Summary

Ellis-Taylor had an unexpected experience filming
Nickel Boys
with unique POV style shooting.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor stars in
The Nickel Boys
, a film by RaMell Ross, shot in a unique POV style without traditional coverage.
Ellis-Taylor discusses the challenges of befriending the camera and preparing for abstract scenes in the film.

Academy Award-nominated actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor has been instrumental in bringing the stories of Black America to life on the big screen for decades. Most recently, she’s led Ava DuVernay’s sobering exploration of racism in Origin. She mothered two of the greatest tennis players of all time in King Richard and rounded out the stunning cast of The Color Purple, the musical adaption from 2023. Now she’s joined filmmaker RaMell Ross’ critically acclaimed narrative feature debut, Nickel Boys.

Adapted by Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2019 novel of the same name and inspired by the infamously violent Dozier School for Boys, Nickel Boys is a unique take on a tragically familiar story. Set in both present day and 1962, the film follows Elwood Curtis (Ethan Herisse) after he is falsely accused by cops of being an accomplice to stealing a car. Sent to reform school, Nickel Academy, Elwood befriends another young boy named Turner (Brandon Wilson), and we follow their journey of surviving abuse and corruption within the walls of the school.

In this interview, Collider’s Steve Weintraub sits down with Ellis-Taylor to talk about why she had to be a part of Nickel Boys. They discuss some of Ross’ more abstract direction, his entirely unexpected and new way of shooting the feature, and how the film’s POV style led Ellis-Taylor to befriend the camera as “a proxy for the love of [her] life.”

‘Law & Order’ Was More Than a Rite of Passage for Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Image via NBC

COLLIDER: I really want to start with congratulations on this movie. I thought everyone did such a great job.

AUNJANUE ELLIS-TAYLOR: Thank you.

I do like throwing a curveball at the beginning of interviews. So for you, in your career, you’ve done a lot of guest spots on television shows, especially early in your career. Did you have a favorite?

ELLIS-TAYLOR: [Laughs] Man, the guest spots! TV guest spots. Listen, them checks? Out of the blue, you’ll get a residual, and your rent is paid. I love that. Well, it was more than a guest spot, but I did a couple episodes of True Blood. That was really fun. I’ve done two Law & Orders, and it was a dream of mine to be on Law & Order. I was in New York for the longest time, and I never got cast on Law & Order. Then I left New York, and then finally got a job on Law & Order.

For people who don’t realize, that’s like the rite of passage for people in New York.

ELLIS-TAYLOR: Yes!

Were you on Law & Order or Law & Order: SVU ?

ELLIS-TAYLOR: I was on Law & Order: SVU, and I was on Law & Order [Criminal Intent] with Vincent D’Onofrio.

The Way ‘Nickel Boys’ Was Filmed “Shook” Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor at First
“There is no coverage. It’s just you.”

Jumping into why I get to talk to you, one of the things that I think is so cool about this movie is the way RaMell shot it, the use of POV. What was your reaction when you first heard that, and what was it like to actually be on set watching that unfold?

ELLIS-TAYLOR: Well, I didn’t hear that until I was on set watching it unfold. So, I had no preparation for that at all. I didn’t know that that is what he was going to do. I read the script, but I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand that’s what was happening. I didn’t know until I was actually there on my first day because I asked the question, “What is the coverage going to be like?” And he said, “There is no coverage. It’s just you.” So, yeah, that shook me a bit.

What people don’t realize is you’re trained to never look at the lens, and in this, you need to look at the lens.

ELLIS-TAYLOR: All the time. I just worked with a young actor, his name is Brady. He is the sweetest, most charming little boy, but he’s seven years old, and the director would have to come up to him and say, “Brady, what are the rules, Brady?” And Brady would say, “Don’t look at the camera.” Brady was always looking at the dang old camera! So yeah, you’re not supposed to look at the camera, but with this, you had to look at the camera. You had to befriend the camera, and it was a proxy for the love of my life, which was my grandson.

What day did you get used to it, or did you never get used to it?

