Teyana Taylor is opening up about how her latest role in the upcoming film “A Thousand and One” speaks to Black women and the struggles they face.
In a new interview with ET Canada’s Brittnee Blair, Taylor, 32, said she “absolutely” sees herself in her “unapologetic and fiercely loyal” character Inez, who “kidnaps her son Terry from the foster care system, [setting out] to reclaim their sense of home, identity and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City,” as per IMDb.
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“I see myself in Inez all the time,” Taylor said. “I see my mom in Inez. I see all the women around me in Inez. I see you [Blair], I see [director] A.V. [Rockwell], you know, just us having a voice and our strength, whether our strength is being used against us, when it’s time to be speak up for ourselves or, you know, our strength is being praised when we’re fighting for others.
“For Black women it’s just like to want to be heard and to want to be seen and to want to be protected, that’s within all of us,” the actress continued. “You know, that’s what we still deal with today. So I definitely see a lot of myself in Inez for sure.”
Taylor added that she’s “so happy to be a part” of the film, noting that “a lot of hard work” went into it. Ever since the upcoming drama-mystery premiered earlier this year at Sundance Film Festival, there has been a lot of buzz surrounding the actress’ performance.
“A Thousand and One” hits theatres March 31.
