Back in September, we lost a giant. A king. A lion of stage and screen. James Earl Jones touched not only cinema’s history, but all those who will continue on celebrating it, including fellow thespian André Holland. While taking a stop in the Criterion Closet, Holland took a few moments to honor the gifts Jones bestowed upon him and others.
“See this man right here, James Earl Jones?” said Holland pointing to Jones’ face on the cover of “Claudine” Criterion. “That’s my hero. Amazing, amazing actor. And Diahann Carroll. I mean, come on. She just was everything. It’s such a beautiful film, so complex and so lovely and sexy. I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Who are these two?’ I’m sorry that we don’t have James Earl anymore, but he has left quite a legacy.”
Reflecting on his connection to Jones, Holland recounted his time starring in “Othello” on stage years ago, a role Jones took on himself a number of times. In preparing to play the part himself, Holland found an indispensable research tool in Jones’ journals from each performance.
“I found this book that was a journal or a collection of his sort of journal entries about having played Othello, like, five or six times,” Holland said. “So, as I was working on the part, I got to look through each of the times that he played it and how he made certain decisions about certain lines, and…I don’t know, I just felt so close to him after having read that, and just had even more of an appreciation for his brilliance. He’s such an amazing person.”
In addition to “Claudine,” Holland also took home John Sayles’ “Matewan,” which features Jones in a supporting role. Honoring the late Sidney Poitier as well, for his last pick, Holland chose the film adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.”
“One of my really, really good friends, Imani Perry, wrote a book called ‘Looking for Lorraine’ about Lorraine Hansberry, and so in talking about her book with her and after having read it, I went back and rewatched this movie a number of times, and it’s so powerful,” said Holland. “I mean, as a play, as a film. Lorraine, as a writer, as a thinker. And, of course, the great Sidney Poitier. This is the play…one of the plays that inspired me to be an actor, and it’s a part that I really, really, really want to play one day.”
Watch Holland’s full Criterion Closet visit below.
