00:00One more!
00:09Now in the industry, more black women are taking control of our own narratives
00:13and, you know, pushing to get our stories told in an authentic way that just hasn't been done.
00:20So especially in this time, it feels very special to be a black woman in Hollywood.
00:26Okay, so I had the collector's edition from last year.
00:30And on my coffee table, I have all the magazines that I've been in so far.
00:34And I put that one on top. I was like, I want to be in that one.
00:37Especially because it's all the black women that have been nominated or won an Oscar.
00:41So I think it was maybe a few weeks later after I did that,
00:44I emailed that I was going to be one of the 2019 black women in Hollywood.
00:48So it means a lot.
00:53I was asked to help one of my friends be a reader for his audition for the role of Fonny.
00:59And that's how I found out that the movie was even being cast.
01:02So I'm helping him out and I realized I need to be auditioning for this.
01:06And, I mean, I knew just seeing James Baldwin and Barry Jenkins that it was going to be something special.
01:11But then once I read the book itself, I just, I had never seen like black love, young black love,
01:19a story told like that.
01:22And I just knew I needed to be a part of it.
01:24It was a Monday morning because I was asleep.
01:28And I get a call from some number I don't recognize.
01:31So, of course, I, what, don't answer.
01:33But then that number calls me again.
01:35And I just felt something was like, girl, you better pick up the phone.
01:38And I did.
01:39And it's Barry, but he doesn't even introduce himself.
01:41He just gets to talk.
01:42He's like, girl, you sleep?
01:44Is you sleep?
01:44It's too late to be asleep.
01:45I'm like, it's 9 o'clock in the morning.
01:47It ain't that late.
01:48He's like, nah, it's 12 o'clock.
01:49I said, oh, so this person is on East Coast time.
01:52I said, oh, my goodness, this is Barry.
01:53And then he says, girl, do you even know who you're talking to?
01:56I said, I think I'm talking to Barry Jenkins right now.
01:59And I'm just trying to be chill.
02:01And then he just says, yep, this is me, it's Barry.
02:03I just had to call you myself and let you know that you're our tish, girl.
02:07Like, you're it.
02:07You got it.
02:08I just remember, you know, being so thankful and everything, but also kind of wanting to get him off the
02:13phone so that I could really go crazy and call my mama and cry and scream and praise God and
02:18just all of that.
02:22So much of Tish's strength comes from her vulnerability and her commitment to love and being loved and making room
02:32for that in her life.
02:33And I think coming into the project, that was something that I saw as more of a weakness.
02:39Like I saw strength in being able to do everything yourself, which I think is a common way of thinking
02:45about strength.
02:46And so what I learned, you know, from playing Tish and watching how her family just comes around her and
02:53just loves her.
02:53I realized there's so much strength in that, that it's not about being able to do everything on your own,
02:59especially when you have these people that are willing to be there for you and to help you navigate, you
03:04know, these really difficult things.
03:05So I really learned how to tap more into my own vulnerability in doing that.
03:10And then as an actor, I feel like I just learned to trust myself more, trust that what I was
03:16bringing was enough because this is my first feature.
03:19And I definitely had a lot to learn very fast and definitely had moments on set of just being unsure.
03:26And so I had to be reminded sometimes, you know, by the cast members very like, you got it, you
03:31know, and so I had to learn that as an actor.
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