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November 16, 2016 The Skanner Page 7 Arts & Entertainment Ruth Negga: The ‘Loving’ Interview With Kam Williams For The Skanner News R uth Negga was born in Addis Ababa on Jan. 7, 1982 to an Irish mother and Ethiopian father. An only child, Ruth was raised in Limerick, Ireland from the age of 4, and attended Trinity College in Dublin where she earned a Bach- elor’s degree in Acting. Her body of work spans award-winning theatre productions, big-screen dramas, inde- pendent films, and inno- vative television series. She won the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of legendary singer Shir- ley Bassey in the telefilm Shirley. “ lin’s Abbey Theatre. Her extensive theatre credits include Duck at London’s Royal Court Theatre, for which she received an Ol- ivier Award nomination; “Playboy of the Western World,” at The Old Vic; “Hamlet,” at the National Theatre; “Phaedre,” also at the National Theatre, for which was honored with the Ian Charleson Award, given annually to young classical stage actors in Britain; “Oedi- pus Loves You,” at the Pe- ter Pan Theatre; “Lay Me Down Softly,” “The Cruci- ble,” “The Bacchae,” and “Burial at Thebes,” all at the Abbey Theatre; and, at the Project Theatre, “Titus Andronicus,” for which she received the Irish Times Award for Best Actress. drama about the couple who took their challenge of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s law against in- terracial marriage all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kam Williams: Hi Ruth. thanks for the in- terview. Ruth Negga: Oh, hi Kam. How are you? KW: Great! And you? RN: I’m not bad. Not too bad at all, now. KW: I loved the film and both your and Joel Edger- ton’s performances. RN: Oh, thank you! KW: What interested you in Loving? RN: That’s a good ques- tion. Let me try to give Ruth Negga in ‘Loving’ hands of leads from Aus- tralia and from Ireland by way of Ethiopia? Had you ever heard of the Su- preme Court case, Lov- ing v. Virginia? RN: Yes, but I don’t think that being an ex- pert in the Loving case is what would qualify me to play Mildred. Do you know what I mean? Jeff ’s [writer/director Jeff Nichols] script was such a beautiful reflection of these human be- ings that I really wanted to spend time with them Stateside, she joined the Marvel Universe as Raina on the hit show “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” for which she received an IFTA Award nomination. Currently, she co-stars as Tulip O’Hare opposite Dominic Cooper in the AMC series “Preacher, “an adaptation of the DC Comics graphic novel of the same name. Ruth made her stage debut in “Lolita” at Dub- Movies cont’d from pg 6 ic violence) Kim Coates plays the title character in this adaptation of the sci-fi comic book about a reincarnated cop who repeatedly returns from the dead every time he gets shot to patrol the mean streets of L.A. With Tyler Ross, Lauren Luna Velez and Alison Lohman. A Street Cat Named Bob (Unrated) Heart- warming biopic recount- ing the real-life story of a recovering drug addict (Luke Treadaway) whose life was transformed by a stray cat that crossed his path. With Ruta Gedmin- tas, Joanne Froggatt, An- thony Head and Darren Evans. The Take (R for vi- olence, profanity and nudity) Action thriller about a pickpocket (Rich- ard Madden) recruited by a CIA agent (Idris Elba) to help thwart a ter- rorist mission. Charlotte Le Bon, Kelly Reilly and Jose Garcia. (In English and French with subti- tles) Ruth was named a Shooting Star at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival. On the big screen, she’s been fea- tured in “World War Z”; “The Samaritan,” along- side Samuel L. Jackson; “Breakfast on Pluto,” for which she received an IFTA Award nomination; “Of Mind and Music”; “Noble”; “Jimi: All Is by My Side,” “Warcraft”; and in the title role of Iona. Here, Ruth talks about her latest outing as Mil- dred Loving in “Loving,” the biopic/courtroom you a concise answer. I basically fell in love with Mildred and Richard [Loving, the main charac- ters]. I thought they were an extraordinary couple whose love just seemed so apparent. To be hon- est with you, Jeff ’s [writ- er/director Jeff Nichols] script was such a beau- tiful reflection of these human beings that I real- ly wanted to spend time with them. KW: What convinced Jeff Nichols to trust such an American story in the KW: Yes. RN: I think my job is to be a chameleon and to disappear, so I don’t think my being Irish and Ethiopian should pro- hibit me from playing Mildred at all. I believe that what should matter more is my skill set and my willingness to work. KW: This is very inti- mate film, with a quiet chemistry generated be- tween you and Joel via looks and tender touch- es. Had you two worked together before? How long did you get to re- hearse with each other? RN: Well, Jeff doesn’t rehearse. He casts quite instinctively. In this case, I think he knew he was casting two actors who would be willing to work very hard. I did audition for him, and I think he was impressed with the extent to which I’d pre- pared for that. The thing is, he wanted people who could embody this couple, not mimic them. He’d previously worked with Joel in “Midnight Special, “so he’d already witnessed Joel’s ability to disappear into a char- See INTERVIEW on page 8