‘The Woman King‘ Star Sheilaโฃ Atim Finds Healing in Response to ‘Sinners‘ Role
Sheila Atim’s portrayal of Elizabeth inโข the controversial film โ Sinners sparked a powerful and unexpectedly healing response,revealing a deep longing for nuanced portrayal โฃof Black women,the actress revealed in aโข recent interview with โข The Hollywood Reporter. The โfervorโค surrounding her performance in The Woman King, whichโ opened in April and is now streaming on HBO Max, hasn’t immediately translated โคinto a flood โof new roles, but Atim says the experience has clarified her โคpriorities and reinforced the importance of patience.
Atim described aโ feeling of collective recognition and gratitude for the character of Elizabeth,noting,”To see that kind of womanโค just fully loved and โฃappreciated,the wisdom appreciated,the nurturing appreciated,the sexiness appreciated,theโข darkness,the naturalness,everything appreciatedโฆIโฃ didn’t realize how lonely it felt until I felt like,’Oh,we are all feeling this love together.'” this outpouring of positive response was particularly impactful, as Atim navigates a period of selective role choices following the film’s release.
Despite a โ”quiet year”โข with numerous scripts arriving that didn’t feel right, Atim is adhering to โadvice fromโค Sinners โขco-star Michael fassbender: “Just wait.โข Hold your nerve because things will โcome that you don’t necessarily want to do that โyou feel like you should because you should keep working and keep the โฃmomentum up.” Her husband has become a key support in maintaining this resolve, consistently reminding her to โค”Hold your nerve.โข We’ve got this.Just wait.”
Two upcoming โprojects align with Atim’sโฃ discerning approach: Aaron Sorkin’s The Social reckoning,a follow-up to The Social Network,andโ the Apple adaptation This Is how It Goes,a psychological thriller. The latter project reunites her with Idris Elbaโ and emerged from a conversation โwith her husband โabout exploring โnew genres. โค”Idrisโข came in with this offer, andโ myโฃ husband had said, ‘What do youโข want to โdo next? I think this kind of genre โขwoudl be great for you.’ And I hadn’t even thought aboutโ thatโฆI’d been like, ‘That would be cool, but โขis anyone going โคto cast me as โคthat?’ Andโฃ then Idris called.”
Atim emphasizes the non-linear nature of her career and the โขvalue of remaining grounded. Sheโข credits lessons learned from workingโ with Annie, a fellow โactress, for reinforcing the importance of intentional pacing. “I don’t want to trip myself up moving to fast,” Atim stated.โค “That was a big lesson I learned from Annie. Don’t โฃmove too fast.”
