Danielle Brooks knows Sofia from The Color Purple well. Before taking on the iconic role in the upcoming musical film adaptation out December 25, she played the character onstage in the 2015 Broadway revival — earning a Tony nom and a Grammy win.
While speaking with Brooks at a special screening of the film hosted by The Hollywood Reporter, we asked how her two iterations of Sofia compare from stage to screen. “Well, the core of who they are is the same,†she said. “The differences come from the environment and what I’m given. And what happens in theater, I believe, is the actor gets stifled because you have to lock that show. Once you open, you can’t change things.†She noted that even if she made new discoveries throughout a long run, it would sometimes be too late to incorporate them. “With the film, I was really able to spread my wings,†Brooks said. “If there were moments where I’d get an idea after shooting one or two takes, I could go to director Blitz Bazawule and be like, ‘Yo, can we try this?’ And that’s what really made this version of Sofia sing in a different way. I had more opportunities to continue to grow the character.â€
As if Brooks playing the role for a year on Broadway weren’t enough, the film had yet another Sofia to lean on in the film’s producer Oprah Winfrey, who played the role in the 1985 film. Winfrey, who also attended the screening, proved to be a hands-on producer, even coming to set on the day Brooks shot Sofia’s famous monologue. “It was a trip. Internally, I was freaking out,†Brooks said. “I had to remove all of that and really let Sofia do her thing and live within me. And it worked out, thank God. I remember at the end, me and Miss Oprah embraced and we were both crying, and she actually said, ‘You did it and it is well,’ which just made me so happy.â€