Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Gets Emotional Discussing Her Nickel Boys Character Hattie

Based on the book by the same name, Nickel Boys follows Elwood Curtis and Turner, two Black teens, as they endure the brutal conditions of Nickel Academy. Elwood's grandmother Hattie does everything in her power to find out what is going on with him, but she is constantly pushed away by those who run the reformatory.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor plays Hattie. She is a seasoned actress who is well known for her roles in The Help, Ray, Undercover Brother, and Men of Honor. Nickel Boys, which is unfortunately based on a true story, is currently playing in New York theaters and opens in Los Angeles on December 20.

3:57 Related Ava DuVernay & Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor On The Heartbreaking Beauty Of Origin Origin director and writer Ava DuVernay and star Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor discuss their experience creating the biographical drama film together.

ScreenRant interviewed Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor ahead of the release of Nickel Boys. She got emotional talking about what her character, Hattie, is feeling and thinking during one of the key scenes in the film. Ellis-Taylor also praised director RaMell Ross for his vision, claiming she had nothing to do with bringing that to life. Finally, the actor revealed how her personal life helped to shape her character.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Did Not Know About The POV Filming Until Her First Day On The Set Of Nickel Boys

"It ends up being very expansive in how he trusts his actors, and he trusted me."

ScreenRant: The point-of-view shooting is very unique. What was it like helping RaMell bring this vision to life?

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor: I didn't have anything to do with crafting RaMell's vision. Nothing. Nothing at all. That was all him. I actually didn't know that he was going to do that until I got to work the first day, so I didn't have anything to do with that. But the great thing about RaMell is he made this choice, and to expand that idea, because it could be a very limiting one, right? But it ends up being very expansive in how he trusts his actors. And he trusted me, and I'm sure Ethan and Brandon will say the same thing. They felt trusted by him.

Hattie Was Lonely, As Was Turner, Which Made Them Kindred Spirits

"It was a love story, and the love of her life was not there anymore."

ScreenRant: I want to talk to you about the scene where Hattie goes to visit Elwood. She cannot see him, but she meets Turner and immediately embraces him as her own. What do you think is going through her head at that moment?

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor: I think she's lonely. I think she's lonely. Lonely. I get a little emotional every time I talk about that scene because, first of all, shooting it was hard. It was a challenging day. But, she was experiencing so much loss and just really frustrated because she wasn't getting answers. She couldn't see her grandson. She couldn't see him and forces were trying to pull her away from him. And she was by herself. It was just her and Elwood. Elwood's mother had gone. It was a love story, and the love of her life was not there anymore. He was there, but he wasn't there. You know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? He's behind these walls, and she can't get to him. So she has to, there's so much love coursing through her that it has to go somewhere. And [Turner] was another person who I also feel was lonely. And they were kindred in that moment.

ScreenRant: Do you feel like you've pulled anything from your own personal experiences in helping to craft Hattie?

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor: In retrospect, I do. I feel like now I know that my grandmother probably was woven in all of that. I wasn't aware of that at the time, but I think, I know she was now.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Hopes Nickel Boys Viewers Will Be The Voices These Children Never Had

"At the time that this was happening to them, they were children, and they had no one to be champions for them, to protect them."

ScreenRant: Nickel Boys, unfortunately, still seems so relevant today. What do you hope that people take away from this film?

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor: Well, I hope that they will be the voices that these children never had. This happened in our backyards, and we can decide that it doesn't happen again. I think we are the hope for these children. That we think we need to continue to look at them as children, even though some of them are still alive, and they are grown men. But at the time that this was happening to them, they were children, and they had no one to be champions for them, to protect them. So yeah, we can be that now. We can be that.

More About Nickel Boys (2024)

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Elwood Curtis's college dream shatters alongside a two-lane Florida highway. Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, he's sentenced to the netherworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South. He encounters another ward, the seen-it-all Turner. The two Black teens strike up an alliance: Turner dispensing fundamental tips for survival, Elwood, clinging to his optimistic worldview. Backdropped by the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, Elwood and Turner’s existence appear worlds away from Rev. Martin Luther King's burnished oratory. Despite Nickel's brutality, Elwood strives to hold onto his humanity, awakening a new vision for Turner.

Check back soon for our other Nickel Boys interviews:

Daveed Diggs

Ethan Herisse & Brandon Wilson

RaMell Ross

Nickel Boys is now playing in New York on December 13 and opens in Los Angeles on December 20.

Source: Screen Rant Plus