After public outcry over her performance as Mamie Till in 2022’s tragic biopic “Till” being snubbed by the Academy and others, Danielle Deadwyler is returning to awards conversations for her haunting turn in Malcolm Washington’s upcoming Netflix film, “The Piano Lesson.” Adapted from August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, the story is set in 1936 and follows a Pittsburgh family as they confront the ghosts of their oppressive past in the hopes of finding a better present and future. Speaking in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Deadwyler shared that she felt “relaxed” about all the Oscar buzz she was receiving, but that this kind of material doesn’t make her think about individual recognition.
“That should not overwhelm one’s ego or psyche,” Deadwyler said. “I feel good and more settled in that understanding. The incessant questioning about awards, awards, awards can be too much.”
Moreover, Deadwyler feels that Black women will never get the recognition they deserve until people are able to have a conversation around Blackness that heretofore hasn’t existed. She pointed specifically to Viola Davis and Gina Prince-Bythewood not being nominated for “The Woman King” the same year she was snubbed for “Till.”
“Controversy always surrounds Blackness,” said Deadwyler. “That year was about a group of Black women being pushed out. The abject nature of Blackness is inherent in the way people were perceiving what it means for us to be present or not present in a conversation about what it means to get recognition. And the recognition that is offered to a certain group of people, the conversation isn’t afforded to them. We have to begin to question ourselves truly if we want a space to have any form of equity.”
At the same time, awards were far from her mind as she was embodying her character in “The Piano Lesson.” She plays Berniece, a single mother and protector of her family’s past, who fights to keep the piano that’s been passed down through tragedies and devastating losses.
“It’s deeply emotional,” Deadwyler said of what “The Piano Lesson” offers. “It’s not just a movie. It’s real for Black people, or anyone who has ancestral clarity in the way they live in the world.”
While it remains to be seen how awards voters will reward Deadwyler’s efforts, Washington is already singing her praises and was from the moment he first saw her on set. He said to the LA Times, “She said she doesn’t remember doing it. She was truly somewhere else. She submitted to the work and the task of that day, which was to take her to that place. It’s why you make movies, to have a moment like that with an actor who is working beyond themselves.”
“The Piano Lesson” is now playing in select theaters and streams on Netflix November 22.
