How do you describe your faith life? Are you affiliated with a particular denomination or congregation, and how do you practice your faith?
I’m of the Baptist faith. Born and raised, grew up in Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church, 4526 South Greenwood Avenue (in Chicago). That was our family church. I probably spent every day of the week in church, and growing up, as they say, I was the lap baby sitting on my godmother’s lap in the choir stand. So it’s all I’ve ever known and it’s still very much a part of me.
Do you think that helped you portray Aretha Franklin, because she had a very similar experience?
Definitely, definitely in a lot of ways, a lot of things felt very familiar to me. Even while filming the church scenes I was like, I can’t really even see it as a scene. I don’t think there’s anything that can be scripted so let’s just have church. Luckily, all the musicians and everybody there were live. I call them musicians because I feel as though they were musicians first, then actors. It was as if they were filming us in church.
You and Forest Whitaker have had daughter-father roles before, including in “Black Nativity” and this movie, of course. Is there something that those kinds of movies say about the essence of the Black church?
Wow. You’re right. He’s played my father three times, actually. We did three films together. This is the third but two — I’d never thought about it — (were) church-based. I don’t know, but I guess it’s a good combination since we’re doing it again.
Comparing examples of “Amazing Grace,” how would you describe how you approach that song versus how Aretha Franklin approaches that song? Her track on that bestselling album is almost 11 minutes long. So would you sing “Amazing Grace” for 11 minutes, or would you have a different approach?
Oh, my God, that is excellent. Oof. Probably not. (laughs)
But that was the tricky part in the film: How do we condense it for moviemaking? Now, me, I’m not as — what’s the word for it? — I want to say as experienced, like Aretha helped set the blueprint of gospel, OK? I’m a student of it, you know what I mean, although I grew up in church, singing it the same way under the Dr. Watts (hymns sung during the introductory portion of some Black church services) morning service. But that’s praise. You can’t put a time limit on it. So however it comes out you just have to allow it and let it be what it is.
This article originally appeared at Religion News Service.
