Article published in Glamour SA, November 2021
Hollywood veteran Regina King is on a winning streak – and that’s putting it lightly. In 2019, she won her first-ever Oscar and Golden Globe for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk. Then in 2020, she took home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for her character Angela Abar in Watchmen. That same year, she made her directorial film debut with One Night in Miami, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival (the festival’s first film directed by a Black woman) and was nominated for three Academy Awards.
Now, she’s back on screen again and her new film is already causing a stir. The Harder They Fall, in which she stars alongside Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, LaKeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz, is a new-age Western action-packed with rifles, horses, trench coats and cowboy boots.
Regina assumes the role of ‘Treacherous’ Trudy Smith, a no- nonsense member of Rufus Buck (played by Idris Elba)’s fearsome crew. The intensity of the film, however, was somewhat offset by the laid-back nature of the interview I had with her. As she logged on to the Zoom Meet – me in Cape Town, while she sat on the other side of the globe – her cool demeanour immediately rubbed off on me, and I opened by asking about her wellbeing in such uncertain times. “I think I’m at a place where we all are,” she says. “Trying to manage anxiety and waiting in anticipation for what’s going to happen next.” To help her cope, she reveals she started a garden – a project through which she could channel all her pent-up angst and unease.
Of course, filming her movie was another positive distraction. When approached to be a part of the film, she said it was director Jeymes Samuel’s passion and enthusiasm that compelled her to take the role.
“He was so clear about his vision,” she says. “He grabbed his guitar and started playing music that he’d already started writing for the film. He described exactly how he wanted to shoot the scenes, and I was, like, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this man before.’ He was so confident and clear, and that’s what excited me.”
Her trust in Jeymes translated into her embodying Trudy at a time, Regina says, that she may have needed it most. “I needed to have a Trudy, because the roles that I had been playing prior that were emotionally heavy, so Trudy was an opportunity to step away from that and have fun”.
However, preparing for the role was quite an intensive process. She conducted a lot of research – asking questions, reading the script and engaging in back-and-forth discourse with Jeymes to ensure she truly brings his vision to life. “I wanted to be clear on the backstory I was building for Trudy, and to make sure it aligned with what [Jeymes] had created for her.”
While the character of Trudy is loosely based on a woman named Gertrude Smith – a prominent female figure in the Western world at the time – she isn’t widely known. There was reportedly only one picture of her, meaning Regina, along with costume designer Antoinette Messam, had the luxury of creating Trudy however they wanted her to be, visually.
Interestingly, Regina claims it was the wardrobe that was one of the most challenging parts of doing the film. “The clothes were so heavy and layered because of the period,” she says. “But the team did a wonderful job at keeping it authentic.”
Another talking point of the movie? The all-Black cast in a Western genre. While not typically a new concept, The Harder They Fall doesn’t use race as a medium for social commentary. Instead, it’s a showcase of cowboys who happen to be Black, without using their blackness as a feature in the storyline – which is typically the case for movies of this nature.
However, Regina homes in on the familial vibe it brought about amongst the cast. “I’ve been a part of all-Black casts before and there’s always a bit of family – a familial vibe that exists even before cameras start to roll. And that always feels good. So, for there to be that in a genre where normally we aren’t seen, is like the icing on the cake,” she says.
Currently in awards season, Regina recently attended the Met Gala, whilst the Emmy’s were not too long ago. When asked about the meaning of these accolades to her, she says it’s like a currency. “It allows you to go into rooms you mightn’t have gone into before. You’re commanding numbers that you mightn’t have commanded before. It means something in our industry and creates so many more opportunities for me and others,” she says.
For Regina, the opportunities – and recognition – keep pouring in. While she knows she’s highly regarded in Hollywood, she believes acting ability is innate – regardless of a résumé. “It’s a charisma,” she says. “Something you have that pulls people in as a performer.”
With a three-decade career span under her belt, we attest to the fact that charisma is something she has in spades. And between the natural way she enthrals on screen, the costumes and her castmates, no doubt Treacherous Trudy looks to be one of her most iconic roles yet.
