Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor on unintentionally channeling her own grandmother in ‘Nickel Boys’: ‘She was a woman who went through hell’
Oscar nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor became a fan of director RaMell Ross after seeing his 2018 documentary, “Hale County This Morning, This Evening.” After failing to reach him to express her appreciation, fate eventually brought the two together when Ross signed on to direct his first feature film, “Nickel Boys,” and Ellis-Taylor was being considered for the role of Hattie. The actress “didn’t care” if she wasn’t a lead role, she just wanted “to be in that man’s world.” Watch the video interview above.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, “Nickel Boys” chronicles the powerful friendship between Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), two young African-American men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
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Ellis-Taylor never read the book and still hasn’t. “I believe, fervently, that adaptations and books are two completely different art forms,” she says. “For me, as a bibliophile, and as an actor, I want to go in in service of the adaptation and not the book. I don’t want to bring in any preconceived anything from my experience reading the book. I wanted fresh eyes.”
The actress didn’t approach the role of Elwood’s grandmother, Hattie, with anyone in mind, but discovered after filming just how much she unintentionally channeled her own grandmother. “Not only her physical DNA inside of me, but the DNA of her integrity, the DNA of her capacity for love,” Ellis-Taylor explains. And despite all of the trauma Hattie endures by being separated from her grandson, she doesn’t break. “My grandmother was always put together. She always was lookin’ cute. She always had her cute shoes on, her cute dress. Also, she was a woman who went through hell.”
This film also reunited Ellis-Taylor with Herisse, who played mother and son in the Emmy-winning limited series “When They See Us.” The actress recalls, “I just adored Ethan when we worked on that. He was about to college when we finished that. Now, he is a college graduate with a degree in freakin’ chemistry of all things! Come on, man! He re-enters my life as the leading man of this movie. He is one of the most graceful, elegant people, young or old, that I know. He’s a thing of beauty.”
Despite being an Oscar and two-time Emmy-nominated actress, Ellis reveals that she avoids watching herself on-screen “at all costs.” She admits, “Even doing ADR, I have them set it up so I don’t have to look at myself. Every time I go see these things, I get in my feelings. I don’t want to leave bed for two days. It clearly is not helpful. I need to be a functioning person.”
Being an Academy Award nominee “never felt like a possibility” to her. Ellis-Taylor states, “With ‘King Richard,’ it was very satisfying because I was a part of something that honored people I just think the world of. I have an extraordinary amount of respect for [Oracene Price].”
And the actress’ blunt advice for up-and-coming actors hoping to achieve success in Hollywood? “Don’t be an a–hole.”
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