Watchmen star Regina King has revealed a potential future career move that may or may not surprise you: Broadway. Speaking to WSJ magazine, King admitted that while previous opportunities to secure a spot in a stage play came a bit early, (her son Ian was still in school at the time), it’s something she feels more ready for now than ever. “It sucks the life out of you,” the Oscar winner explained. “It takes up so much of your time. But it’s the most rewarding thing.” For the rest of us, perhaps what’s been the most rewarding is seeing King’s star shine brighter and brighter and Hollywood finally opening its eyes to see it.
Not only is she the first Black female director to have a film screened at the Venice Film Festival (looking at you One Night in Miami), but King also received the 2019 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk. Earlier this year, she won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Television role for her phenomenal performance as Angela Abar in HBO’s Watchmen. (Which is a show I am now going to have to rewatch with fresh eyes, thanks to a new plot theory put forth by her onscreen hubby Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.) When asked about King’s long-overdue recognition, Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof told WSJ Magazine:
Hollywood loves to tell the story of the overnight sensation and the ingénue...and because Regina has been acting since she was a kid, it’s depriving the system of this sense of discovery. If Meryl Streep–level parts...were being written for Regina, she would have also won Oscars. Those parts just weren’t getting written for her, and now they are. I think there’s a whole level of filmmakers who understand that they’ve got a supernova of talent in Regina King, and in order to get her interested in your project, you’ve got to write a part that’s worthy of her.
You tell ’em, Damon. I mean, is there any role Regina hasn’t absolutely murked yet? Broadway, I hope you have your pens and Tony Awards ready. You’re definitely gonna have to bring your A-game.
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