0:02

What blows my mind is

0:04

that if I would have not seen

0:07

the color purple when I was 15, I don't

0:10

know if I would be here. That's

0:13

how impactful that Broadway show was for

0:16

me. It just opened

0:18

it up for me. It said, this is what you

0:21

can do. This is where the

0:23

possibilities can go for your life. And

0:25

for me to stand in

0:27

that and walk through it at 15

0:30

years old and say, I'm going to be

0:32

fearless and see where this path leads me.

0:34

I'm going to follow my heart and work

0:37

hard and get into

0:39

Juilliard. I'm going to keep

0:41

going after every no. And

0:43

capturing all of those lessons and holding

0:45

them within my heart has

0:47

got me to this point. The

0:51

color purple has taken many different

0:53

forms over the years. The

0:55

original 1982 novel by Alice Walker

0:57

was adapted into a 1985 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg

1:01

and Oprah Winfrey, and then

1:03

reimagined into a Tony-winning musical.

1:06

And finally, just recently, that

1:08

show was transformed into a new

1:11

movie musical. And whether as

1:13

an audience member or as a performer, Danielle

1:15

Brooks has been there for most of that

1:17

journey. Shortly after getting her

1:19

big break as Tasty in Netflix's Orange

1:22

is the New Black, Brooks played the

1:24

iconic character of Sophia in the new

1:26

Broadway revival of The Color Purple, a

1:28

role which earned her a Tony nomination

1:30

in 2016. Most

1:33

recently, Brooks returned to play Sophia in

1:35

the new movie version of The Color

1:37

Purple musical, which was released this Christmas

1:40

to critical acclaim. That

1:42

powerhouse performance earned her nominations for

1:44

a Golden Globe, a Critics Choice

1:46

Award, a SAG Award, and her

1:48

first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting

1:50

Actress. We caught up with

1:53

her all the way from New Zealand, where

1:55

she's currently filming her new movie, Minecraft. And

1:58

in this conversation, Brooks explores the connection between

2:00

faith and performance, how she works

2:02

to upend stereotypes, and why the

2:05

color purple continues to resonate with

2:07

audiences of different generations. I'm

2:10

Charlotte Alter, Senior Correspondent for TIME, and

2:12

this is Person of the Week. So

2:20

you were born in Georgia, which is, I

2:22

understand, also where you live now, but you were

2:24

raised in South Carolina and went to an arts

2:26

high school there. Can you tell us

2:28

a little bit about how you came to

2:31

the performing arts and how you realized

2:33

this is what you wanted to do?

2:35

I think I got the bug in church because

2:38

to me there was such

2:40

huge parallels. You

2:43

know, they're both performative, and

2:46

they both are trying to connect

2:48

with people and to reach people

2:50

and change the community and

2:52

the way we think. And there's a power

2:54

in that. You know, I spent a lot of

2:57

hours in revivals,

2:59

you know, church services,

3:02

watching choir anniversaries and all

3:04

of these things. So I

3:06

really observed what moved

3:08

the people, how the preacher

3:11

spoke that was moving

3:13

and when it wasn't, and when a person

3:15

was singing a solo and how they

3:17

were able to captivate the audience and

3:19

when they weren't. And

3:22

we would do performances for

3:24

holidays. We had this thing

3:26

called the cantata for

3:28

Christmas. And we would

3:31

learn all these songs and the kids would

3:33

put on little skits or say little

3:35

speeches and things like that. So

3:38

I know that the bug kind of

3:40

was sparked within church. I did my

3:42

first church play when I was six. And

3:46

I had one line. And

3:48

after the play was over, everyone came up

3:50

to my mom and was like, she was so

3:52

good. You need to put her in an acting program. So

3:55

my mom found those acting programs for

3:58

me to be a part of. arts

4:01

reaching middle and elementary school from

4:03

children's theater to the

4:05

governor's school for the arts and

4:07

humanities to leave academies.

4:10

So I've credit my mom for

4:13

placing me into programs that would

4:15

nurture the talent.

4:18

And so I just kind of took all of that and

4:21

found myself at the governor's school

4:23

for arts and humanities where I

4:25

lived on campus at 15

4:27

years old and basically

4:29

at a mini Juilliard. You had

4:32

to audition. We're in

4:34

a class of probably

4:37

11 my senior year and that

4:39

was where the training really started for me.

