Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Potts on ‘The Piano Lesson’ Oscar buzz: ‘I don’t think acting’s a contest’
After appearing in the play version of “The Piano Lesson” on Broadway, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Potts now star in Netflix’s film adaptation, which has been garnering Oscar buzz since it debuted on the festival circuit. Gold Derby recently sat down with the actors for a fun chat in which they talk about, among other things, what they hope audiences will take away from the movie. Watch the video interview above.
“I hope they see my ass on the screen, and not some ancestor — me,” Jackson jokes. He then declares, “We hope they enjoy it and that the story resonates with them. You know, everybody’s had that moment where somebody’s passed and there’s a thing that’s about to be divided up, or one thing that somebody said was left to them.” The 2021 Academy Honorary Award recipient is also looking forward to viewers “making choices about being Team Boy Willie or Team Berniece,” referring to the characters played by John David Washington and Danielle Deadwyler.
Potts chimes in, “I hope it rekindles or introduces people to August Wilson, or makes them curious about learning more about his other works.” The movie is based on Wilson’s original 1987 play and focuses on a family disagreement about whether to sell an heirloom piano in order to earn money to buy new land, or to hold onto it and honor the legacy of their ancestors.
Potts’ favorite part about playing Wining Boy is the “duality of this particular character and how this man, who carries so much pain and sorrow, channels it through zest.” As he explains, “Life always fights to win, it really does, even in the darkest of times. This is a man who shows up in pain, in grief, and he walks into another kind of pain when he looks at that piano.”
Jackson was nominated at the Tonys for playing Doaker on Broadway (“I didn’t win,” he reminds us), and now he’s an Oscar contender for the film version. “You know, awards are fine. I don’t think acting’s a contest. We just go out here and we do what we do,” he tells us. “You’re only supposed to do the things that you’re supposed to do, no matter what happens or what you feel about it.” He concludes by stating, “Awards don’t move the comma on your check.”
“The Piano Lesson” opens in select theaters on November 8 and streams on Netflix beginning November 22. It is directed by Malcolm Washington in his feature film debut, and is co-written by he and Virgil Williams. Malcolm and John David’s father, Denzel Washington, produced the movie with Todd Black.
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