Getting past a fear of ‘Loving’
WONDERFUL, terrific marvelous Ruth Negga. Best Supporting nominee for “Loving.”
“I’ve done many things,” she said, “A casting agent, who’d seen me before, put my name forward for ‘Loving,’ this true story of a multiracial couple. A few days before I was to audition, they sent me my scenes.
“I studied. I prepared. The truth is I was scared. I wanted it so badly. What happens is you self-sabotage. You worry you’ll mess up.”
Although the film deals with the laws that then prevented interracial marriage, her character remained steeped in quietness.
“It’s because that was Jim Crow time. A different era. People of color knew it was in their best interest to monitor themselves. To survive in an atmosphere of discrimination, you learned to play it down. We knew to be reserved. That pressure makes you a lot less emotional.
“There were scenes where you see the heaviness lift from her. Family, children, brought joy, love. They created laughter and tenderness, which was important so the story wasn’t just one- dimensional. The racism problem was not to be the only thing in their lives. It didn’t define them. “And scenes from their home while in hiding got you to respect her attitude toward nature. You see her connecting with sunlight, earth, nature and you sense the heaviness lift from her.” Phoning from “beautiful New Orleans, where I’m shooting the second season of AMC’s ‘Preacher,’ ” she said: “This is with Seth Rogen. I play a complex firecracker with a temper and shady history. Very different character from my one in ‘Loving.’ ” Figures Negga needn’t worry about an audition anymore.