49I knew it in my gut.
06:50I just knew it.
06:51A friend of mine, Jason Pernicook, knew the artistic director and asked them to see me.
07:01Thankfully, they trusted him and they saw me and I landed the role in London.
07:05And so we did the show.
07:06The show went really well.
07:08And then we had a really beautiful review in the New York Times.
07:13And that sort of spurred the journey towards Broadway.
07:17And then they asked if I would go with it to Broadway.
07:19And I thought they were joking until, of course, I had my ticket and I was at the airport ready
07:24to get on the plane to go to Broadway.
07:26It turns out that John Doyle, my wonderful director, didn't want to go without me.
07:31So he took me with him.
07:32I am currently and have just spent quite a bit of time on stage right now.
07:37And I think I need some time away from it for a second.
07:41Let's see.
07:46I assume.
07:54Oh, is it this?
08:01I think they asked me what role I wanted to play or something.
08:05And I was thinking, so I just was tapping my head.
08:09I think some people think I'm putting it on, but I am actually just being myself.
08:13In the moment, things come up and I react how I react, just as a human.
08:20And some people are more expressive than others.
08:23And I guess I'm more expressive than most.
08:26When I found the hat in Paris, that was fun.
08:30Watching that back was fun.
08:32Remembering, I think there's an interview where I remember a song.
08:34And I sort of go.
08:37Because it sort of comes to me immediately.
08:39Those are core reactions.
08:40But it's weird because I don't like plan the reaction.
08:43So I don't have a favorite reaction necessarily because they're just
08:47me reacting in the moment.
08:53Now it's time for the breast exam, aka second base with your doctor.
09:02Did I say that?
09:05Oh, I know the one.
09:14I bothered Nick a lot because I wanted to do it.
09:18I love that show.
09:20And I had been obsessed with it for ages and ages.
09:23And finally this came up and he was like, I don't know if you want to do this.
09:26This is really crazy.
09:26I was like, I absolutely want to do this.
09:28This is perfect.
09:29This is the best role in my life.
09:31I played the vagina.
09:33And she was powerful and amazing and frank and straightforward.
09:39The way you want them all to be.
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