First-time Academy Award nominee Regina King spoke backstage Sunday evening about the love and support she received this awards season, which was capped by a best supporting actress win for “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
“It means so much for me personally … the love and the support and the lifting up that I’ve received on my journey as an actor,” she said of the diverse group of people rooting for her to win her first Oscar.
Speaking to reporters at the Dolby Theatre, the 48-year-old actress said it’s particularly resonant because the film itself is about love and persevering and is “so needed right now.”
“It’s a beautiful film … I think it’s a film that breaks through a lot of the sections that exist right now,” King said. “Love is that thing that pushes us through trauma.”
It’s a reminder, she said, that “our circumstances are so different, but to the core we’re really a lot alike.”
King won for her emotional portrayal of Sharon Rivers, mother of the lead character Tish in writer-director Barry Jenkin’s adaptation of the James Baldwin novel. King said she was inspired by her mother when “mapping” her character.
Her mother was in the audience Sunday evening and King called it a “one of those full circle moments … my mom was like the lighthouse right there.”
The actress said she has been lucky enough to have “so many women who have paved the way, who are paving the way … I feel like I walk in their light and I’m creating my own light,” which she hopes will shine on future actresses.
The urban tragedy centers on an accusation of rape, and King said that is a nearly universal story.
“If we have not experienced a violation like that firsthand, we have lifted a sister up,” she said.
It was important throughout, King said, to be clear that the character had been raped, though the lead character had been falsely accused as the perpetrator.
She called rape “a secret that shouldn’t be a secret.”
King praised the Me Too movement for working on a broad set of issues, beyond the realm of sexual assault, and helping to make sure women get a seat at the table.
“When you have men and women working together, pretty amazing things happen,” she said.
King, who also picked up a Golden Globe for “If Beale Street Could Talk,” has won three Emmys for her television work, including for two separate roles in the “American Crime” series.
As for what James Baldwin would say about the adaptation of his 1974 novel, King didn’t hesitate a moment when asked.
“I think one word, something that he would say often, `Amen.”’