While discussing her role in “Boyz N The Hood” as Iyesha, Regina King tells Vulture:
“I saw that a lot of us were being stereotyped. I didn’t want to be part of that — that’s not the narrative I was creating for myself.
“She was a young alcoholic; it was sad, so she wasn’t the same girl [as Shalika]. Maybe she thought she had love at one point, maybe she lost a baby. A lot of people didn’t see it that deeply, but that’s how I saw it. I would pass on roles if I didn’t think I could build an honest backstory.
“I started saying no to things if the stories were too narrow, the kind that only depicted women as the kind of woman I was in Boyz ’N the Hood. It was a great role for me — I needed to do that to show the difference between what I did in 227 — but after that, that was enough.”
Regina says she had to hire new management to get away from stereotypical roles post “Boyz N The Hood.”
I’m really glad she recognized what was happening and took another direction, because she is excellent in American Crime and in The Leftovers.
All black actors go through this unfortunately. I’m glad she was able to find management who could help her find creative roles.
She’s such a great actress.
Yeah her and Viola are dope af. They get busy.
Well this explains why she’s moved on to more diverse roles. She’s killing it too.
Bae.
She’s beautiful. Great actor.
She’s a smart woman.
Such a class act.
All of the above comments say it so well. I totally agree.