4:43

So it was around this time, right,

4:45

that you first saw the

4:47

color purple is my understanding, right? You

4:49

were in New York with your father.

4:51

And he

4:54

decided to take you to a Broadway show and

4:56

you went to see the color purple. Can you

4:58

tell us what that was like? Yeah, so I

5:00

was basically around my first year at

5:02

that governor's school when I was 15,

5:04

I had won an internship and

5:07

they were taking about 15 to 20

5:09

people from around the US, teenagers

5:12

to learn how to make their own short films.

5:15

And so I went, got a free trip with my dad.

5:18

And the reason we went to the

5:20

purple because once again, as we know,

5:22

representation matters. And that

5:24

was the only black show, unless

5:27

you include Lion King. And

5:29

so we went to the color purple and I

5:31

remember sitting all the way in

5:33

the mezzanine section and being

5:36

blown away. I just

5:38

was like, Oh my gosh, there's past

5:40

because the bug for me wasn't in

5:43

necessarily a TV and film only

5:45

because I didn't know how to get there.

5:48

But the theater, you know, because of

5:50

this training I was getting at the governor's school, I

5:52

was like, Oh my gosh, I love theater. There has

5:54

to be a way that I can do

5:56

this. But when I look at an August Wilson play and

5:59

I look at the names of

6:01

the actors like a Peyton Murchison

6:04

or Samuel L. Jackson. I'm

6:06

like, oh, well, they started out in the

6:08

play. I didn't

6:10

start out in the play. And

6:12

so when I saw that musical, it

6:15

became this direct spark

6:17

that said, this is a path I

6:19

can do this. They look like me.

6:21

They're singing about God. They're acting

6:23

and dancing, all these things that

6:26

I love. And then 10 years

6:29

later, crazy enough,

6:31

how like this is full circle

6:33

moment. That's the first Broadway

6:36

show that I started. Yeah.

6:38

So I understand after you have

6:40

this experience of seeing the color

6:42

purple on Broadway, you applied to

6:45

Juilliard and were accepted. Oh yeah.

6:47

Juilliard was challenging because I came

6:49

in so young and I'm

6:51

learning how to just be

6:53

a woman and come into

6:55

womanhood. Now someone's telling me

6:57

how to walk, how to talk, how

7:00

to hold my body. Everything

7:02

was just under a microscope

7:05

while I'm trying to just learn what it

7:07

is to be, to be, you

7:10

know, to figure out your own way to be.

7:12

Yeah. And my own thoughts

7:15

and getting from under my parents and

7:17

what my opinions are. But

7:19

I learned so much about

7:22

myself as an artist and how fearless

7:24

I am. I remember playing

7:26

in a farce we did in our

7:29

third year of school. I

7:31

played Queen Elizabeth and

7:33

I know, right? My

7:37

black ass Queen, Queen Elizabeth. It was pretty

7:39

awesome. And in that moment,

7:41

I felt like there was nothing I couldn't

7:43

do being that

7:45

they allowed me this opportunity to

7:47

play Queen Elizabeth, even though it

7:49

was to be humored, I

7:52

still felt unstoppable. I felt like

7:55

there was nothing that I couldn't

7:57

do or try. And

7:59

I've taken. that with me my whole

8:01

career. Like I think about, you know,

8:04

being in Peacemaker and how nervous I

8:06

was to get that job

8:08

after having my daughter gaining

8:10

weight. Now people are asking

8:12

me to do an action

8:15

character. I'm like, are you serious? Is

8:17

this a joke? But that's a

8:19

dream I've always had. And

8:22

I knew from that moment that spark

8:24

that I had playing Queen Elizabeth to

8:26

not limit myself. So

8:28

I just learned a lot being

8:30

at Juilliard that could

8:33

probably take up this whole interview,

8:35

but I'm not going to spend

8:37

that much time. So

8:39

I also understand that you

8:41

overlapped while you were there

8:43

with Corey Hawkins, who is

8:46

one of your co-stars in the movie.

