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Jeffrey Wright on His Most Important Role

Updated: 14 minutes ago

[ONE Q, ONE A]



Jeffrey Wright shot in LA. at BLT Studios.
Photo credit: Sarah McGolgan

The actor won a Tony and Golden Globe for this character


Q: You won a Tony and Golden Globe for your portrayal of a gay, Black character named Belize in Angels in America. What did that role mean to you?


A: I was a kid who grew up spending more time in locker rooms playing football and lacrosse than dressing rooms. And the locker room space at that time, and even now, is not necessarily a time that welcomes a character like Belize. 

The role of Belize asked me to express a type of masculinity that is unorthodox because Belize is a man, but he's a man who embraces and expresses all of himself, including the femininity within him. That took some work for me to be able to present on stage within the context of the larger story that was being told.


Read an in-depth, life and career-spanning interview with Jeffrey Wright here.


 

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