Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor plays Hattie, the loving grandmother of one of the two youths at the heart of *Nickel Boys*. Credit: Amazon MGM Studios

As soon as Academy Award-nominated actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor saw the work of filmmaker RaMell Ross, she knew she wanted to experience what it was like to work with the visionary director.

Ellis-Taylor was impressed with his 2018 avant-garde documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening, about the residents of the region in Alabama known as the “Black Belt.” Ross earned an Oscar nomination for the acclaimed piece.

“I felt it was some of the most exciting filmmaking I had seen,” Ellis-Taylor, 55, told the Current during a recent interview. “I wanted to do whatever he was doing. So, I called him up. I wanted him to know how I felt about his work.”

A few years later, Ellis-Taylor finds herself in the cast of Ross’ feature film debut, Nickel Boys. Based on a true story, the drama follows two young Black men who befriend one another inside a segregated reform school known for its history of abuse. The movie, set in Jim Crow-era Florida, is adapted from the novel of the same name by author Colson Whitehead.

Ellis-Taylor plays Hattie, the loving grandmother of one of the youths. She serves as his source of hope during the difficult days he spends in the institution. Without her love, it seems impossible her grandson will survive the harrowing situation.

During our interview, Ellis-Taylor talked about what moved her to play her devoted character and the difference she felt confronting the role during production and now in retrospect.

Nickel Boys is currently playing at the Santikos Palladium Theatre.

What spoke to you about the true story behind Nickel Boys?

It’s just the kind of work I want to be a part of — unearthing these stories that we should all know about, so that we can give justice to these children. Some of them are dead and gone. Some of them are older men. I want to be the voice for those children.

Are you drawn to these stories because you want to make sure this is a part of history that won’t be forgotten?

I’m drawn to these stories as a human being. I wish that we all were because we all need to be. I feel [film] is art. Art is our way of exacting some kind of justice for these parents and these children. Art is our way of doing that. It’s our privilege to experience it. It’s not somebody telling us the story. We are the vessel for art. I think that’s why it moves me.

Where did you find the inspiration for your character?

[As an actress], you really are a steward of the words [in the script]. [Actors] Ethan [Herisse] and Brandon [Wilson] are human beings who carry a vulnerability and a sensitivity to them. What I couldn’t get [from the script], I got from them before [RaMell] said action. Those are the things I pulled from when I was filming, but we can also think about these things in retrospect.

What changes when you look at it in retrospect?

You know, you live with things. They order your steps, even if you’re not aware of it. So, I know that what was inside of me — what I pulled from — was the dignity of my grandmother and how she carried herself through the world.

What was your grandmother like?

I mean, she wasn’t affectionate, [but] she showed her boundless love for me. My grandmother stood in those lines to get [government] peanut butter and cheese for me. She had to feed me. That was the kind of woman my grandmother was.

Did you revisit the original book before shooting the film?

I didn’t, and that was purposeful. I think adaptations and books are very different. I wanted my experience to be the adaptation of Nickel Boys, not the book.

Personally, I don’t like when people say, “The book is better” than the movie. Why do they compare two different forms of media?

They’re very different art forms. Adaptations don’t get the respect they deserve. An adaptation is an art form unto itself.

Now that we’re entering a new U.S. administration, do you worry about the next four years? Asking as a minority myself, where do we go from here as a society?

We’re not the minority. We’re the majority on this planet. We have to acknowledge that because there’s power in that. I think it’s OK to be a little clueless [and] to feel that loss. I think we’re going to have to do some rebuilding. We’re going to have to rebuild and build from the ground up.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

This article appears in Jan 22 – Feb 4, 2025.

Best of San Antonio Nominations are Now Live

Actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor honored to serve as ‘vessel for art’ and justice in Nickel Boys

Related Stories