8:48

He plays Sophia's husband, Harfo. Yes. What

8:50

was that like to reunite with an

8:52

old friend from Juilliard? And what's

8:55

it like for the two of you to sort of look back

8:57

on your time there? Oh my God. I

8:59

just love him so much because

9:01

I feel like we have been

9:04

pushing each other into our greatness

9:06

our entire lives. Wow. Ever since

9:08

we met each other, we have

9:10

been literally pushing each

9:13

other. I remember when

9:15

we are seniors in college, we do

9:17

this thing in front of all these

9:19

agents and managers where they watch and

9:21

do scenes so that you can potentially

9:24

be signed. And

9:26

I see an agent that I

9:28

really wanted to sign with and

9:30

Corey was like, you should just go

9:32

talk to him. And I was like, no. And

9:34

he was like, no, like seriously, Danielle, if you

9:36

want to sign with them, go talk to them.

9:39

I said, okay. And I took

9:41

my shy behind that to this agent and

9:43

I said, hi, I'm Danielle Brooks. I just

9:45

want to introduce myself. Hope

9:47

you enjoy what you watch. And

9:50

it was only me and

9:52

this other classmate that were on their

9:54

list to be signed. And I ended

9:56

up signing with them. Wow. And we've

9:58

just always kind of. done

10:00

that, been very transparent with each other.

10:03

And Corey, he was the first one

10:06

attached to the movie. And

10:08

when he got that part, he

10:10

immediately called Scott Sanders, our producer,

10:12

to say, please let Danielle Brooks

10:15

be Sophia. And

10:18

even though I still had to go

10:20

through the six month process of auditioning, just the fact

10:22

that he did that for me, I

10:25

would forever be grateful

10:27

for the type of friendship that

10:29

we hold. We've always

10:31

just wanted to see each other win. So

10:34

I just am glad to be one

10:37

of his closest friends and him be

10:39

mine. Wow. Well, we're going to

10:42

be talking a lot about the color purple.

10:44

OK. But

10:47

first, I want to hear about your

10:49

big break, which came when you were

10:52

cast in the role of

10:54

Tasha, AKA Tasty, in

10:56

the Netflix show, Orange is the New Black. So

11:00

how did that role come

11:02

about? And do you remember the moment

11:04

when you were cast? Oh, yes.

11:06

How could I forget it? So

11:09

I actually was doing regional theater. Going

11:12

back to that, that's been always my

11:14

first love, was the theater. And

11:17

so I was doing the serving of two masters

11:19

at the time. And my

11:21

agent called me, that same agent, that I

11:24

booked from Juilliard called. And it was like,

11:26

they want you to audition for this web

11:29

series. And didn't nobody know what a

11:31

web series was at the time. So I was

11:33

like, OK, I'm going to audition for this web series.

11:35

It's called Orange is the New Black, and it's about

11:38

inmates. And I'm like, oh, man, I

11:40

don't want to do this. Because remember,

11:42

in my brain, I can do anything.

11:44

I can play Queen Elizabeth. So I

11:47

don't want to play a stereotype. Right.

11:49

But I was like, you

11:51

know what? I'm going to go in there and

11:53

see what this is. And so I remember meeting

11:55

with the casting director, Jen Houston. And before I

11:58

even started, she was like, I don't know. I

12:00

want you to know that Tasty is the light

12:02

of the prison. She's the joy,

12:04

even though it might be written one way, we

12:07

want you to lean into that. And that excited

12:09

me because that's the direction I already

12:11

wanted to go with Tasty to

12:14

really show her humanity,

12:16

to show that people who are

12:18

in these situations aren't just

12:20

dragging their feet angry all

12:23

day, black women that are

12:25

loud and boisterous, even though that's a part

12:27

of who she is, there is

12:29

so much more to who she is.

12:32

And that's what I wanted people to see. And

12:35

so I ended up booking that

12:37

job, which was originally only

12:39

supposed to be for about

12:41

two episodes. And

12:43

it turned into seven seasons

12:45

of playing Tasty Tasha Jefferson.

12:48

Wow. So I'm

12:51

glad you brought this up because obviously there

12:53

are so many incredible black actors with incredible

12:55

resumes. And oftentimes

12:57

in this industry, there is a tendency

13:00

to typecast people or put them in

13:02

roles that are stereotyped. How

13:04

do you grapple with that? How

13:06

do you think about the question

13:08

of typecasting and stereotype when you

13:11

are considering which roles you wanna

13:13

take? Where

13:15

is it going? Where is the story going?

13:18

I think that's important to me. Is

13:21

it moving the needle in any

13:24

capacity is what's important

13:26

to me. Because

13:28

I don't want to be

13:30

a player in pushing a

13:32

stereotype further. I

13:35

have no interest in that. So

13:37

I'll just say, no, I'm not doing it.

