The Catwoman star revealed she used her stint in the director’s chair to add some new elements to the character she portrayed.
She said: “When I read the script, I was taken by the story. But Jackie Justice was a 20-something white Irish Catholic woman. So I had to convince our producers that I could reimagine the story for someone that looked like me.”
The Monster’s Ball star was drawn to the story — a mixed martial art fighter having to confront her son that she gave up for adoption — because she believes it vital to confront “generational pain that we pass on.”
She added: “It was really important for me to talk about that generational pain that we pass on, the origins of our growth that we
sometimes bury and we suffer from especially in the Black community. We don’t talk about the abuse and the damage that happens to us.
“So it was important for me to show Jackie move forward and become the mother that she knew she was meant to be, but didn’t think she could be because she had no mothering herself.”