ELLIS-TAYLOR: Well, you had to get used to it. I wouldn’t say “getting used to it,” but I had to use it, as opposed to seeing it as something that stood in the way of me doing my job.

Image via Amazong MGM Studios

I read that this was a project that you really went after, or am I wrong about this?

ELLIS-TAYLOR: I went after RaMell. I saw Hale County [This Morning, This Evening], and I just dug that so much. Did you see that?

I have not seen the whole movie, which I’m embarrassed to say.

ELLIS-TAYLOR: No, it’s okay.

There’s just too much to watch.

ELLIS-TAYLOR: Yeah, I understand. But when you can, watch that. It’s so extraordinary. I saw it, and I just was so stunned by it — stunned by how familiar it was. I just wanted to tell him. It wasn’t that I was like, “I want to be in your next movie!” I just wanted to tell him how he made me feel, you know? Then, a couple years later, yeah, I stalked him. I called Brown — I knew he worked at Brown — I called him and was like, “Can I speak to Ross?” They’re like, “No.” Then, a couple years later, he invited me into this world with him.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor’s Toughest Moment Didn’t Make the Final Cut
“It was a little bit abstract.”
Image via Amazon MGM Studios

I am fascinated by the way actors get ready for their first day on set. What was it like for you inhabiting this character? What were you doing in preparation before that first day?

ELLIS-TAYLOR: I was in North Carolina. I was finishing a job, and I was walking the shores of North Carolina a lot. There are a lot of unincorporated beach towns on the shores of North Carolina, so I remember just walking, walking, and walking, and talking to myself. I just had shaved all my hair off — I had less hair than you.

I don’t know if that’s possible.

ELLIS-TAYLOR: Yes. Yeah, it is. I remember trying to gather myself for what I was about to do.

I’m also fascinated by difficult moments on set, so I am curious which shot or sequence in this film ended up being the most challenging, whether because of the camera move, whether because of dialogue or emotion.

ELLIS-TAYLOR: Well, what was one of the most difficult things ended up not being in the movie. I’m like, “I went through all that, and it ain’t even in the middle of the movie?” It was a scene where RaMell wanted Hattie to have this kind of breakdown a little bit. She was trying to seek Elwood out in her kitchen. There was no real direction for it, but it was just, “Find him.” It was a little bit abstract, so that was very difficult and challenging. But it’s not in the film, so you won’t see it.

I was thinking it was in relation to when you’re going to the school, but obviously, it is a completely different scene.

ELLIS-TAYLOR: Yeah, it’s different.

You’re in Liz Here Now , which is coming up, and also, I think you’re going to Bulgaria soon to do Lucky Strike .

ELLIS-TAYLOR: Oh, well, I’m not going to get to go to Bulgaria.

You’re not doing Lucky Strike ?

ELLIS-TAYLOR: I am, but I’m not going. I don’t get to go to Bulgaria. We’re gonna do stuff in America.

Got it.

ELLIS-TAYLOR: I’m going to do my little thing in America.

What can you tease about both projects?

ELLIS-TAYLOR: Liz Here Now is directed by Sterling Macer. She is a woman who sees some children suffering violence and does something a little revolutionary inside of a home to protect these children. And it stars Brady. “Don’t look at the camera!”

[Laughs] When I watch this movie down the road, I will think of this.

ELLIS-TAYLOR: You will think of Brady.

Nickel Boys is in theaters now.

Your changes have been saved Nickel Boys Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, Nickel Boys chronicles the powerful friendship between two young African American men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.Director RaMell Ross Cast Ethan Herisse , Brandon Wilson , Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor , Hamish Linklater , Fred Hechinger , Daveed Diggs , Luke Tennie , Sunny Mabrey , Gralen Bryant Banks , Sara Osi Scott , Rachel Whitman Groves , Escalante Lundy , LeBaron Foster Thornton , Ethan Cole Sharp , Najah Bradley , Mike Harkins , Jimmie Fails Runtime 140 Minutes Writers RaMell Ross , Joslyn Barnes , Colson Whitehead Expand

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