Danielle Deadwyler Says “Incessant Questioning” About Oscars And Other Accolades Can Be “Too Much”

Danielle Deadwyler, who was previously snubbed by the Academy Awards for her starring portrayal in Till, said she’s more “relaxed” about being back in the Oscars conversation with The Piano Lesson. And, in fact, de-centering awards season might be the way to go.

“I’m relaxed about it,” the actress told the Los Angeles Times in a recent profile. “I’ve always known what has always been most valuable, which is people, what is going on with people, what is going on with culture. This is so much about the ensemble, about how much we are connecting and the joy that it brought us all to make. It’s not about recognition individually. That should not overwhelm one’s ego or psyche. I feel good and more settled in that understanding. The incessant questioning about awards, awards, awards can be too much.”

Notably, Deadwyler found herself amid a 2022 controversy that saw a number of Black women creatives shut out of the race for the highest accolades in film, including director Gina Prince-Bythewood and star Viola Davis for The Woman King. At the time, it was theorized that Andrea Riseborough’s surprise nomination for Best Actress for her turn in little-seen indie To Leslie could have hampered Deadwyler’s chance at a nod, while the latter actress herself called the campaign an example of misogynoir.

“Controversy always surrounds Blackness,” Deadwyler told the Times. “That year was about a group of Black women being pushed out. The abject nature of Blackness is inherent in the way people were perceiving what it means for us to be present or not present in a conversation about what it means to get recognition. And the recognition that is offered to a certain group of people, the conversation isn’t afforded to them. We have to begin to question ourselves truly if we want a space to have any form of equity.”

The Piano Lesson, which will debut on Netflix Nov. 22 after a limited theatrical run, is an adaptation of August Wilson’s classic Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name; it’s part of his Century Cycle — 10 entries covering a differing decade of the Black experience in the 20th century. Directed by Malcolm Washington, the film follows siblings Boy Willie (John David Washington) and Berniece (Deadwyler), who must grapple with difficult decisions when they end up on opposing sides of whether to sell an inherited heirloom piano that documents their family’s legacy. In addition to the feature, the streamer has adapted Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.