Cynthia Erivo: We Need Harriet Tubman's Story of Strength Right Now

Directed by Kasi Lemmons, the biopic “Harriet” stars the breakout British actress Cynthia Erivo in the title role, along with Leslie Odom Jr. (“Hamilton”) and Janelle Monáe. Erivo’s electrifying performance as Celie in the 2015 Broadway production of “The Color Purple” made her a star, nabbing her a Tony, among other awards, and led to roles in the 2018 films “Widows” and “Bad Times at the El Royale.”

For anyone, playing one of the most revered abolitionists in American history would be a daunting career high. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped to the North, yet returned to slaveholding states some 19 times — one of her earliest trips back was for her husband, John Tubman — to lead at least 70 people to freedom, feats that earned her the moniker the Moses of her people. “Harriet” is the first major feature film exploring her life, and has unleashed Oscar rumblings, especially for Erivo.

Yet her casting as Tubman led to backlash that resurfaced after the film’s trailer was released in July. Critics cried foul that someone other than a descendant of American slaves would portray such an icon. While similar complaints about British actors in American roles have been raised before, in Erivo’s case, the outcry was especially intense.

In a recent phone interview, Erivo, 32, who lives in New York, urged viewers to withhold judgment until seeing the film and explained why she does not believe Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s reasons for the delays in Tubman’s $20 bill. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Q: Complaints about a British person playing an American seemed louder in this case than when David Oyelowo (“Selma”) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”) played notable Americans. I wonder if the fact that you’re a woman made things more fraught.

A: I can understand where they’re coming from. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it’s Harriet and how she means a great deal to many people. I think that it might also have to do with the fact that with women of color, we don’t have a lot of roles that are full and brilliant and that are full of story and are true. Rarely are those stories told. This might’ve struck people harder. The only thing I can ask for is the benefit of the doubt, that I might have done my job. I worked really hard.

Q: Can you describe that work?

Everything from horse riding to research to the stunts; there was only one I wasn’t allowed to do, and if I was allowed, I would have done it. Kasi was amazing, she did a lot of the research. I did a lot of reading. I made what might’ve been my fourth trip to the (National Museum of African American History and Culture) specifically to look at (Harriet’s) section of it. I did a lot of physical work. I wore the corset 24 hours a day. Everything I could possibly do, I did.

Q: What were some of the most surprising details you learned about her?

A: That the real journey began out of love. I didn’t realize how deeply in love she was with John Tubman. It was him she came back for. Before anything else, she was a woman who was married to a man she loved. She experienced heartbreak that a lot of us face and understand, and dealt with it in the most honorable way. We almost take it for granted that it happened, but it actually came out of a great deal of sacrifice.

Q: What do you think gave Harriet her mettle?

A: I think she was underestimated. She was my height [5-foot-1], she was small. I think an inch or two smaller. It was very easy to be underestimated when you’re that small and you’re a woman and you’re black. I think it’s the combination of being underestimated consistently and just making the decision that the way she was being treated was not OK anymore. She knew it wasn’t right. I don’t believe she thought for one second it was going to be easy. I do believe that as a human being, she had fear, and against her fears she continued, which is stronger than no fear at all.

Q: Did you have to make a leap to an American mindset?

A: Well no, because the thing that I know quite well is being a black girl. It’s something I understand implicitly because that’s how I was born. The stories that we hear about the slave trade, about the degradation and the terrible, awful things that have happened to black people throughout history, they’re not something that I’m unfamiliar with, and they’re not things that don’t hurt. Just because I come from a different continent, that doesn’t negate or keep me out of the loop when it comes to experiencing pain and ostracization and people feeling like I’m other, and I’m not good enough. The continent doesn’t really matter much.

Q: Is there a difference between being a black woman in Britain vs. America?

A: Just because we’re in different places and have different cultural experiences, that doesn’t change the fact that we as black girls are mistreated constantly, whether it be in the workplace or on the set. I certainly have experienced racism in the UK. I’ve experienced it in both places really. That’s my reality.

Q: So, Boris Johnson or Donald Trump?

A: Aaaah.

Q: Next question?

A: Yeah. At this moment in time I feel we’re just digging ourselves a deeper hole. So I feel things have to get worse before they get better. Is that a positive thing?

Q: I guess we need Harriet more than ever.

A: You know I feel like there is no better time for it than now. We need a story of strength. We need a story where a woman in the center is changing things for the better.

Q: Let’s talk about the $20 bill.

A: She should be on (it). I was so incensed when they decided to halt it. I don’t believe the excuse that they’re giving is remotely valid. (Mnuchin said an Obama-era goal to put Tubman on the bill by 2020 was impossible to meet for technical reasons.) I think it’s just another way to thwart progress. And I hope we do get to see her on the $20 bill. She’s earned her right. She was an American hero for goodness’ sakes. She literally earned her stripes and was in the Army for God’s sakes. It’s just nonsense to me that we’re even having to justify why she should be there, because there’s every reason in the book why she should be. What else do you need?

This article originally appeared in

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