Regina King says sharing the screen with sister Reina for the first time in 'Shirley' was 'a long time coming'

From sharing Shirley Chisholm's story to working alongside her sister, the Netflix biopic was a deeply personal project for the Oscar-winner.

Sharing the incredible true story of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first Black candidate for a major-party presidential nomination, was a long but worthwhile journey for sisters Regina and Reina King.

“We chose Shirley because we realized there were far too many people who didn’t even know her name. We felt it was important that people not only know her name, but why she was important, relevant, and inspiring,” Regina tells Entertainment Weekly.

The King sisters co-produced and star in the new Netflix biopic Shirley, written and directed by John Ridley. The film depicts Chisholm (Regina) as she embarks on her 1972 presidential campaign and navigates seemingly insurmountable obstacles, including the rampant racism and misogyny of the time. While Chisholm ultimately lost the election, the film showcases how she broke barriers to become a much-needed catalyst of change, both for those around her and the United States as a whole.

“To be a woman that’s unapologetic about who she is is not something that was embraced at the time," explains King. "As Black women, we celebrate it amongst ourselves, but I don’t think it is shared as passionately and positively with everyone else."

The film was a personal project for the actress, both in terms of its story and cast. Her sister Reina stars as Chisholm's sister, Muriel St. Hill. marking the first time the real-life siblings have appeared opposite each other on screen. “We did our share of acting as little girls, but this is the first time on screen, big or small, together, so it was a long time coming,” she explains.

The Kings square off in some heated, emotional exchanges that serve to underline the strain Chisholm dealt with personally during the election. These intimate moments behind the scenes of the campaign are part of what King calls the "secret sauce" to playing Chisholm — the details of her life that serve to humanize her. Shirley's nods to Chisholm’s real-life love for strawberry milkshakes are another example. While King herself isn’t often running to grab one, that personal touch came from a conversation she had with Chisholm’s goddaughter, Maria Ford.

In addition to her sister, King was particularly excited to work alongside two other costars: Terrence Howard and the late Lance Reddick. Howard plays Chisholm's fierce supporter, Arthur Hardwick Jr., who worked on her campaign and eventually became her husband after the events of the film. “Like Reina, with Terrence, it was also a long time coming,” King says of the actor, whom she previously worked with on 2004's Ray.

Showcasing Arthur and other men who supported Chisholm was important to King. “Often, we don’t get a chance in film, and some women in life don’t have that type of support," she says. "Shirley, in particular, often felt like a loner because she did not have a lot of support, as you see in the film."

Another steadfast Chisholm ally was adviser Wesley McDonald "Mac" Holder, played by Reddick, whom King had previously directed in One Night in Miami. Chisholm went up against Holder for a leadership role and won before he later became her adviser. “It was helpful Lance and I already knew each other as we’d worked together before, so there was already a relationship and bond there,” she says of the late actor, who died of heart disease in 2023. “The fact that [Chisholm and Holder] could have that type of relationship where they can be opponents and also partners just speaks a lot about both of them and their character."

In the clip above, shared exclusively with EW, Howard, Reddick, the King sisters, and other stars of the film open up about what it meant to them to work on Shirley and star alongside the Oscar winner at the center of the film.

"Regina King is the quintessential actor," Howard says in the video. "The dignity and regalia that she expresses, and [the way she] channels it directly through Shirley, will give you a bird's eye view of humanity at the birth of a godlike figure, because that's what she becomes in this. She inspires humanity to become something greater. It was something I wouldn't miss for the world."

Later in the clip, Reddick adds, "Just the historical significance of Shirley aside for a second, I feel one of the most important reasons for me to keep telling stories like this in this kind of format is to continually humanize people of color."

Chisholm may not have won the presidential election, but her bold campaign and her tenure in Congress left a major impact on the country. “There was so much that she did while in office,” King says, adding, “One of the things that is important to know are the relationships she developed along the way and the way they helped her get things done." After her presidential run, Chisholm was elected as Secretary of the House Democratic Caucus and would stay in Congress until she retired in 1983. “I don’t think she would have garnered the respect of those white men across party lines who worked with her if they didn’t see how tenacious and audacious she was,” King explains.

With projects like Shirley and King’s directorial debut One Night In Miami, the multi-hyphenate artist is showcasing Black people’s contributions to history on the big screen. “There is no American history without Black history," she says. "History is being revised, and people and facts are being omitted, and when that happens, the respect and regard that one may have for another’s existence is not equal when one doesn’t understand what history brought them to where they are at this moment."

Shirley is streaming on Netflix now.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.