After Watchmen and One Night in Miami, Regina King moved to shootouts

Once you’ve earned a set of Oscar nominations for directing a celebrated movie, how do you put on a costume and move back in front of the camera to take someone else’s orders? This is For Watchmen The star Miami: One night director Regina King, the move felt natural enough, because she’s made so many similar moves during her 35-year career. She’s gone back and forth between the stage, film, and television. She’s been on sitcoms (from 227 The 1980s saw the beginning of the Internet. Big Bang Theory), crime dramas (Southland, 24The pulpy TV genres (TV) are both available.Strain) and prestige (The LeftoversShe is. She’s done animation roles, voicing both Riley Freeman and his brother Huey on BoondocksCars’ spinoff, with a determined team leader vehicle Planes: Fire & Rescue. She’s directed episodes for a dozen different TV shows, including Scandal This Is Us ShamelessAnd InsecureIt was. The TV movie she made was a success. The FinestThis is a story about Black women working in the NYPD. She’s had a 30-year career as a film actor, going back to 1991’s Boyz n the Hood

And over the past few years, she’s enjoyed some of her biggest breakouts ever: She led Damon Lindelof’s HBO series WatchmenAngela Abar is Angela Abar (aka Sister Night), a masked vigilante. The Oscar-nominated film, which she directed, was her debut theatrical feature. Miami: One night, a fictionized story of a real-life meeting between Malcolm X and Sam Cooke. It also features NFL player Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali, boxing icon. And she’s back in movies with Jeymes Samuel’s Netflix Western The more they fall the harder it isShe plays a vivid, large version of Gertrude Smith the Old West pickpocket.

The movie’s cast is a packed roster of current Black movie stars — Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo, Deon Cole — but King gets the movie’s biggest hands-on fight sequence, and some of its most intense one-on-one scenes. Polygon recently talked to King about becoming an action star, accepting direction after becoming a film director, and how she was sold on starring in a Western when she doesn’t like Westerns.

Photo by David Lee/Netflix

There are two The more they fall the harder it is WatchmenYour roles seem to be becoming more physically and actively active recently. Ever imagined being an action hero?

Regina King It was! Just — a long time ago! [Laughs] I didn’t think it would be happening once I was 50. At 50, I wouldn’t have imagined I’d be involved in long fight scenes. Did I really want to do action? Yes. I’m a very physical person. I ran track in high school, I like to play sports, I like to challenge my body, but I didn’t think I’d be challenging it the way I am now. You know, the knees, I have to — it’s ice baths and things like that now.

The movie’s best fight scene is this one. How was that scene shot?

Because we were caught in the middle of a pandemic epidemic, there was not as much preparation as usual for scenes like this. It’s a long scene, and it’s a lot of physicality. So you really have to lean on your co-star in that regard, because safety is the biggest, most important thing, and trust comes when you’re sure about that safety.

Zazie [Beetz] and I were able to find a way to get the studio to make sure that — we had this break for the holidays, and both she and I decided, “Well, we’ll come back early so we can work together and get this right.” So literally we would be shooting all day, and then she and I would go with our stunt doubles after work, and go to the meeting room of a hotel, so we could work it out. We had boxes to mimic different parts of the set, and we’d go through it all. We’d be super-tired afterward, but we knew it was important.

We didn’t want to cause harm to each other and neither of us was looking to inflict any more injury. We both had done action things before, so we understood — when you’re in it, when your adrenaline is going, you always leave the set with a new scar or a new bruise. You’re always saying, “How did I get that cut?” That’s going to happen for sure, if you’re in it. But we didn’t want it to be anything more than just the normal bruising we’ve gotten with action scenes in the past.

How did directing your first film in theatrical production change the way you work with directors?

Oh, no, that change started happening when I was directing for television, because while I am very, very serious about what I do, and I take everything that’s required or expected of me as an actor very seriously, we actors are kind of in our own heads, if you will. We’re not really concerned about any of the other things going on in production. We are concerned about our characters, who our scene partner or partners may be, and the arc of our character’s story. You’re part of the storytelling process, but you have a specific focus as an actor. Then, as a director, your focus must be on everything. After directing a TV film for the first time, many years ago, my approach to acting was different. When a director would give a note, or when we’d show up for rehearsal, I would be like, “Okay, what do you want me?” As opposed to, like, “Well, why would she come from over there?” [Laughs]

These questions are still mine. If I do feel like it’s just not natural to the character, if it’s just a departure, I’ll ask those questions, and I’ll explain why, and we’ll have that conversation. But the little things I’m so specific about myself as a director — once I came back as an actor, I was much more open to what everyone else has to do to get to the finish line. I’m always appreciative of the crew, but you appreciate them in a much deeper way when you get the opportunity to work with them as director.

Image courtesy of HBO

Is it possible to have a big hit that changes the way you view the role you play in the terms of the things you enjoy?

The thing is with Miami: One night was, we didn’t see this pandemic coming, so when the release happened and I was told, “You’re not gonna have a premiere. You’re not going to be able to go on a press tour with your actors.” All the things I experienced as an actor that I was so looking forward to experiencing as a director, I wasn’t going to get any of those things. Finding out we were getting accepted to festivals and knowing we wouldn’t be able to go to them, it was a pit in my stomach. It was an amazing feeling to see the film succeed, even though it had a limited theatrical release. It’s possible that things will work out if you choose things you love, or things you enjoy as viewers. I’m only one film down, so we’ll see whether adopting the same approach as a director as I did as an actor will work.

Which role tempted you the most? Was there anything you saw in this role that was satisfying?

The film was amazing. Jeymes was able to walk me through the vision and bring the film’s pages alive in a completely new way when we spoke. And he made me appreciate Westerns, which I’ve never really been a fan of. So the idea that these characters actually existed in history, but we’re in a stylized space — he’s talked about the music he was going to put to it. Then he pulled out his guitar to start playing the music he had written. Then I sold.

Trudy Smith was fun and interesting to discover more. This was after I had done it before. Miami: One night, because over the past six or seven years, I’ve had this wonderful opportunity to act, then direct, then act, then direct. It helps you shed the role you’ve been playing, and totally switch that part of your brain off, and go into activating different parts of your mind. Trudy gave me the opportunity to play with an accent, because we don’t know exactly where she was from. Since I’d just finished directing I chose an accent I felt heavily Louisiana-influenced. Miami: One nightNew Orleans has always been a favorite of mine and it is still my home. I felt like, “What if her voice is influenced by that, but she has the feeling of a woman who’s travelled?” She’s gotten on that horse and she’s been a few places, and she’s heard a lot of different dialects, and she’s broken bread with a few different people. Maybe she didn’t break bread with them, or maybe they were left for dead. It was fun, it was.

Jaymes was what? Was there anything Jaymes as a director that you personally appreciated?

His confidence. It is large and makes actors feel confident. Your director should feel confident and know what they are looking for. If the director doesn’t know what they want, it can make for an uneasiness on set. That confidence was a good thing. So was his joy. His joy is infectious and he approaches every situation with joy. And I dig that, because I’m one of those people where even if it’s a serious scene — don’t get me wrong, I’m not cracking jokes between takes, but I can’t remain in a heavy space for days in preparation for this big scene. I find it draining. While I’m in the seriousness, I don’t want a lot of distractions, but I do appreciate a lightness on set. Even if I’m in the space where I have to be, it’s good for me to feel the positivity coming from the outside.