About four months later, Brooks made her debut as Taystee in the Netflix prison drama Orange Is the New Black, where she became an almost instant fan favorite and is still writing the rest of her films.
“You know, that's what makes me cry. Please don't do that,” Brooks told me last week after we discussed how we recognized each other. “Here I am,” I said, referring to her old prophecy fulfilled. We finally spoke after she received her first Oscar nomination for playing Sophia Wheels in the musical adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple. ”
It's not looking back on early promises that brings her to tears (more on this later). But our meeting years ago taught me that Brooks knew exactly where she was going, even as the 23-year-old black actress tried to find her way without a clear map. It was clearly shown.
As of January, Brooks is officially Nominated for EGOT. A singer and theatrically trained actress, she won a Grammy Award in 2017 for her cast recording of the Broadway revival of The Color Purple. She was also nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the musical. In 2021, she earned her first Emmy nomination for playing gospel virtuoso Mahalia Jackson in the Lifetime film Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia. And her missing piece of the puzzle was an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Mr Brooks received the call at 3am New Zealand time saying he was nodding off. She was at work (“thankfully”) and after waiting anxiously for hours, she finally fell asleep. Her husband Dennis and 4-year-old daughter Freeya broke the news.
“It's outrageous because you pray for moments like this just to have an outpouring of blessings and abundance. And sometimes what happens is that your blessings are like… ”
“Are they stacked?” I offered.
Brooks is booked and busy. She arrived in Los Angeles after a 13-hour flight the day before we spoke. She had spent the previous six weeks filming Minecraft with Jason Momoa and Jack Black. When I asked how she was doing, the preacher's kid looked into her face. “I'm blessed, so blessed,” she said, echoing her Sunday morning greeting, adding, “Because I finally got some sleep.”
The 21-hour time difference put Brooks in a meditative mood. It felt like she came back from the future. Because of her job, she has missed out on many of the perks that come with being an award season anointed. She did not attend the Oscar nominee luncheon and had to pass up the BAFTAs. However, she returned for the final match. Or as her character announces, “Oh, Sophia, I'm home now!” in the iconic “Color Her Purple” scene. Now, I'm ready for whatever happens next.
“It's a big deal,” Brooks said, echoing the assessment of many first-time Oscar nominees for the glorious but grueling weeks leading up to the Actor's Olympics. Still, for some reason, she thought it might be easier. May the road to your big night be as smooth as fresh pavement.
After all, hadn't she already done all the hard work? She returned to Broadway, where she co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington in the 2022 revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. She's made into a comic in the fun and weird Suicide Squad spin-off, Peacemaker. And now comes the long-awaited series “Minecraft”, based on her one of the world's biggest video games.
But now it's interviews, ceremonies, meet-and-greets, red carpets, more interviews… “I don't know why I thought this was going to be like that Julie Andrews song, Rainbows and Beards,” Brooks told me. “Mountains come with us because that's how we grow, so we can reach the next level that the universe and God are preparing us for. .”
For his strong performance in The Color Purple, Brooks has earned more than six nominations, including several awards, but has yet to win a trophy at the three big shows: the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Academy Awards. I don't have it in hand.
“When I look back on all the moments that were the highlights of my life,” Brooks said.He got into the Juilliard School, booked Orange Is the New Black, and put Sophia on Broadway. and In the film, he says, “None of it was easy to achieve. None of it was smooth sailing.”
Explaining her feelings, Brooks said, reached Returning to her roots in the black church. Her father was a deacon and her mother a pastor in her hometown of Simpsonville, South Carolina. So she turned her attention to the Book of Good Books, Luke 12:48. “To whom much is given, much is required,” she said. She says it's “difficult” to make it as a mainstream actor – one with shiny hardware, critical acclaim, and a loyal fandom. She balances being selfless with being a little selfish. She is cooperative yet competitive. A sincere feeling of gratitude.
“That's what makes it difficult for me,” she admitted. “How can I underperform? How can I express my true self?”
“How do you do it?” I asked.
“How do you do it?” she repeated, confirming that was the big question.
“No, I'm really listening. I don't understand.”
It starts with a lot of grounding. Knowing that she is not her work. Her acting is her passion and part of her purpose, but it doesn't define the very down-to-earth woman that Danielle is. Danielle is now playfully complaining that the wig is flipped to her right. In an industry where “a lot of smoke blows up her ass,” she said, it's nearly impossible to tell who's who and what's what.
So here's where she turns for clarity. It's a quiet zone. After the firestorm you are a great person and you are wonderfulBrooks heads to QZ to clear his head.
“It's my job. It's my daughter. It's my family. The Quiet Zone. It allows me to recognize myself as I know myself and as people tell me.” Brooks said.
And who is she? It took the 34-year-old some time to understand that. The industry isn't waiting for stars to build their own quiet zones before coming knocking. You are just expected to be ready to answer.
“So when I got into Hollywood, it was a big shock to the system,” Brooks said. “I became famous in 13 hours.”
She's talking about “Orange is the New Black.” The 23-year-old I met in Washington, D.C., had just started filming the series and had no idea it would become a hit, ushering in the era of mass streaming.
The previous year, she could barely make $600 in rent in New York. While her best friends and Juilliard classmates, Kalukango and Corey Hawkins, were all in, Brooks was struggling to find her own path.
The actress recalled hearing Kalukango, who was her roommate at the time, rehearsing lines for the role Brooks was also auditioning for. Now she can laugh about it, but what will happen to her then?she had to have come to daniel Those moments — some of them. Like when I got hired to braid my hair for a show I auditioned for but didn't get. The money she earned (her $25 per session) helped pay for her monthly MetroCard and allowed her to continue her activities. Brooks needed to redefine what winning meant.
“Success was being able to keep my head up and being a cheerleader for my friends,” she said. “To truly celebrate their success without overshadowing my own.” She continued her lesson.
Brooks had to politely applaud as the other actresses walked away with trophies that could have been hers. She may or may not get an award, she may or may not get a job, she may or may not be able to tell a story. Hollywood is a zero-sum game. At least, that's what they would have you believe. For Brooks to grow, she needed an internal rebuild. Thankfully, she did the hard work of coming close to victory, sitting in the apartment she shared with Kalukango all those years ago, listening to her friend cross the line he wanted to cross.
The Oscars for Best Supporting Actress are stacked up. So far, “The Holdovers” co-star Davin Joy Randolph has won both a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. The two stars, who have known each other since the beginning of their careers, tied for the African American Film Critics Association's Best Supporting Actress award. In her speech, Brooks talked about her early days: “At the time, it felt like there could only be one of us, but that wasn't true.”
“That's why I'm going to be transparent and vulnerable with you,” Brooks said, growing angry. “But it's the same with Davine. I can't measure my success by her success. And I keep reminding myself that I'm still the same young woman I was 11 years ago. I congratulate her on her victory. But it doesn't get me anything. I still win in my own way. My success is still a success, but it will always look different from someone else's.”
Brooks called the perspective a “beautiful gift” but still heavy. It wasn't easy to learn for the first time. But Brooks may need to redefine what winning means once again.
Meanwhile, the actress is not only considering releasing her ego, but also letting go of Sophia, the character that defined the first chapter of her career. Sophia urged her to act. Playing Sophia on Broadway showed her range. Playing her again on the big screen earned her an Oscar nomination. No matter what happens at the Oscars on March 10th, Brooks is moving on from the role that gave her so much, leaving her with room to do more.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what else I can bring to the table to truly break the mold that women who look like me have traditionally played in,” Brooks said. “Science fiction, romantic comedies, and westerns. We're excited to step into a world we've never been to.”