Actress Octavia Spencer on her career, upcoming R.I. visit, and more: ‘Access to the arts is imperative’ - The Boston Globe (2024)

“The fact that Trinity Rep thinks I am is pretty humbling and exciting, so I’m good with receiving a lifetime achievement award,” she added.

Novelist Kathryn Stockett, author of “The Help” — the book on which the film was based — will present the lauded actress with the award.

Spencer, who in 2019 launched her production company, Orit Entertainment, said she learned from fellow actor and friend Richard Jenkins — who serves on the Pell Awards gala event honorary committee and with whom she appeared in the 2017 film “The Shape of Water” — that she had been chosen for the honor.”

“I was floored … and so grateful to be chosen out of the blue,” said the Montgomery, Ala., native. “It’s pretty exciting.”

The event will be held on June 10 at Brown University’s new Lindemann Performing Arts Center. All proceeds from the gala support artistic, educational, and community engagement programming at Trinity Repertory Company.

Established in 1997, the Pell Awards honor artists whose careers, according to Trinity Rep’s website, “exemplify the values of Senator Claiborne Pell, one of the principal founders of the National Endowment for the Arts.

“In addition to Spencer, this year’s honorees include Bob Dilworth (Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts), Christina Paxson (Charles Sullivan Award for Distinguished Service in the Arts), and Charles “Chuck” Royce (Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts).

We talked with Spencer about the award and her upcoming visit to Providence.

Q. What does it mean to you to receive this award?

Spencer: It’s quite humbling because I — and so many millions of kids like me — was the beneficiary of Senator Pell’s grants for programs that provided financial support for the arts at the national and state levels. There are so many of us who would not have had the opportunities we had or have our curiosity or creative flames stoked had we not had access to the arts. So, it comes full circle for me as an adult to actually have this association.

Q. Former US Senator Claiborne Pell is well known for creating federal programs providing significant financial support for the arts and humanities. How important are the arts in a society — especially for young people?

Spencer: The arts are where I was able to thrive. I think it’s imperative that we prioritize the arts because, if you think about it, artists are our greatest historians. They’re the best storytellers because they give a unique commentary about the status of the world. And it’s through that lens I think that we are able to grow and to see our humanity. In the educational system, there is an assault on the arts and also history, so I think it’s just imperative for that curiosity to be nurtured within children, for those who have that creative inclination, for that to be nurtured, because it was nurtured within me and my curiosity was always in the creative space. Without it, I think our passions aren’t fueled. Access to the arts is imperative for people like me, who never would have had that introduction made if it weren’t for the endowments made available [through Pell-supported programs]. We need it. We need it now more than ever because otherwise, a generation of people will not be recording what’s happening in history, will not be reflecting society… and that’s scary to me.

Q. Do you have any ties/connections to Providence/Rhode Island?

Spencer: Only vicariously through Viola Davis [who was raised in Central Falls] and Richard Jenkins [who lives in the state], but I’ve never been, so I’m excited to actually see it for the first time.

Q. What projects are you now working right now?

Spencer: I’m [Orit Entertainment] in partnership with Skydance and we have a show with Amazon starring me and Hannah Waddingham. It doesn’t have a title yet, but it’s a fun action, comedy/dramedy and we start production for that in January in Prague, so right now we’re just getting the scripts written. It’s exciting to be a part of the foundation of it and the development of it. Hannah’s character plays an assassin and I am a lawyer who lives in London … and I find out that Hannah’s character is an assassin and we just kind of go on this amazing journey together.

Q. How did your professional life change after winning the Academy Award in 2012?

Spencer: I had access to different roles and my role as a producer changed. I was able to cultivate and curate the types of roles that I was attracted to.

Q. Do you prefer producing or acting?

Spencer: I love producing and I love acting. I Iove that I actually get to do both now. I think I love creating opportunities not just for myself, but for a cross section of people. For women — especially women of color — it’s imperative once we get a seat at the table that we continue to have a chair there for others like us. So, it’s important for me to continue acting, but it’s even more important for me to be a part of this executive branch.

Q. And what was it like when, about 10 years after becoming an Oscar winner, you received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Was that a “pinch-me” moment?

Spencer: That was a little girl’s dreams come true. There’s nothing that prepares you for that. There are some people who will remember that I won an Oscar, but they never get to see it and this is a way for people to see you. It’s a legacy … when I walk down the streets and see the names of all of the ones who came before me on the Walk of Fame … it feels very personal, and very, very intimate. And now I get to be a part of that legacy, in that meaningful way.

Q. You’re a role model for young women — especially young Black women. How important is that to you?

Spencer: I never thought of myself as a person who is a role model. For me, it’s my job. It’s my passion. It’s what I love to do, and as my career progresses, I have been able to meet people from all walks of life and have so many young people know who I am and know that if they endeavor to be in entertainment industry — as an actor, or writer, or producer … it can happen. If they look to me as some sort of beacon of hope, it is humbling.

Q. What advice do you have for young people looking to follow in your footsteps?

Spencer: I would advise them to work hard, to practice, to read everything, to understand that rejection is a part of the business. We all, in this industry, get a lot of rejection. But you only need the one yes. I’ve had so many of the one yeses — but much more rejection, and if I’m able to thrive in this career, I think they will as well. They have to persevere.

Q. If there’s a philosophy by which you live your life, what would it be?

Spencer: Lead with kindness with everyone you meet. One of my favorite poems is “If–” by Rudyard Kipling, and I just sort of incorporate that as my modus operandi. I treat kings and everyone alike, because everyone is someone’s king or queen in their lives and everyone is the sun in their own lives — or they should be — so why not treat everyone accordingly? That’s really how I try to conduct myself.

For more information about Trinity Rep’s 25th Pell Awards Gala, visit trinityrep.com/pell.

Juliet Pennington can be reached at writeonjuliet@comcast.net.