Jeffrey Wright, 55, Brooklyn, NY
Award winning actor and activist
1.
When COVID-19 hit, you took action in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, helping the frontline workers. Tell us about it.
Two friends of the restaurant owner and I started an initiative called Brooklyn for Life that, with the help of others, raised approximately $ 1.5 million to deliver more than 170,000 meals to hospitals and FDNY emergency services. Meals were provided by 50 mom and pop restaurants, some of which might have closed had it not been for the support.
2. What is the plan since we are in the middle of a second wave?
Currently we mainly support One Community in Fort Greene, which provides food for families and seniors in public homes. However, we are keeping an eye on the bigger situation in case we need to take action again.
3. How has activism influenced your art?
It made me more aware that as actors we have the privilege of telling people’s stories and in some cases helping them tell their own.
4. Other than the HBO miniseries
Angels in America, what’s the most fulfilling project you’ve ever done?
The staged reading of We Are Not Done Yet, which I later produced as a documentary for HBO, was one of the most powerful nights I’ve ever had in the theater. It’s about a group of military veterans who use creative writing to process personal trauma from their service. I was made to lead the vets in a theatrical presentation of poems they had written about their experiences to facilitate healing. I am in contact with many of these vets today.
5. What was the biggest takeaway for you from a mental health perspective?
The universality of trauma and PTSD. They realize that certain outcomes in society depend on injuries that individuals and groups have faced in the past that remain unaddressed and unresolved. If we look at our country as a whole, we can see that going through is a deep vein of unresolved trauma pointing to some of the countries [social justice] Problems are bubbling up today.
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6. What makes you feel most alive?
Surfing changed my life and in some ways saved it. I got into it about 6 years ago when I was shooting Westworld in LA. Similar to my philanthropic work, it was a way for me to manage fear and uncertainty during the pandemic. It’s just the most cleansing molecular thing I’ve ever done.
7. How do you stay fit when you can’t go to the sea?
To go biking. This allows me to increase my adrenaline without putting too much pressure on old injuries.
8. What was it like to film in the middle of a pandemic?
We were in a pretty closed bubble here, filming Batman. I get tested regularly, at least two or three times a week, and everyone on the set is fully masked. And we wash our hands until we feel nauseous. We do what we have to do to keep the ball enrolled on the field.
9. What is your happy place?
Spending time with my children in nature. For me that is peace.
10
. What films can we expect to see you in if we can safely get back in theaters?
Batman that I’m filming in the UK right now. It’s getting pretty stupid, as the children say. We’re having a really good time. There’s a dynamic script and we’re doing some interesting things. Also the new James Bond movie No Time to Die, The French Dispatch and a new Netflix movie called Monster. As always, there is a lot to look forward to.
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SOURCE:
Jeffrey Wright, interview.
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