Danielle Brooks, America Ferrera and More Oscar-Nominated Actresses Reflect on Roles Celebrating Female Resilience: ‘It Was a Reminder to Me That I Can Weather the Storm’

variety.com:

Shanelle Genai “I think that the six or seven months I spent with Sofia at this time in my life — as a mother, as a wife, having felt like wanting to quit and give up — she pushed me into knowing you have everything that you need inside of you to continue this next chapter and leg in life.” This epiphany by “The Color Purple” star Danielle Brooks about the character she portrayed is just one of many powerful yet similar revelations that connect a handful of female Oscar nominees and their respective performances in movies ranging from “Nyad” to “Barbie,” “Poor Things” and “The Holdovers.” For them, stories of female self-realization that began on-screen transformed them off-screen.

When Brooks got the chance to return to her role as Sofia for the movie musical adaptation of “The Color Purple” nearly 10 years after her initial Broadway debut performance, it was vastly different due to the stage of her life at the time.

She describes how, at the start of 2023, she had reached a breaking point in her career that tested her faith and led to her contemplating giving up acting altogether.

The opportunity to revisit Sofia’s character served as a reminder that she could bounce back from every setback that might come her way. “When I look at Sofia’s journey and all that she had to endure, and I think about this woman who was constantly abused and being ripped away from her family, and just her spirit being broken — it was a reminder to me that I can weather the storm,” she tells Variety. “That I do have resilience.