I know I had my equivalents in Adrian Lester and Lenny James when I was at drama school. I remember David Harewood doing ‘Othello’ at the National, and Adrian Lester having done Cheek by Jowl’s famous ‘As You Like It and Company’ at the Donmar. Not necessarily performances I saw, but just the fact they happened was massively encouraging.
My parents are very hard working people who did everything they could for their children. I have two brothers and they worked dog hard to give us an education and provide us with the most comfortable life possible. My dad provided for his family daily. So, yes, that is definitely in my DNA.
We start ‘The Butler’ in June and that’s incredibly exciting for me because I get to work with the amazing Forest Whitaker again. It’s a phenomenal script and a great, great role – I play his son. Oprah Winfrey is his wife and my mother. My character is a radical civil rights activist.