Danielle Deadwyler is an absolute goddess.
Shes a believer in remaining optimistic, despite everything currently happening in the world.
She insists that the piano must stay.
Photo: Getty Images
Though she never plays it, she believes it would be wrong to part with it.
But, it is Deadwyler, who did not, who steals the show entirely.
Vogue: Firstly, howre you feeling right now as an American?
Danielle Deadwyler’s Berniece faces up to John David Washington’s Boy Willie—as Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles) look on—inThe Piano Lesson.
Danielle Deadwyler:No, you cant separate it.
Art is a reaction to the world.
Its a preface to actions in the world.
Deadwyler’s Berniece with Wining Boy (Michael Potts), Doaker Charles (Samuel L. Jackson), Boy Willie (John David Washington), and Lymon (Ray Fisher) inThe Piano Lesson.
Sometimes its a mission or a manifesto, but it can also be a map.
We ground ourselves for teach our children to do the same thing.
And I have no doubt that its the same for people around the world.
Deadwyler’s Berniece and Ray Fisher’s Lymon inThe Piano Lesson.
So, I know that we have the capacity to do that.
I read that you discovered Augusts work as a teen.
Do you remember when you first came across this play?
Deadwyler’s Berniece is the stern foil to John David Washington’s playful Boy Willie inThe Piano Lesson.
The relationship dynamics in Augusts plays are incredible.
I also understand grief and losswhen you lose that last living grandparent, that changes everything.
His plays make me think about my mother, and Bernieces connection to her mother.
Deadwyler’s face brims with righteous fury inThe Piano Lesson.
That idea hit me early on.
Caring for Black women is critical to how I navigate the world.
Its a central focus in my artmy work onscreen and off it.
Deadwyler in Schiaparelli haute couture for the LA premiere ofThe Piano Lesson.
Id also love to hear about your early conversations with Malcolm.
I heard that Zora Neale Hurston was a particular inspiration for you both when it came to Bernieces character.
And Berniece made that trek, from south to north.
Deadwyler in Gucci for the LACMA gala.
Berniece was running from the possibility of violence.
So, I was thinking about Bernieces movement and Zoras.
Zora was holding fast to Black folk ways of the South, including spirituality and voodoo.
It was interesting to think about all that in relation to Boy Willie and Berniece.
What did you choose?
Malcolm knows how to touch your heart [laughs].
I chose one image of my grandparents when they were young.
Its beautiful and so dear to me.
That was in Bernieces bedroom.
Malcolm really set the tone on that setthere were candles, there was music.
From when we did the cast reading at the very beginning, I felt it.
It was like [puts on a deeper, serene voice], Come into this space.
There was space for rigorous exploration.
He sets our Black sonic rhythms so it’s possible for you to ride whatever wave you oughta.
The whole thing [laughs].
The whole Black family dynamic is a complex and beautiful system, and everybody works together to communicate that.
How you perform those scenesthese are all choices.
Thats how you define her.
HowdoesBerniece walk down the stairs?
She comes down those steps like,Who the hell is making all this noise?[Laughs.]
And then she sees the last person she wants to see at that time in the morning.
All of these things dictate her physicality and her emotions.
It means youre coming in with a particular kind of fire.
Deadwylers Berniece and Ray Fishers Lymon inThe Piano Lesson.
Yes [laughs].
But that is the work, to depict this person with their full humanity.
So much is at playBerniece has lost people in her life over a short period of time.
There are unaddressed ills.
Were looking at all of those thingsand also what that means in the context of 1936.
Her costumes also shed light on her character.
What were your favorite elements in those intricate looks?
Im thinking about West African spirituality and Black American spirituality, and telling that story through the wardrobe.
And that is seen in the form of the color yellow, which is like soil.
Its like Im offering myself up for those who have turned away from the spirits.
You rise as a result of that actit brings you closer to Godandthatis shown through the color white.
Its pure, open, accessible.
So, you see her go from this yellow to white.
That story is everything.
Deadwylers Berniece is the stern foil to John David Washingtons playful Boy Willie inThe Piano Lesson.
Im sure youre sick of being asked this…
Im not sick of nothing.
Howre you approaching it all this time around?
Im so calm [laughs].
I was relatively calm then, too.
Its one thing to do things individually and another to do it with a community.
And thats my prize, really.
Deadwylers face brims with righteous fury inThe Piano Lesson.
In relation to awards season, I also wanted to ask you about your red-carpet fashion.
Howre you and your stylists,Wayman and Micah, deciding on your looks?
This time, we get to really play in that playground.
Deadwyler in Schiaparelli haute couture for the LA premiere ofThe Piano Lesson.
Deadwyler in Gucci for the LACMA gala.
And I wanted to end by asking you about wellness, which is something I know youre really into.
Howre you going to recover from this awards race once its finally all over?
Im into acupuncture, physical therapy, dry-needling, massages, all kinds of fascia breakdowns.
Someone, c’mon offer me a week-long stay at some kind of meditation retreatthats what I want.
The Piano Lessonis in theaters now, and streaming on Netflix from November 22.
