James Earl Jones on Sidney Poitier and acting

On June 30, 1998, James Earl Jones sat down with actress and director Lee Grant to discuss Sidney Poitier’s impact on himself and other young Black actors. Interview conducted for Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light (2000).

Chapters:
00:00 James Earl Jones’ early impressions of Sidney Poitier as a contemporary role model during his early adulthood
01:41 Jones’ complicated admiration for John Wayne and how Poitier trailblazed a segregated Hollywood
04:03 How Poitier’s and Harry Belafonte’s Caribbean roots afforded them success in a show business that ignored the plight of Black Americans
07:00 Poitier, Belafonte, and Sammy Davis Jr. offered mentorship to a burgeoning generation of Black actors
10:24 Working with Poitier and quietly learning from his poise on the set of “A Piece of The Action”
13:52 Poitier’s commitment to his dignified persona as a service and legacy for young Black American men

The American Masters Digital Archive includes over 1,000 hours of never-before-seen, raw interviews: a treasure trove of the movers and shakers of American culture, including Maya Angelou, Patti Smith, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Matthew Broderick, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, Dionne Warwick, Lee Grant, Sidney Lumet, Betty White and many others.

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