Aunjanue Ellis on ‘King Richard,’ Working with Will Smith and How She Still Can’t Believe She’s an Oscar Nominee
variety.comClayton Davis Aunjanue Ellis was content being a journeywoman actor in the business and providing for her family — but now the acclaim is pouring in.And yes, that includes an Oscar nomination for her role as Oracene ‘Brandy’ Williams in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard.” On the latest episode of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we talk to Ellis about what it feels like to now be an Academy Award nominated actress, which she still can’t say out loud.
She discusses her experience with working with double Oscar-nominee Will Smith (for best picture and actor) and the difference between his “lore” and the “good person” she was privileged to work with, in addition to her cast members.
Listen below: Ellis tells the podcast that didn’t turn her phone on until around 11 p.m. on the day of the Oscar nominations, and was flooded with multiple messages.
However, it was one from actor Russell Hornsby that touched her deeply, when he shared that her nomination “was for everybody, for all of us.”“I think people have been watching my professional life for a long time and witnessing the heartbreaks that I thought were kind of my own,” Ellis says. “But I think were people who wanted things to happen for me.”Written by debut screenwriter Zack Baylin and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, “King Richard” tells the story of Richard Williams (Smith) and his determination and execution to raise, train and coach Venus and Serena Williams.
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