13:40

And I make sure that my

13:42

team, my agents, my managers, go

13:45

find very complex

13:48

characters that I can play that

13:52

would shock people. That's

13:55

what I want. I want something that

13:59

people would say, oh. Oh man, I would

14:01

never think to cast Danielle Brooks in

14:03

that, but that makes complete sense. It

14:05

actually works. That's what

14:07

excites me. I think

14:09

that's why like being in Minecraft

14:11

and being alongside Jason

14:14

Momoa and Jack Black, you

14:16

know, is so

14:18

powerful because I'm

14:21

showing black women,

14:23

black girls that

14:25

we are more than what we

14:27

are always seen to be, you

14:29

know, and that just

14:32

gives an opportunity for someone else

14:34

who hasn't seen themselves that might

14:36

look like me to see themselves

14:38

presented in an honest way. You

14:42

know, you formed Black Women on Broadway

14:44

with a couple other women in 2020. Why

14:47

was this such an important organization to

14:49

create? And what do

14:51

you think needs to keep changing in

14:53

Hollywood and on Broadway that you

14:55

hope your own work

14:58

and organizations like this and your own performances

15:00

can really help sort of move the needle

15:02

with? We put in a lot

15:04

of work as artists. There's a

15:06

lot of trauma within the

15:08

artist community of us

15:11

not feeling seen or

15:14

not even feeling seen, not being seen

15:17

or getting paid properly or

15:20

whatever it is that we've experienced.

15:23

So when we created Black Women on

15:25

Broadway, it was a moment

15:28

for us to say that we see each other.

15:31

If nobody else sees each other, there's

15:33

a community of women

15:36

that will honor the work that

15:38

is happening because there's more to

15:40

it than just being the actor.

15:42

Like you can be the stage

15:44

manager. You can get into

15:47

creating a set, you know, whatever it

15:49

is, you can be a dresser.

15:51

There's different ways

15:53

into it that people don't even know. So

15:55

when we get to set, we don't see

15:57

nobody that looks like us besides. on

16:00

the stage because people didn't

16:02

know how to get to those positions.

16:05

So that's what our goal is to

16:08

work on helping young women find their

16:10

way with whatever path they want to in

16:12

the theater. So I

16:15

was surprised to learn that you got

16:18

your role in the Color Purple on

16:20

Broadway while you

16:22

were still shooting Orange is

16:24

the New Black. Yeah. How does

16:26

that even work logistically? Logistically,

16:29

there was no sleep. And

16:32

this is when I say passion

16:34

for the craft comes into play.

16:37

I love what I do with a passion.

16:40

I love storytelling. Oh my

16:44

gosh, it's my everything. It's

16:46

my therapy. It's my outlet.

16:48

It's my play. It's everything

16:50

to me. And so you

16:52

have to love what you do because the

16:55

amount of pressure that I felt every day

16:58

the loss of sleep, the amount of

17:01

discipline I had to have. So

17:03

the way that my schedule worked was

17:05

I would get up in the

17:07

morning, four or five in the morning, go to

17:10

set for Orange is the New Black, get in here

17:12

and make a start shooting, shooting

17:14

until about 12, go get

17:17

in a car, shoot over

17:19

to 42nd Street, start

17:21

rehearsals between one to five

17:23

or 6pm, have a one

17:25

hour dinner break. And

17:28

from there, go do a show during

17:30

previews starting at eight that would

17:32

not wrap until 10

17:34

30pm at night. Go greet all

17:36

of the fans for another 30 minutes

17:38

once you get out of costume. And

17:41

then now we're at what, 11 o'clock. And then I

17:44

lived in Brooklyn, so I didn't get home until 11

17:46

45pm and do it all over the

17:50

next day. Wow. It was

17:53

insane. Like, Oh,

17:55

I remember doing Orange is the New

17:57

Black, the Poussé death. scene

18:01

in the cafeteria doing

18:03

that and then running over to the

18:05

theater in color purple and then playing

18:07

Sophia. So we're doing eight shows

18:09

a week on top of shooting Orange is the

18:12

New Black, which I feel like I

18:14

can only do in my 20s. Like I

18:16

can only do as a single woman

18:18

with no kids. It's like, yeah, like

18:20

kind of impossible to do now. But

18:22

that's what I was doing. When

18:27

we come back, Danielle Brooks talks about

18:30

her Oscar-nominated role in the newest version

18:32

of the color purple. More

18:34

in a minute. So

18:56

I want to zoom out and ask more

18:59

broadly about the color purple because

19:01

it is such a cultural

19:04

touchstone and you've

19:06

been part of it in three different

19:08

iterations. You saw the original Broadway

19:10

production, you performed

19:12

in the revival on

19:15

Broadway as Sophia, and

19:17

now you're in this incredible movie.

