The Six Triple Eight Star Ebony Obsidian Praises Kerry Washington's Artistic Leadership

After a limited theaterical run, The Six Triple Eight is coming home to Netflix on November 20. Based on the real-life women of the 6888th Battalion in World War 2 (as reported by Kevin M. Hymel in his groundbreaking article), Tyler Perry's new movie explores how the only unit made up entirely of Black women faced insurmountable odds in order to accomplish their duty. That mission was a unique one: to sort through years of postal backlog in order to dispatch over 17 million pieces of mail between soldiders and their loved ones.

While The Six Triple Eight follows a number of characters in the Battalion, it centers primarily on two real-life women: Lena Derriecott King (played by Ebony Obsidian, who also stars in Perry’s BET series Sistas) and Major Charity Adams (Kerry Washington). The former joined the unit after her boyfriend was killed in action, while the latter was tasked with leading the unit in what first felt like punishment. The movie also stars Milauna Jackson, Kylie Jefferson, and Shanice Shantay in addition to fascinating cameos from Sam Waterson, Susan Sarandon, and Oprah Winfrey.

Related Sistas Season 8: Release Date, Cast, Story & Everything We Know Fans of Tyler Perry's comedy-drama series will be glad to know that Sistas season 8 is coming back soon with a trailer, cast, and more annouced.

ScreenRant interviewed Obsidian about re-teaming with Tyler Perry for The Six Triple Eight. The actor praised the real-life Lena Derriecott King, whom she met with in time for her 100th birthday, as well as costar Kerry Washington, who exhibited stellar leadership on and offscreen.

Ebony Obsidian Recalls Meeting The Real-life Lena Derriecott King

“She had so much gratitude and so much peace and so much joy.”

ScreenRant: The Six Triple Eight is a story that I feel everybody should know about, and I'm happy that this is putting it right in the forefront. You got the chance to meet Ms. King and learn about her life. What qualities and stories stood out to you the most that you wanted to bring to life in your performance?

Ebony Obsidian: Oh, my goodness. One of the major things that I learned from meeting Lena Derriecott King at the age of 100 years old — and on her birthday, I still can't get over that. I think that she's the only person that I've met at 100 years old. I told her this. "You're special. You're very special." And she had so much joy. She had so much peace in her, and that was something really interesting to see in someone who has lived as much life as she's lived. She's been through the war; she was a soldier. She wasn't just living at that time, she was involved, and she wasn't celebrated in the way that she should have been at that time. I wondered how that impacted the rest of her life. Because she went on to become a nurse, she went on to become a dress designer at a time when that wasn't a thing. There were no Black designers at that time, especially women — but really anyone to be fair. Or maybe there were, but they just weren't credited because that happens too. She had so much gratitude and so much peace and so much joy, though, and I just wondered how someone maintains that. She shared quite a few personal stories that unfortunately I cannot share here, but what I gained from her is that you truly can accomplish anything that you believe that you can accomplish, not what other people believe you can accomplish.

The Six Triple Eight Star Praises Collaboration With Tyler Perry & Kerry Washington

“[Kerry] gave us permission to be the artist that we are.”

ScreenRant: Ebony, your performance in this film is absolutely incredible. Can you share how you prepared to capture Lena's journey, strength, resilience, and compassion in the film?

Ebony Obsidian: All of those things, she absolutely had. Meeting her was one of those things. Of course, I got to feel her energy, her aura, what that was and how that might have been translated all those years ago at the age of 17. That was super helpful. On top of that, I think really being with these women in the film — I'm looking this way because the poster's here, and I get to see my girls and my battalion who helped me so much, not just as co-stars, but also as Lena in that space. There was so much protection and care that all of us afforded to one another, so that was tremendously helpful. Being led by Kerry Washington as Captain Charity Adams was massive because obviously she's a veteran. She's incredibly talented, but she's also incredibly giving as an artist that you're sharing the screen with. She's someone who gave us permission, and I use that word loosely. She gave us permission to be the artist that we are. She gave us the space to explore these characters, also known as real-life women, the Six Triple Eight. And it was a gift, all things combined. I think we lived in that space; the set design was incredible. Some of them weren't set designs, some of them were actual locations. The cemetery, for example, was a World War I location. So you felt that; that was real. There were so many nuances that really painted the world that they were in, and you couldn't do anything besides be present in that.

ScreenRant: Tyler mentioned that playing Lena for you was a dream come true, and you also re-teamed with Tyler here. Can you talk about preparing for this role while working with Tyler?

Ebony Obsidian: Yeah. Of course, having a relationship on a previous project is so helpful because you understand how someone works, you understand how they think, and also maybe what their goals are a bit more than you would if you were starting from scratch. [I was] so honored that he even thought about me in a position that is as graceful as someone like Lena. She was a lady. Even then, I'm like, "Who is this poised force? Who is this?" Even in her innocence, I felt she was a force, and so it was wonderful to partner back up with him on something that was a historical piece because both of us have such tremendous respect for the history and the contributions that Black women have made throughout. He's much more knowledgeable than I am, but truly, I was so honored to be included, to be thought of, and to be considered for something so important. We all felt how important this project was.

More About The Six Triple Eight (2024)

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The Six Triple Eight is inspired by the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in WWII. Despite facing racism and sexism - and grueling working conditions - they were committed to serving their country with honor and distinction. Given an extraordinary mission and united in their determination, these unsung heroes delivered hope and shattered barriers.

Check out our other The Six Triple Eight interviews here:

Tyler Perry

Kerry Washington

The Six Triple Eight begins streaming December 20 on Netflix.

Source: Screen Rant Plus