[This story contains spoilers from The Deliverance.]
When Andra Day was considering the lead role of Ebony in Lee Daniels’ latest film The Deliverance, she consulted two entities: God and her mom.
“At first, she [her mother] kind of had pause,” Day tells The Hollywood Reporter, admitting she was equally hesitant about dabbling in the satanic realm for the Netflix feature. “She was praying with me about it and through the process. And she has been very clear with me, she said, ‘I’m not going to watch the movie,’ not because she doesn’t think that the message is great. My mother’s just like, ‘Listen, if it ain’t Disney+, I’m out. I see her keeping me awake at night’ (laughs).”
The Deliverance, which is now streaming on Netflix after a limited theatrical run, draws from the true story of LaToya Ammons, an Indiana woman who, in 2011, claimed she and her children had been possessed by demons. The movie marks Daniels’ first, and admittedly last, foray into the horror genre, though the producer and director sees the project — which also stars Mo’Nique, Glenn Close, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Caleb McLaughlin — as more of a story about faith than fearing dark, supernatural beings. It was that angle that got Day, and her mother, on board.
“She was really proud and excited about the movie itself, but also the story that it was telling. That we’d be able to represent this woman as a fully realized Black woman and also be able to talk about and show what it looks like to struggle with your faith, with pain, with healing and this idea that you have to have it all together and that if you don’t, you’re bad,” Day continues. “[Ebony’s] hurting. She’s trying to figure out her life. I love that they show a very real story that’s not a perfect story.”
Below, Day talks about connecting with Mo’Nique and Close on set, praying through difficult scenes and the message she hopes audiences walk away with: “Believe and listen to women, particularly with this film, Black women.”
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How did this role come to you, and what made you say yes?
I actually first became familiar with the role on the set of The United States vs. Billie Holiday. One of the producers on the film, Tucker Tooley, who’s an amazing producer, he and Lee were speaking about it and Lee was like, “I think she might be our LaToya” — that’s when the character’s name was still LaToya. So that was a huge factor. It was Lee. He’s a visionary. He puts together incredible roles for Black women, fully fleshed out characters, layers. And I just I love working with him; he’s family. So, that was easy.
But because of the content of the movie, I did hesitate. I was one of those people like, “well, I’m a believer, I’m a Christian, I don’t think I’m supposed to be talking about demonic possessions.” And it was funny because I didn’t have peace about it, and it was praying about it that made me realize you actually aren’t supposed to be afraid of these things. You have authority over these things and people need to see that on camera, and that was Lee’s goal as well, so that was beautiful. I loved that it was based on a true story and I thought it was important to honor this woman’s legacy, because of everything she’s been through and also because she wasn’t believed for such a long time by the system.
How did you get into the mindset of this woman who is both physically and emotionally abusive to her own children, and also struggling with the neglect she experienced from her own mother?
It was working very, very closely with Lee, working very closely with Patrick Smith as well, my acting coach. There were moments on set that I was like, I feel like Ebony is more difficult to play than even Billie Holiday because there were some aspects of it that were just closer to home. I think the truth of the matter is a lot of us as women are probably in some way, shape or form, maybe not to this extreme, dealing with feeling unworthy, feeling unloved, feeling unlovable. So it was really about finding those commonalities in myself and in my own story. My thing was, what’s the thing that I would die for? And that, for me was my faith. That is something that I want to be the best at. I want to feel worthy. I want to be acceptable. I don’t want my past to dictate my future. So that was the common ground I was able to find with Ebony.
And as far as the kids go, I just really loved on them, and they really loved on me. They allowed me to be who I was as Ebony on set. I was very candid with them about certain things. And I think they were able to see, too, playing her kids, that she’s loving us and supporting us with everything she’s got, which she wasn’t really giving herself. I understand Ebony’s struggle to try to do the best she can with what she has, trying to create a better future when she was not given the tools for that.
What was it like playing that opposite of Glenn Close as your mom?
It was amazing. You see the way she looked in the movie? The transformation is insane. It was a huge honor, and I told people I was fully ready to come to set and just use it as an opportunity to watch this woman work, to learn from her, which I was able to do. But at the same time, she also happens to be one of the most lovely people I’ve ever met in my life. She’s so refreshingly youthful, she has such a playful, light energy about her, which I realized at the time, I think is what makes her so versatile. She’s definitely serious about the work but she’s also very giving. She’s super fun, she wanted to make sure she got this right. It was great to watch this incredible veteran actor who could have come to set and just done anything, and we would have been happy with it. But she came to set hungry every day as if this was her first role and that is always a beautiful lesson to learn, to stay in that place of being a perpetual student. Same thing with Mo’Nique, same with Aunjanue Ellis, and with the kids, with Omar Epps. These people are legendary, but they came every like it was day one.
Mo’Nique plays the opposite of her award-winning character in Precious, starring as the social worker to a dysfunctional mother. What kind of conversations did you have on set?
Oh my God, we had mostly funny, loving conversations, and then we had some conversations that got really deep, and she just poured into me in a way that I couldn’t have asked for better. God was just so gracious with this cast of people. I remember her saying the two things to me on set. She said, “sweet baby,” because that’s her name [for people], “sweet baby, don’t let anybody tell you you’re talented; you’re gifted. And that is special. And that is rare.” And she would also remind me when she would see me kind of struggling through scenes and how much certain things hurt, “Make space to let it go,” she said. “Because your mind knows what you’re doing, which is acting, but your body doesn’t know the difference. Your body’s still reading all of this pain and trauma.” And then she’ll crack a joke to remind us we’re just playing.
What scenes were hardest for you, and what did shaking them off look like?
The scene where I’m the demon and myself was definitely a duality that I was like: If I don’t find common ground between this demon and between Ebony, it’s over, it’s a wrap. That was a very, very difficult scene to play. And any scene where I’m being vicious or emotionally or physically violent toward my kids was painful. Shaking it off starts at the opposite end which is to do everything with intention. I walked into this film with peace from God because I’m not supposed to be afraid of these things, they’re under my foot, and during [filming] and even after, it was just prayer. It sounds really simple, but prayer. I definitely go to therapy, but my relationship with God always reminds me that God is never out to harm me — things may be difficult and challenging, but God loves me — and I’m here for a reason. Always having the why in place is very important.
What are you hoping audiences will take away from this film?
A few things, because this is a very layered movie. First thing I’ll say, I’m a believer so I hope they take away a relationship with God. And not with people telling you who you should be and who you shouldn’t be, but actually letting God pour into you about how loved you are. I want people to see that. I want them to see healing as well. I want them to see transformation where we desire it, and to heal generational trauma because that’s what we’re watching. There’s trauma with Ebony’s character, there’s trauma with her mother’s character, there’s trauma with these kids, there’s trauma with Cynthia (Mo’Nique). And essentially all of these people are trying to help the kids, but they also end up incurring a lot of damage because of their own unhealed wounds.
The things that we don’t heal and that we don’t pay attention to and examine in our lives will definitely possess our kids and our future generations. And the third thing is a very clear statement: believe and listen to women, particularly with this film, Black women. We’ve been talking a lot about believe Black women, but I’d go even deeper than that, which is just listen to them. We’re often not heard. Our struggles are not heard. Our pain is not heard. Our fight is not heard. Our triumphs are not heard. We do so much, and we lose so much in silence because we’re constantly supporting everyone else’s struggle or agenda or whatever it is that they need. I think as a community, if we came together and internally decided we’re going to choose to make space to hear, to listen and to believe, I think the landscape would definitely change. We’re already community builders, but we need that support.
The Deliverance is now streaming on Netflix. Read THR‘s interview with Lee Daniels.
