Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

The lovely Sanaa Lathan is starring in a new play written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage, called “By The Way, Meet Vera Stark.” The play is a seventy year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress and chronicles her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold on to her career.

We caught up with Sanaa after her standing room only, sold out opening night this week for an exclusive interview. Check it out below.

Congrats on your opening night. How did it go?

It went really well, I’m having such a great time, it’s such a great role. I get to go from 28 (years old) to 68 in the play. It’s a comedy that deals with all types of different issues about Hollywood stereotypes and going after your dream. I’m just thrilled. It’s truly been a charmed experience for me so far.

What goes through your mind right before you walk on stage? Do the butterflies ever stop?

There are different degrees of buttlerflies, on the day before opening night I actually could not sleep the whole night. I thought I would be cool because we actually had three weeks of previews, but I literally tossed and turned all night. I guess I was just really excited, but the butterflies were definitely intense on opening night. But when I am feeling nervous, I do more of a warm up on the stage before the show. That gets me in the zone and the head space of the character and not thinking of the other things that go on off stage.

What can some actors and actresses gain by doing more stage?

One of the things I love about stage is that there is a relationship between you and the audience. They are almost like another character in the play. You really get to feel them and their response, I love that energy of interplay with live people there to witness the story. You get the play the whole journey of the character from begining to end, that’s very satifisying for an actor. A lot of times when you’re doing a movie, you have to start in the middle of an actor’s journey or you may start at the end and then go back to the middle, it’s all out of order, then finally when you get to see the movie it’s like a year later. So there is sort of a disconnect from the character. But with theater, you get that immediate feeling and I love that.

[pagebreak]

It was reported that you were a maid while working through college, which one of your celebrity friends would you hate to be a maid for and why?

Probably me! Myself (laughs). I am a Virgo but I am a messy Virgo. I am not very organized, I am very clean but I am not very organized. So I need help in that area.

At Yale, you did a lot of Shakespeare, now you’re listed as being a part of a remake of “Macbeth”. How did they approach you and what was it about this project that made you say, ‘I’m in’?

It’s a Caribbean version of “Macbeth” and they are calling it ‘McBett’ and it’s set in the Caribbean and I thought the adaptation of the script was really beautiful. What draws me to something is being moved by a story and this is the type of story that is something that I feel will challenge me. I think, ‘Is this a character that I want to share with the world, is this a story that I want to tell,’ and this was all of those things.

Do you turn down a lot of scripts? What sort of roles do you try to stay away from?

I would play any kind of role. I don’t have any kind of judgement when it comes to the role. The beauty of being an actor is being able to play the whole gamut of movie experience. Whether it’s an evil character or a good character, that’s the fun of it. For me, it’s more about the whole package. Is the script written well, is the character developed well, who is working on it? So it’s really all about all of those elements.

Why doesn’t Hollywood make movies that better reflect the America we live in?

I have no idea, I think we need more people in positions of power, there are definitely a lot of talented people of color out there, writers, directors, actors, so there are plenty to choose from. I am a real positive thinker and I am hoping that it will get better.

[pagebreak]

You’re helping it get better. You’re in “Contagion” with Matt Damon, Lawrence Fishburn, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marion Cotillard, which comes out in October. Can you tell us more about that movie?

It’s an ensemble wIth Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet and a bunch of people and everyone does their part in different parts of the world. I did my part in Chicago and all my scenes are with Lawrence, so I didn’t actually get to meet everybody.

On your Twitter you tweeted that Lady Gaga’s HBO promo touched you. What about Lady Gaga’s promo moved you so much?

I think her work comes from a real genuine place of wanting people to feel good about themselves and their uniqueness. She was just so open and vulnerable with this strong desire to not fail her fans and it touched me and I wanted to share it.

Do you feel like that in a way, that you have to prove yourself?

No, I don’t feel like I have to prove myself, but I do want to put out work that I am proud of. I want to put out work that means something to people even if it’s just entertainment. I want to put out work that lasts and stands the test of time.

After doing stage, TV and movies, when do you think you’ll set aside some time to have kids and start a family?

I will see, that’s in God’s hands. It will take the right situation for me to start a family.

[pagebreak]

“By The Way, Meet Vera Stark” is at 2nd Stage In New York City.