19:20

So can you tell me a little bit about what

19:23

this show means to you, what this

19:25

story means to you? This

19:28

story has been life-changing

19:31

on so many levels.

19:34

One being an audience member and

19:37

it changing my life and this is showing

19:40

me my purpose. Also

19:43

the book reading

19:45

Alice Walker's words and

19:48

seeing myself in Seely

19:50

to begin with as somebody

19:52

who didn't feel beautiful

19:54

growing up and just

19:57

didn't know her voice like

19:59

that. It just felt, seemed

20:01

ugly and I just felt

20:04

like Celie in a lot of ways.

20:07

And so it was the connection that Celie had

20:09

with God, you know, the book starts out,

20:11

Dear God, and being a church girl,

20:13

I was like, oh

20:15

my gosh, this is amazing. Like

20:18

she's writing letters to God. And that's

20:20

all I did was write in my

20:22

journal all the time as my

20:25

outlet of expression of

20:27

how I was feeling internally.

20:30

So the book has a huge impact on

20:32

my life. And then

20:34

being in it, I found my

20:37

power playing Sophia on Broadway.

20:41

You know, the pressure of

20:43

doing the eight shows

20:45

a week on top of Oranges and New Black

20:47

when I had got Tony nominated for it. I

20:51

went into this whole imposter

20:53

syndrome moment and feeling like,

20:56

how the hell did I get

20:58

myself here? Because also when I

21:00

tell you there was just this

21:02

magic that was happening with

21:05

being on that stage, the

21:08

healing that people were experiencing.

21:12

And like you would see people didn't

21:14

know each other coming from different

21:16

walks of life, holding hands, walking

21:19

out of the theater when we're

21:21

singing the final number, the color

21:24

purple. You would see the connection, you

21:27

would see the tears, you would see

21:29

people being transformed and feeling

21:31

that every night and knowing like, can we

21:33

do it again? Can we do it

21:35

again? Can we do it again? With a lot of pressure.

21:39

So I just realized the impact of what

21:41

we do as artists and the importance

21:43

of it. But playing

21:46

Sophia and singing Hell

21:48

No every night really helped me to

21:50

say Hell No to this imposter syndrome,

21:52

to this fear that I was holding

21:55

inside of me, to feeling

21:57

like I'm not deserving of this.

22:00

moment I got to cancel that out

22:02

every night by playing somebody so

22:05

sure of herself and so strong.

22:07

Yeah. And so it wasn't until

22:10

doing the movie that

22:12

now I'm in a

22:15

deeper ownership of

22:17

my power. Then I was learning it,

22:19

now I'm owning it. Now

22:21

that I'm a mom too,

22:24

there's this added layer

22:26

because I am

22:29

somebody Sophia. Yeah. You

22:31

know I am fighting for my

22:33

daughter, I am fighting for my

22:36

marriage, my husband for breaking generational

22:38

curses within my family for her.

22:41

I'm working hard so that she knows

22:43

that when she comes out and is an

22:45

adult that she can follow whatever

22:47

dream she has while also

22:50

being a mom and a wife. Like you

22:52

can have it all, you can do it

22:54

all. And so I feel like

22:56

now I've been able to show her that and also

22:58

give her the tools that

23:01

we find in this story of

23:03

being the she-ro to your own

23:05

story, to being able

23:08

to say hell no, to learning

23:10

that I'm here as Ceeley teaches

23:12

us in her number and how

23:14

to find your voice again. How to

23:17

when you fall down like Sophia

23:19

has, how to get back up, I'm

23:21

leaving that for her within the story

23:23

and that's pretty awesome. So

23:26

I have to tell you I saw you perform

23:28

on Broadway. Oh no.

23:30

Almost 10 years ago in the color

23:32

purple and I remember your performance and

23:34

it was unbelievable.

