Actress Gabborey Sidebe was Jane Fonda’s featured guest a few days ago for “Power of the Arts,” a screening held at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta to benefited Fonda?s teen pregnancy prevention nonprofit, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP).
As the old saying goes, ‘those who forget their past are bound to repeat it’ and Fonda dug up footage of a painful period in her life and put it on the big screen to remind herself never to go there again!
It was? a time in her life that she would just as soon forget…. let alone share with a theater of strangers, Fonda shared a personal, behind-the-scenes glimpse at one of the lowest points in her career, if not her most embarrassing endeavor as an actor.
?The more I think about it, it?s about a girl with no voice who let herself be bullied,? said Fonda reflecting on that period in her life.
Fonda hosted the one time viewing of the footage, that was captured in 1962, at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta along with a panel discussion and VIP reception following the viewing.
During the discussion, Gabourey shared her own struggles dealing with being called a “one hit” Hollywood wonder for her Academy nominated role in “Precious”, stating:
By all accounts I’m apparently NOT supposed to be an actress.
I’m not a size zero… I’m not blond… I dont have ivory skin or even lighter skin and people write articles about how I don’t fit in and how Precious will be my only word and people make fun of it all the time… and I DEFY it!
I constantly work. I’ve been working pretty constantly since being nominated for the Oscar. Stepping into this career means making a lot of people wrong and I LOVE THAT!
VIDEO: Gabourey Sidebe Discusses Taking the Role of Precious
Stepping into that role meant stepping into myself at 15/16 years old. The voice is more or less beaten out of Precious. She’s not allowed to speak, she’s not allowed to say no, or even change her life and it’s a lot of how I felt as a young teenager. I was 24 when I played her, but I understood this girl.
I felt for her and I felt for myself when I was her. And I felt for others who are STILL her.
So taking on that role meant taking on my fears and the fears of those who go through… what she (Precious) goes through.
And stepping into this career meant constant inconvenience.
By all accounts I’m apparently not supposed to be an actress. I’m not a size zero, I’m not blond. I dont have ivory skin or even lighter skin and people write articles about how I don’t fit in and how Precious will be my only word and people make fun of it all the time… and I DEFY it!
I constantly work. I’ve been working pretty constantly since being nominated for the Oscar. Stepping into this career means making a lot of people wrong and I LOVE THAT!
ATLien (Michelle Brown) & Gabourey Sidebe
I have no idea what that face was about but lemme give you a bit of the behind the scenes… Gabby complimented my on my dress (H&M by the way) and she asked what I did for a living.
When I told her I ran StraightFromtheA.com, she replied “THE BLOG!!!” as if I were there to divulge her most inner most secrets.
I tried to calm her fears my being my most awesome cheerful self, but apparently Gabby feels ‘some kinda way’ about us bloggers (and I honestly don’t blame her).
But I digress…
VIDEO: Gabourey Sidebe Discusses What Success Is To Her
I find success in little girls who come over to me or write me and say… ‘I want to be like you’ or ‘I’m taking acting classes because of you’.
People view fame as success… being on the cover of People Magazine or US Weekly or the Enquirer… but that’s terribly inconvenient. Try to buy tampons when you’re famous!
Success for me comes from changing minds. People who write me and say ‘I’ve been abused my entire life and I hurt myself and I damaged my body…. but then I saw your film and now I’m able to start healing myself’ … THAT’s success.
I could care less about being in another magazine ever ever again… PEOPLE are important. People don’t go away. It’s your mind, it’s your heart, it’s syour soul.
And to be able to be in a position to change that in someone I’ll never see… I’ll never see that face, I’ll never experience that person, but they can experience me… THAT is success.
VIDEO: Gabourey Sidebe Talks About Relating to Her Characters
Special thanks to Phyllis McElroy (G-CAPP) for the invite and Joi Pearson Photography for the photos!