Danielle Deadwyler Wants to Change the Way You See the World

As a Spelman College history major who also holds a master's degree in American studies from Columbia University, Danielle Deadwyler has a soft spot for period pieces. It's what has inspired the Atlanta-based actress and performance artist to star in films like the 19th-century western The Harder They Fall and the critically acclaimed biopic Till, about the tragic murder of Emmett Till. She's also currently in preproduction for Otis & Zelma, an upcoming film costarring John Boyega about the lives of soul singer Otis Redding and his wife Zelma."As someone who's been reared in the South, I have to tell the full gamut of our stories," she tells me over tea in Manhattan's Lower East Side. "That's what I'm interested in."

With The Piano Lesson, which will hit Netflix on November 22, she's found yet another project that puts Black American history at its core. The film adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play—coproduced by Denzel Washington, directed and with a screenplay cowritten by his son Malcolm, and starring his other son John David—is set in 1936 and centers on a family who left Mississippi for Pittsburgh. Deadwyler plays Berniece, a mother trying to stay afloat after the death of her husband and warring with her brother over what to do with a treasured family piano. "August's work has been a part of my life since I was young," says Deadwyler, who began her career in Atlanta's theater scene. "It has defined my understanding of Black culture, Black family, and Black community. It's in my theater DNA." Deadwyler has stayed close to her Southern roots, living in Georgia with her teenage son instead of moving to Hollywood. "My family is most important," she says. "The art will spring from me whether I'm in a certain place or not. I've got homework to check and chicken to cook. Ain't nobody got time for that other stuff."

When we meet at the Corner Bar on a sunny September afternoon, she's drained from landing in New York at 2 A.M. after having been at the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of The Piano Lesson. On the red carpet—in a shimmery silver and black Dior gown paired with metallic blue eye shadow and a blunt bang—she was aptly dressed like a leading lady. Her performance is already garnering Oscar buzz, and if she lands a nomination, many fans and critics will see it as a rightful correction after she was snubbed for her grounding and spirited work in 2022's Till.

View in Browser  With The Piano Lesson, which will hit Netflix on November 22, she's found yet another project that puts Black American history at its core. The film adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play—coproduced by Denzel Washington, directed and with a screenplay cowritten by his son Malcolm, and starring his other son John David—is set in 1936 and centers on a family who left Mississippi for Pittsburgh. Deadwyler plays Berniece, a mother trying to stay afloat after the death of her husband and warring with her brother over what to do with a treasured family piano. "August's work has been a part of my life since I was young," says Deadwyler, who began her career in Atlanta's theater scene. "It has defined my understanding of Black culture, Black family, and Black community. It's in my theater DNA." Deadwyler has stayed close to her Southern roots, living in Georgia with her teenage son instead of moving to Hollywood. "My family is most important," she says. "The art will spring from me whether I'm in a certain place or not. I've got homework to check and chicken to cook. Ain't nobody got time for that other stuff." When we meet at the Corner Bar on a sunny September afternoon, she's drained from landing in New York at 2 A.M. after having been at the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of The Piano Lesson. On the red carpet—in a shimmery silver and black Dior gown paired with metallic blue eye shadow and a blunt bang—she was aptly dressed like a leading lady. Her performance is already garnering Oscar buzz, and if she lands a nomination, many fans and critics will see it as a rightful correction after she was snubbed for her grounding and spirited work in 2022's Till." title="As a Spelman College history major who also holds a master's degree in American studies from Columbia University, Danielle Deadwyler has a soft spot for period pieces. It's what has inspired the Atlanta-based actress and performance artist to star in films like the 19th-century western The Harder They Fall and the critically acclaimed biopic Till, about the tragic murder of Emmett Till. She's also currently in preproduction for Otis & Zelma, an upcoming film costarring John Boyega about the lives of soul singer Otis Redding and his wife Zelma."As someone who's been reared in the South, I have to tell the full gamut of our stories," she tells me over tea in Manhattan's Lower East Side. "That's what I'm interested in." With The Piano Lesson, which will hit Netflix on November 22, she's found yet another project that puts Black American history at its core. The film adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play—coproduced by Denzel Washington, directed and with a screenplay cowritten by his son Malcolm, and starring his other son John David—is set in 1936 and centers on a family who left Mississippi for Pittsburgh. Deadwyler plays Berniece, a mother trying to stay afloat after the death of her husband and warring with her brother over what to do with a treasured family piano. "August's work has been a part of my life since I was young," says Deadwyler, who began her career in Atlanta's theater scene. "It has defined my understanding of Black culture, Black family, and Black community. It's in my theater DNA." Deadwyler has stayed close to her Southern roots, living in Georgia with her teenage son instead of moving to Hollywood. "My family is most important," she says. "The art will spring from me whether I'm in a certain place or not. I've got homework to check and chicken to cook. Ain't nobody got time for that other stuff." When we meet at the Corner Bar on a sunny September afternoon, she's drained from landing in New York at 2 A.M. after having been at the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of The Piano Lesson. On the red carpet—in a shimmery silver and black Dior gown paired with metallic blue eye shadow and a blunt bang—she was aptly dressed like a leading lady. Her performance is already garnering Oscar buzz, and if she lands a nomination, many fans and critics will see it as a rightful correction after she was snubbed for her grounding and spirited work in 2022's Till." height="auto"> Danielle Deadwyler Wants to Change the Way You See the World As a Spelman College history major who also holds a master's degree in American studies from Columbia University, Danielle Deadwyler has a soft spot for period pieces. It's what has inspired the Atlanta-based actress and performance artist to star in films like the 19th-century western The Harder They Fall and the critically acclaimed biopic Till, about the tragic murder of Emmett Till. She's also currently in preproduction for Otis & Zelma, an upcoming film costarring John Boyega about the lives of soul singer Otis Redding and his wife Zelma."As someone who's been reared in the South, I have to tell the full gamut of our stories," she tells me over tea in Manhattan's Lower East Side. "That's what I'm interested in." With The Piano Lesson, which will hit Netflix on November 22, she's found yet another project that puts Black American history at its core. The film adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play—coproduced by Denzel Washington, directed and with a screenplay cowritten by his son Malcolm, and starring his other son John David—is set in 1936 and centers on a family who left Mississippi for Pittsburgh. Deadwyler plays Berniece, a mother trying to stay afloat after the death of her husband and warring with her brother over what to do with a treasured family piano. "August's work has been a part of my life since I was young," says Deadwyler, who began her career in Atlanta's theater scene. "It has defined my understanding of Black culture, Black family, and Black community. It's in my theater DNA." Deadwyler has stayed close to her Southern roots, living in Georgia with her teenage son instead of moving to Hollywood. "My family is most important," she says. "The art will spring from me whether I'm in a certain place or not. I've got homework to check and chicken to cook. Ain't nobody got time for that other stuff." When we meet at the Corner Bar on a sunny September afternoon, she's drained from landing in New York at 2 A.M. after having been at the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of The Piano Lesson. On the red carpet—in a shimmery silver and black Dior gown paired with metallic blue eye shadow and a blunt bang—she was aptly dressed like a leading lady. 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