23:38

That experience that you're talking about that

23:40

the audience had, I also

23:42

felt it firsthand. It was really

23:45

a magical performance.

23:48

And honestly what you're saying about motherhood,

23:50

particularly with the role of Sophia, it

23:53

makes a lot of sense because what

23:55

happens to Sophia in the story, the

23:58

fact that she's a mother raised This is

24:00

the stake for this

24:03

stance that she takes, and it makes the

24:06

sacrifice that she ends up making even

24:08

more heartbreaking. And

24:10

I can see in your performance in

24:12

the movie how raw

24:15

and present that is. I

24:18

want to ask you about your

24:20

conversation with Oprah, because the role of Sophia

24:23

is the role that Oprah played in the

24:25

1985 movie. And

24:28

I understand that you spoke

24:30

to her, you had a Zoom call with her, right,

24:33

as you were working on this role for this film.

24:35

So what did she tell you? What was that call

24:37

like? Well, once I got

24:39

the job, I called Scott Sanders, our producer, and

24:41

I was like, can you please get me on

24:43

the phone with her to talk with her about

24:46

this role? Because when I was doing it on

24:48

Broadway, I was too shy to talk to

24:50

her. I was like, I'm just going to

24:52

be in the corner and do my job

24:54

and chill. But now with that

24:56

ownership that I have learned from Sophia of

24:59

owning my power and not being afraid, I

25:01

was like, I need to talk to her. And

25:04

so we talked and she shares with me a

25:06

quote that Maya Angelou shared with her. She says,

25:08

I come as one, but I stand as 10,000.

25:11

And I just thought that was so

25:13

powerful, because that is what we're doing

25:15

as artists. We are

25:18

coming as one, but standing in the gap

25:20

for so many Sofias or whomever

25:22

we're playing in this world and

25:25

the responsibility and weight that that holds.

25:27

And even now, I feel a huge

25:31

responsibility. I felt a huge one

25:33

before stepping into the shoes

25:36

of Sophia that Ms. O had

25:39

originated. But now being

25:41

the only one Oscar nominated

25:43

from the film has really

25:45

added to that. I

25:47

feel like I am standing as

25:50

one, but coming as a thousand. There's

25:52

so many people that

25:55

have been a part of this incredible

25:57

piece of work, even from 1985

26:02

when this movie was nominated for

26:04

11 Oscar and didn't win one.

26:07

It's just like, man, I just,

26:09

I want it for everybody.

