I knew we could do it and we’d done it well. Otherwise, I think I would have been nervous, and all the actors would have too.ĭenzel, what are the special considerations you have to make when directing a film in which you also star?ĭW: In this case, because we had done 114 performances of the play - not to say our performances were locked in - we had a tremendous amount of success. I think it’s because we did all those performances on Broadway that he knew it. VD: It was simple because I trusted him as a director. Viola, how did you adjust to the change in the dynamic between the two of you as Denzel became the director? There were two or three actors that were in the play who weren’t used in the film, and I knew I wasn’t going to do that this go around. You start playing the music and you go, “Okay, we still got it.” I did a movie years ago called A Soldier’s Story, which was based on A Soldier’s Play. What was it like pulling nearly the entire cast back together for the film?ĭW: It was like a family reunion getting the band back together. I figured I knew the material as well as, or better than, any other director would know it right now, because I’d just done the play. So, I read it and realised I hadn’t read the play before, and I called Scott back and said, “I want to do the play.” He asked me what did I want to do? Act in it? Direct it? I asked him to let me read it.

We were just gonna keep the band intact.ĭW: Scott Rudin brought me Wilson’s screenplay seven years ago. kept saying, “I’ve got to find the right time, I’ve got some other projects to do.” But when we finally heard it was coming into fruition a little over a year ago, I knew the role was mine. So, when Denzel talked about it, I was just hoping it would happen.

I knew he wanted to make it into a movie. We knew it was a fine-tuned machine that we wanted to keep going. VD: We already knew in 2010 the movie was going to come along, and we knew it was such a special experience when we did 114 performances. When did the idea of a Fences film adaptation start to enter the conversation for each of you? I don’t know if it was me thinking about my own mother at that time or something.ĭenzel, what went through your mind the first time you read the play?ĭW: Well, when I read it, it said, “Troy Maxson, 53.” I was 55 at the time. I remember Mary Alice the most, who played Rose. I got to work with him, be in his presence and watch him work.ĭenzel Washington: The first time I saw was in the ’80s with James Earl Jones and Courtney Vance. He was still alive when I did most of those plays. I’ve done three Wilson plays on Broadway: Seven Guitars in 1996, King Hedley II in 2001 and Fences in 2010. Viola Davis: I got my equity card doing Joe Turner’s Come And Gone in 1989. How familiar were you with August Wilson’s work prior to starring in Fences on stage?

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