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