26:13

I want it for Whoopi and

26:15

Oprah and Danny Glover and Margaret

26:17

Avery and all the people that

26:19

have been a part of the

26:22

Broadway productions and the tours

26:25

and the regional theater and the

26:27

Africa version of this. And I

26:30

just know what this story

26:32

has been for so many people that

26:35

have been on the inside of it and

26:38

who have witnessed it and

26:41

had the impact of change within

26:43

their heart and their spirit. It can't tell you

26:45

how many people have come up to me and

26:48

said, you know, I feel like

26:50

after watching this movie, there might be

26:52

a way for the healing to happen

26:55

between me and my father or, you

26:57

know what? Wow. Oh my

26:59

gosh. My daughter, when she

27:01

witnessed you in this film, she

27:04

felt that she saw herself in

27:07

your character, like there's just so many moments,

27:09

even within my own life that

27:11

has healed my relationships

27:14

and friendships where I didn't talk to

27:17

people for two, three years and after

27:19

being in this and them

27:21

coming to see me in it has healed my

27:24

relationships. So I just

27:26

want that win for the

27:28

multiverse that is the color

27:31

purple. Yeah. You know,

27:33

great works of art, they sort of

27:35

endure and they mean different things to different

27:37

audiences at different times. And

27:40

I'm wondering from

27:42

the book in the early 1980s to the movie in

27:45

1985 to the Broadway

27:47

show in 2005 to the revival

27:50

in 2015 to now, how

27:52

do you think the meaning of the

27:55

color purple has evolved? How

27:57

did 2024 audiences experience? this

28:01

story differently than audiences

28:03

would have in the 1980s? And how

28:05

has your experience of it evolved? Well,

28:07

I think the reason that

28:09

this story continues

28:12

to resonate is

28:15

because it is a story that will grow

28:17

with you as you grow. It's

28:19

going to change as you

28:22

change. You know,

28:24

I've seen the difference from young Danny

28:26

having a dream, should Avery might

28:29

have a dream, following

28:31

through with that. I've seen

28:33

it now as a wife and,

28:36

you know, taking the journey of

28:38

Sophia and, you know, how

28:41

drastic and radical that

28:44

is for this black woman to fight

28:46

to break the generational curses

28:49

that she and Harper witnessed

28:51

within black love relationships. And

28:54

what that means for me now as

28:56

a married woman, I've seen the changes

28:58

that this story has meant for me

29:00

as a mother. And

29:02

not only that, through just like hard

29:05

times, when I

29:07

have to remember what Seeley

29:09

says about, I believe

29:12

I have inside of me everything that

29:14

I need to live a bountiful life.

29:16

You know, I have to lean

29:19

on those words sometimes when

29:21

I think of what she says, I got my

29:23

sister, I can feel

29:25

her now, she may not be here,

29:28

but she still mine is holding on

29:30

to those things that you

29:33

still have when

29:35

you feel like you ain't got everything. When

29:38

you feel like the world is

29:40

crumbling in on you or caving in on

29:42

you, those things ain't never going to stop

29:44

till we take our last breath. Yeah,

29:47

those lessons of forgiveness

29:50

and loving yourself

29:52

and knowing you can get

29:54

back up and, you

29:56

know, forgiving your oppressor and

29:58

forgiving yourself. And

30:00

for finding strengths in the

30:03

quiet moments, not just being as loud

30:06

as Sophia, but sometimes your strength

30:08

comes in ways like Celie.

30:11

Those things will forever

30:13

remain as long as we have

30:15

breath in our body. So

30:17

I feel like this story that

30:19

Alice Walker has created is

30:23

so masterful and so

30:25

timeless. And I

30:28

can't wait to hopefully

30:30

witness in the next 30 years

30:33

what the next generation brings

30:36

to this and where they

30:38

take it because I don't see it ever fizzling

30:41

out. Yeah. So,

30:44

you know, one thing that comes up a lot

30:46

when talking about the color purple is that this

30:48

is a story that deals with so

30:51

much black trauma. I mean, just

30:54

from sexual abuse to Jim

30:56

Crow, to domestic violence, there

31:00

is a tremendous amount of trauma in

31:02

this story. And that can

31:04

be really difficult to deal with, both

31:06

for performers, for audiences. How

31:08

do you handle the heaviness of this story because it

31:10

really is a lot? Yeah,

31:13

I think that's what's exciting about bringing

31:15

the color purple back now is

31:17

because at the time

31:19

in the 80s, we weren't talking

31:21

about therapy and stuff that wasn't

31:23

like the word of the day,

31:25

you know, especially in the

31:27

black community. But now

31:29

we're in a place where we're actually starting

31:32

to do the work to heal ourselves and

31:36

finding the resources to

31:38

heal the trauma that we're dealing with. And

31:42

that's exciting. But

31:44

I just think about like the

31:46

things that I have been through. And

31:49

it's like Fantasia said, and I've heard other

31:51

people say like, if you don't

31:53

have a test, then how you gonna have a

31:56

testimony? And I feel

31:58

like unfortunately, sometimes we have... have to

32:00

go through things so

32:02

that we can be that testimony for

32:04

someone else. And that's

32:06

what I've witnessed watching

32:09

my beautiful sister Fantasia share her

32:12

story along this journey. And

32:14

even with Miss Oprah, like watching her

32:17

share her testimony, being a

32:19

Sealy, actually having a

32:21

child at 14 and losing that child

32:24

after being raped, but

32:26

how she's turned her trauma

32:29

into healing for

32:31

so many people. There's

32:34

been a lot of Seelies in my life that

32:37

have had to deal with the trauma that she

32:39

had to deal with. But

32:42

thank God they've

32:44

been able to stand

32:47

up like Sealy at the end of the day

32:49

and really move like

32:51

a Sophia for me so

32:53

that I wouldn't have to be a Sealy. I'm

32:57

just super grateful for those women

33:00

who have come

33:02

out of the fire and are

33:05

now being the

33:08

Sophia for the next

33:11

generation. Do you

33:13

see yourself being part of any future

33:15

iterations of the Color Purple? Shoot,

33:18

if somebody had a great idea, I would

33:20

love to. I would love to. I mean,

33:22

I don't know what that would look like,

33:25

but I'm hoping there's some young

33:27

Quincy Jones out there

33:30

and some young Scott Sanders out

33:32

there. And I can be the

33:34

Oprah to the next rendition

33:37

of this. If it aligns

33:40

with what the world needs, then

33:43

I think that would be amazing. So

33:47

Danielle, this has been such a powerful

33:50

discussion about your life and

33:52

career and the role of a lifetime.

