After a decade-long career that includes an Emmy Award for her performance in “Westworld”, Thandiwe Newton has finally found the role she has been chasing all her life.
“I’m 49 and I think I’m a successful black actor for many, many years. “And it was rare for me to have a movie where you follow me for the whole movie,” he told IndieWire Eric Kohn in an interview with IndieWire Studio, presented by Adobe. In fact, her role in the upcoming “Land of God” was so good that she can deal with cinema. “I thought ‘Land of God’ was my last film as an actor,” he said. “I was sad that I finally managed to do something that I really put my teeth into.”
In “Land of God,” Newton plays a grieving college teacher who finds ownership of an invasion by mysterious intruders. When he confronts them, he is drawn into an escalating battle of wills with dire consequences. The role Newton played was originally written for an old white man in a previous short film. When director Julian Higgins and co-writer Shaye Ogbonna decided to change the character to a black woman, it sparked some provocative discussions between the creative team.
Without spoiling any of the exciting aspects of the film, Newton said some aspects of the story needed to be changed because “if he makes the same choices as the original character, I think people respond differently.”
Despite her love for the film and her hope that it will spark some provocative discussions, Newton still believes she is done with acting. “A light went out,” she said of her desire to work in cinema. “My reasons for doing anything from now on, you know, there will be reasons, but he’s [‘God’s Country’] determines what I want to become as an actor “. That said, “It’s also very painful. I do not particularly want to give, as I have given in “The Land of God”, every film. “But there was a necessity and a desire.”
Introducing the Adobe sponsor – with a mission to enable creativity for all – it is committed to supporting, upgrading and empowering underrepresented creators so that people can see, learn and benefit from different perspectives. Learn more at Adobe.com Different voices. The upcoming 2022 festival marks the fifth consecutive year that IndieWire and Adobe have joined forces for IndieWire Studio in Sundance.
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