Octavia Spencer

Viola Davis Wins Best Supporting Actress For Fences

... thanking the Academy, Davis delivered an emotionally charged speech. “There’s one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered. One place — and that’s the graveyard,” she began. “People ask me all the time, ‘What kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?’ And I say, ‘Exhume those bodies, exhume those stories — the stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition. People who fell in love and lost.’ I became an artist and thank god I did, because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life.”. In addition to honoring the film’s late screenwriter, she thanked the producers, including her costar and director. “Oh captain, my captain; Denzel Washington, thank you for putting two entities in the driving seat: August and God. They served you well.”. She capped off the stunning speech with kind words to her parents, Dan and Mary Alice, whom she describes as “the center of my universe. The people who taught me good ...

Janelle Monáe, Octavia Spencer Surprise Revolutionary Engineer Raye Montague

... America,” Spencer and Janelle Monáe thanked and honored Montague for her contribution to history. “You are no longer hidden. We see you, we salute you and we thank you,” Spencer says. Last month, Montague’s incredible story went viral after an interview with THV 11 News. When she graduated from Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College, now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, with an engineering degree, she put the degree to good use and got a job with the Navy. Initially, she was at the bottom watching her Ivy League-graduate peers run the 1950 s UNIVAC computer next to her. Her luck changed when the engineers all got sick and she got the chance to run the UNIVAC all by herself. STORIES RECOMMENDED FOR YOU. Getting recommendations just for you. For the next 14 years, Montague would become so skilled with computers, she would be transferred to designing and constructing ships. “The admirals came to me and said, ‘Young lady, we understand you’ve got a system to design ships,’” she recalled. “And they said, ‘The president has given us ...

Octavia Spencer Reveals The Role She Was 'destined To Play

... Indian, native. All those stories deserve to be told, especially if they’re compelling. Octavia Spencer. During the Q&A portion of her conversation with Steinem, a young woman in the audience asked Spencer if she had a dream role, or a role that she felt destined to play that felt terrifying to her. “The role I’m destined to play is to be one of the greatest producers in Hollywood,” Spencer said without hesitating, to huge cheers from the audience. “It’s terrifying because it’s a huge undertaking, but I want to be a conduit for storytellers ― men, women, gay, straight, black, white, Asian, latino, Indian, native. All those stories deserve to be told, especially if they’re compelling.”. In the role of producer, one she has already begun exploring , Spencer is very clear on the types of projects that she wants to work on. (She is currently set to produce and star ...

Octavia Spencer Doesn't Want Hollywood Resting On Its Laurels

... resonate with her the most. She’s developing a series about entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker, one of the first female millionaires in the United States (she will also star in it), and co-producing a HBO series about the Jonestown Massacre in Guyana. The actress said her production company won’t be limited to telling Black stories. “If it’s a white story that hasn’t been told, it’ll be told,” she said. “If it’s a story about a Latin American, Asian-American, (I’ll) tend to tell it.”. While Spencer prepares for the Oscars on Sunday, she also has the release of “The Shack” on the horizon. She plays God in the film adaptation of the novel by William P. Young; the book is about a father’s renewed faith following his daughter’s death. The film caught some backlash from some white Christians ...

Hidden Figures’ Role Added Up Perfectly For Octavia Spencer

... says, “He also had to be able to emote, without speaking. I think one of the things I’m most proud of and I was most excited about when Burkely read, was that he did convey so much with just a little subtle movement of his eyes, or just something very nonverbal, and it allowed the audience to really identify with him. “First and foremost, though, the audience had to feel empathy for Holden. They had to feel like he was a real person, with these real struggles. And at no point did it seem like Burkely was an actor portraying a role. It seemed like I was watching Holden.”. Duffield has been a working professional for 10 years but mostly in smaller roles. Nothing has been as big as taking on the starring role in “Beyond.” Not only does he have to get across the emotions in a scene, Duffield is often working against a green screen used for special effects. He’s not had a problem, because the Canadian actor says that acting is a lot about imagination and creating. He’s just happy that he’s been given the chance to play such ...

Ryan Gosling, Octavia Spencer Reveal Their Ideal Seatmates

... director). H. "Meryl Streep. I was lucky enough to be beside her at the SAG Awards, and she fixed my bow tie before the show started. She saved me from a fashion disaster. My bow tie was in the most vulnerable state. It was squirrelly." — Ryan Gosling (La La Land) shown sitting next to Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins). I. "I'd love to be near Viola and Emma because it's a big family affair [all three starred in 2011 nominee The Help]. And I'd want to be in the front row. The thought of having to walk up to the podium is nerve-racking for women because there are no railings and you are in high-heeled shoes and have to hold the bottom of your skirt. No one wants to face-plant with a billion viewers watching like poor Jennifer Lawrence did." — Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) shown sitting between Emma Stone (La La Land) and Viola Davis (Fences). J. "I would love to sit with Oprah Winfrey. My mom is coming with me. She's the hugest fan ever, and it's her dream to meet her. I met Oprah ...

Octavia Spencer Strikes An Elegant Pose In Custom Marchesa

... role in Hidden Figures. The Alabama born talent topped off her look with an asymmetrical bob complimented by simple diamond drop earrings. On the red carpet, the star was greeted by many show business pals. RELATED ARTICLES. Share this article. She posed with Salma Hayek and Laura Dern, who both stunned in dazzling black dresses, while also making time to share a smooch with the handsome Michael Strahan. Oscar veteran: Octavia already has one Academy Award from her role in 2011's The Help. Octavia is nominated for her second Academy Award today. She was previously honored with a Best Supporting Actress award for 2011's The Help. This year's the Fruitvale Station actress is up for an award in the same category for the role of mathematician Dorothy Vaughan in the historical drama Hidden Figures. Kiss for the camera! The 44-year-old talent stopped to share a quick kiss with friend Michael Strahan at the awards. Everyone's there! The Hidden Figures actress posed with Salma Hayek and Laura Dern who both dazzled in shiny black gowns. The film tells the ...

The Tide Has Changed, But We Still Have A Ways To Go

... Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images. Actress  Octavia Spencer 's current Oscar  nomination  for best "Actress in a Supporting Role" makes her part of, according to  NBC News , the most racially diverse acting group in Oscar history. She explains in a Deadline Q&A published yesterday (February 14) that despite the increased recognition for films with stars and creators of color, some fundamental aspects of Hollywood racism remain unaddressed. "The tide has changed, but we still have a ways to go, because [Hollywood gatekeepers] still aren't inclined to greenlight a movie that's starring a person of color, without a long list of White box-office people," says Spencer, who starts in " Hidden Figures." "Are we where we should be? No. We have some ground still to cover, but I'm optimistic because of the year we're having.". Spencer also says that she doesn't attribute the increase of nominated films starring people of color to the #Oscars So White  social media campaign, which first  emerged in 2015 and returned in 2016 to criticize the industry's marginalization  of performers and ...