33:54

But now I want to learn a little bit

33:57

more about the smaller everyday moments in your life.

34:00

segment we like to call The Last Time.

34:03

So when's the last time you saw a

34:05

movie with your daughter? Ooh,

34:09

I think it's the summer. I

34:11

took her to see The Little Mermaid,

34:14

which was her first film. Oh

34:16

my God, what was that like? It

34:18

was amazing! Because the trailer of Color

34:21

Purple came up, so I got to

34:23

witness her watching her mommy on the

34:25

big screen for the first time, that

34:28

she's actually in a movie theater.

34:31

And she was with her little

34:33

Slurpee, her red Icy, and

34:36

her Princess Tiara on her

34:38

head, and a Little Mermaid outfit, saying,

34:40

that's my mommy, it was really very

34:42

special. Oh my God,

34:45

what a special moment. That sounds incredible.

34:48

Okay, when's the last time you went on an

34:50

audition? Oh, Color

34:53

Purple. Really? Yeah, a

34:55

lot of people don't realize I

34:57

auditioned for the Color Purple,

34:59

the movie, and it

35:01

was a six month process of

35:03

me auditioning. So yeah, that

35:05

was my last time auditioning, which was in

35:08

March 2021. Wow,

35:12

when is the last time you saw a play? Ooh,

35:16

the last play I think I saw

35:18

was Pearly Victorious with

35:21

Leslie Odom Jr. and

35:23

Kara Young, directed by my

35:26

favorite Kenny Leon,

35:28

who I've worked with twice in Shakespeare

35:30

in the Park and the Manly movie

35:32

for Lifetime. I got to

35:34

see that, and I

35:37

was super inspired by

35:39

watching my fellow actors on the stage.

35:42

When's the last time you canceled plans

35:45

and stayed in? Every

35:47

day. I'm

35:50

always canceling some plans, of that I

35:52

pretty much made for myself. Okay,

35:55

last one. When is the last time you threw a game night? Ooh,

35:58

yeah, you know about my game night. My

36:02

game nights are pretty epic. That's

36:05

how I found my husband. But the

36:08

last time I threw a game night was

36:11

for my birthday last year. We

36:15

were having the time of

36:17

our lives. We felt like

36:19

college students again. What's

36:21

your secret to a great game night? Is it

36:23

about the games? Is it about the food? Is

36:25

it about the drinks? What makes a Danielle Brooks

36:27

game night? It's the people.

36:30

You have to put the right people in

36:33

a room together. Not people

36:35

that are like, oh, I don't want to play. No,

36:38

you need people who are competitive, fun-spirited,

36:40

don't mind looking dumb. You

36:42

know what I mean? So

36:44

people that are just open

36:47

to helping to create a

36:49

fun game night with just

36:51

our imagination and just having

36:53

fun with whatever we have.

36:56

Wow. Well, Danielle, we're honored

36:58

to have you. I loved the movie. I

37:01

thought your performance was incredible. Congratulations

37:03

on your Oscar nomination. Thank you. You

37:10

can watch Danielle Brooks' Oscar-nominated

37:12

performance in The Color Purple in Cedars

37:14

Now. Thank you

37:16

so much for listening to Person of the Week.

37:19

If you like what you heard, don't forget to

37:21

subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And

37:23

as always, we'd love to hear from you.

37:26

So send your tips or thoughts on

37:28

our show to personoftheweekattime.com. I'm

37:31

Charlotte Alter. See you next week. Person

37:54

of the Week is a co-production of Time Studios and

37:56

Sugar 23. At

37:58

Time, our executive producers earn $20,000. Dave

38:00

O'Connor, Michael Erlinger, and Sam Jacobs.

38:03

At Sugar23, our executive producers are

38:05

Mike Mayer, Michael Sugar, and Liam

38:08

Billingham. Sasha Mathias is the head

38:10

of audio at Time. You can

38:12

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38:14

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