Danielle Brooks shared how playing Sofia in The Color Purple musical film impacted her physical well-being. Speaking with IndieWire, the 34-year-old explained how filming the violent moment where her character is arrested “really took a toll” on her body.
“Because I ended up having to do that scene over the course of two days for multiple hours a day, and it pulled my back out,” explained the acclaimed actress.
“Swinging back and forth trying to get the mob off of me. Of course, we have an incredible stage combat leader [stunt coordinator Mark Hicks] and his crew were fabulous, but doing it over and over, that really took me out, where I had to do physical therapy and go to the chiropractor for a few weeks to recover while still having to work.”
Danielle Brooks attends SiriusXM’s Town Hall With The Cast Of ‘The Color Purple’ Hosted By Gayle King at SiriusXM Studios on December 11, 2023 in New York City.
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM
The Tony Award-nominated thespian continued to detail how the climactic scene differed from when she starred in the same role on stage.
“So when we did the mob scene on Broadway, you don’t even see it. You just see me come down center stage and fall to my knees, and then you’ll see I lift my head up and now I’ve transformed into a new version, a downtrodden, spirit-stolen Sofia, which I can sustain for a year. But it’s much different doing [it for real], and having 10 to 15 guys surrounding you and you wanting to put everything in it because you want it to make sense from every angle, to not feel like you phoned it in. … I pride myself on being a physical actor. That’s where I live. I love finding how I can use all of my body for the character. I just want to use everything that I can.”
THE COLOR PURPLE, from left: Danielle Brooks, Fantasia Barrino, 2023.
Eli Ade / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
Alongside Brooks, the record-breaking film stars Fantasia Barrino as the adult Celie, Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo as Mister. H.E.R., Ciara, Halle Bailey, Deon Cole, David Alan Grier, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor all have roles in the musical, as well.
Upon its release, The Color Purple dominated the box office, with $18 million profit domestically, making it the highest-grossing Christmas Day opening since 2009, and the second-biggest debut ever.
Watch the official trailer for The Color Purple below.
