15 Minutes With ... 'The Color Purple' actor Danielle Brooks
When Danielle Brooks was 15, her father took her to see her first Broadway show: It was “The Color Purple.”
Nearly 20 years later, Brooks is an accomplished and much-honored stage and screen actor. She’s nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Sofia in the new film version of Alice Walker’s classic novel.
The Oscar winners will be announced March 10.
Brooks grew up in Simpsonville, attended Hillcrest High School and is a 2007 graduate of the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts. She then headed to New York to the Juilliard School, where she graduated in 2011.
Her role as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson introduced Brooks to nationwide audiences in 2013 and she starred in all seven seasons of the Netflix show “Orange is the New Black.”
Then, in 2015, she hit Broadway as Sofia in the revival of “The Color Purple.” She won a Grammy for the cast recording and an individual Tony nomination. When Brooks was cast in the film version, she inherited a role first played by Oprah Winfrey, who like Brooks, was nominated for an Oscar.
With the Academy Award nomination, two Emmy nominations, a Tony nomination and her Grammy, Brooks has joined the elite company of EGOT nominees, performers who have been nominated for all four major entertainment awards.
Other career highlights include starring as Berniece in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson" on Broadway and in 2021 she starred in "Robin Roberts Presents Mahalia" as Mahalia Jackson.
Brooks is married to Dennis Gelin and has a 4-year-old daughter. Her family ties to the Upstate remain strong – her mother LaRita Brooks, is a minister at Bethlehem Baptist and a fifth-grade teacher at Greenville’s Greenbrier Elementary School. Her father Dunnel, is a church deacon and works at BMW’s plant in Greer and her younger brother DJ is a real estate investor and basketball coach at Fountain Inn High School.
On a recent visit home for a special screening of “The Color Purple” before its release on Christmas Day, Brooks thanked her “village” for their support and foundation. She said her first on-stage performance was as a 6-year-old at Bethlehem.
USA Today Entertainment Reporter Patrick Ryan talked with Danielle in advance of the December release of the film. This is a Q&A from their conversation.
USA Today’s Patrick Ryan:On the day of your Golden Globe nomination, you shared a picture on Instagram from your high-school graduation. What do you wish you could tell your 17-year-old self?
Danielle Brooks: “I would say, ‘I’m proud of you for not giving up on your dream and the gift God gave you. When you felt you weren’t worthy enough or smart enough for this industry, you kept going and found a way to get the answers you needed. You didn’t let your curiosity die, even when you failed or felt small – you just kept on trucking because you knew there was something there.’”
PR: You first played Sofia onstage in 2015, but when the new film was announced, it took a six-month audition process to land the role. Was there a feeling of, “What more do you need to see?”
DB: "There were moments where it was like, ‘Why do I have to keep proving myself?’ The talent is still there; the voice is still there; I’m not a difficult actor to work with. I didn’t understand it. It wasn’t until someone from my agency said, 'They just want to make sure that if they’re taking anybody from other renditions of ‘The Color Purple,’ that they’re really open to (Director) Blitz (Bazawule)’s viewpoint on the story.’ That made sense to me because there is a nostalgia you hold when you’ve been a part of it. And we already have that as people of color who love this story: You don’t want to touch things that are so perfect in our eyes.”
PR: What did you ultimately take away from your experience auditioning for the movie?
DB: "It was all worth it. The biggest lesson was to always operate where you can remove that ego, because you might get in the way of your own blessing. I feel like I'm a prime example of that now. I've seen a lot of people 'win' by being divas. And there's other ways to operate in this business: You don't have to change your character to still win."
PR:In the film, you work opposite Corey Hawkins ("BlacKkKlansman," "In the Heights" and "Straight Outta Compton", who plays Sofia's husband Harpo). You went to Julliard together, right? What was that like?
DB: "Corey has always been two or three steps ahead of me, guiding me through my career... We've always been there for each other, so it's a really cool time in our lives where he can watch his little sister have her moment. He was there when I had to fight at Juilliard to be a lead.”
PR: What does his friendship mean to you?
DB: “I'm just grateful to have somebody on this journey that can keep me grounded and is that reminder of where I come from. I've been really good at being in ensemble pieces and celebrating other people's wins, but this has felt like the first time I've gotten individual love. ... he’s been there through those moments of, 'Corey, I don't feel seen,' rubbing my shoulders to say, 'Sis, keep going. I promise it'll work out.'"
PR: It had been nearly a decade since you’d last played Sofia on stage, right? What did that distance do for you and the role?
DB: “The depth of who Sofia is has grown for me because I’ve just lived more. Having committed myself to someone. I understand the relationship between Harpo and Sofia more deeply: their desperation to keep their marriage intact and fight against the generational curses. Also, a huge part of this for me was ancestor work and having conversations with people who have gone on: my grandmother, my godmother, a few friends. That helped me navigate the “why” of Sofia because it’s not only about you. It’s also about the people who (shaped) you and honoring them with this story.
PR: You shareda very sweet video of your daughter watching "The Color Purple" trailer. Has she seen other clips or listened to the soundtrack?
DB: She watched me on CBS Morning with ‘Miss Oprah.’ She’s so proud, like, 'I saw my Mommy on TV!' It’s really special, but she’ll keep you humble real quick. too. I said, 'How did Mommy look on TV?' She was like, 'all right.'
PR:She almost had a cameo in the movie, right?
DB: We put her in hair and costume and everything. She was really excited. She gets to set, she meets Miss O, she’s all lovey-dovey with Fantasia (Barrino, who plays Celie). It was going great. All she was going to do was go into Fantasia’s arms. But the minute Blitz said, “Action,” she was not having it. She was like, “Don’t touch me!” It was naptime and it just didn’t work, so they had to bring in a little 5-year-old boy. As a mom, I was really sad about it. But I have the pictures to remind her later down the road that she kind of messed that one up!
PR: One of your fellow nominees is Da'Vine Joy Randolph. You both got started in theater and you’ve both had some pretty distinctive roles in film and TV shows. (Note: Randolph won the Golden Globe Award for her role in “The Holdovers.”)
DB: “We came up together in this industry, so it’s really cool to be aligning with her in this way. It’s reminding people that there can be more than one Black girl winning at the same time. Not only that, we can be supportive of each other when we are on that same road of success. I’m excited to continue celebrating her.”
PR: What’s it been like having Oprah Winfrey as a mentor?
DB: “(She's been) holding my hand throughout this process, but also allowing my light to shine. It's really been a dream. I’m always observing her, to the point my friends will be like, ‘Girl, you’re starting to sound like her!’ “
PR: That’s so funny! In what way?
DB: You know how Oprah does that big ol’, ‘I’m Opraaah!’ or ‘The Cooolor Purple!’ I'm starting to draw out my words longer – I didn't even notice until my friends told me. But hey, if you're going to follow in anybody's footsteps, might as well be Oprah's."
PR: Awards season can be a lot for anyone. What are you doing to not get overwhelmed?
DB: I stay prayed up! Just keeping my foundation strong: keeping my family close, staying in therapy, watching cheesy movies with my daughter. But just going back to the basics and knowing what’s important in life. There’s amazing moments that are happening that I’m journaling about. I just want to remember all the details: how things smell, what people wore. It’s what 'The Color Purple' talks about: passing the color purple in a field and not noticing. I’m trying to notice everything because this stuff goes by so fast. You can be wanting the awards so bad, and then what happens when it happens? Or when it don’t happen? You just let all of these beautiful moments pass you by? I can't have that. So I’m taking everything in – that’s all I can do.