Government name: Nicole Beharie
Line of work: Actress
Last sighted: As Sarah Ward, the love interest of Ernie Davis is Disney’s The Express.
She currently stars as: Dee Roberts in American Violet, the true-life story of a Texas mother who fights a corrupt penal system.
Her thoughts on the role:
“I’m very excited about the film. It’s one of things that [while]
shooting and getting to speak with everyone involved, it was always
told to us that we were just doing a little, low budget indie movie.
But with the subject matter, and our belief in the project, we just
buckled down and produced a really good movie.”
The process of portraying a real person:
“You always have a responsibility to the character that you are
playing. But when you are playing a real-life person who might see
this, it definitely adds another level of stress and focus. But I think
that was a good thing.”
Her first taste of fame:
“I was out on a date with a guy, and we decided to go to the movies at
the Art House Theater in New York. As we were walking out, we walked by
a poster of American Violet. He looked at it and said, ‘That girl on
that poster looks a lot like you.’ And then he got closer and saw my
name and was like, ‘Nicole, is that really you?’ I had no idea that the
posters were already out. And that’s when it hit me that people were
actually going to be seeing me, and I have to admit that I had a little
nervous moment. But it was an amazing experience to see myself in a
starring role for the first time. I’m very excited about it.”
The bottom line: Check out Beharie in American Violet, now open in select cities.
–dewayne rogers
