Jurnee Smollett-Bell on becoming a Black Canary in Birds of Prey

[Jurnee Smollett-Bell is a longtime fan of martial arts superhero Black Canary (her powers are a deafening sonic cream). This month, the 33-year-old Angeleno brings Black Canary to the big screen in "Birds of Prey" (Warner Bros., Feb. 7), with Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn. Below, she talks about her life-changing journey, how she has seen Hollywood change, and owning her power: What was your training like for the role? Jurnee Smollett-Bell (JSB): I was like, 'Coach, throw me. I can do it.' I started training with the stunt team at 87eleven. They trained me for five months in a nondescript warehouse in Los Angeles. I trained five days a week with a trainer, and I trained with the 87eleven team again. I was still nursing and had not yet broken out of mommy shape. I lived in constant pain.

MC: What was the audition and casting process like for Black Canary? JSB: I was actually first approached by my manager for the role because I was filming "Lovecraft Country" for HBO and it was in direct competition (with Jordan Peele and Misha Greene's Smollett-Bell HBO horror drama). Then I thought Misha was casting for Birds of Prey. I told her about it. I said, 'Oh, that really sucks. They won't even let me audition. She said, 'Bitch, hang in there.' [I said to my manager and agent, 'Misha said I should audition, but there's a chance they won't be filming at that time. I did a self-tape while we were shooting the pilot for Lovecraft Country in Chicago. They didn't tell me what the character was, but I thought it was Black Canary. I knew her from the video game "Injustice 2," which my husband and I played occasionally. To be honest, when I auditioned for the role, I thought, "Okay. I'm going to do this, but they're not going to cast me. Then I sent them a tape and they responded very enthusiastically and asked me to come to Los Angeles to meet with the director, Kathy Yang. It went well. They asked me to do a chemistry reading with Margot (Robbie). That went well. Then they asked us to do a screen test at Warner Brothers, which was a grueling day. They were mixing and matching all of us girls into different combinations to see what the best chemistry was. There were so many different combinations that I think we ended up doing this one scene over 30 times. Black Canary was very natural to me. I understood her intrinsically.

MC: What brought her together as a character? JSB: In this film, we meet Black Canary before she actually becomes Black Canary, in the sense that she doesn't really understand her power. She is struggling with the talent she has. She struggles with the fact that she doesn't want to own the talent she has. For me, I can honestly relate to that. I think we all do.

MC: Have you ever felt unprepared to take on a certain role? How did you overcome that intimidation? JSB: Oh, great. Yeah, I think so. It comes in waves. There are moments when I feel like I'm walking fully in my calling, and then there are moments when I'm really suffering. There are moments when I'm really suffering.

One of those moments was when I got on a plane to South Africa on my 20th birthday. I had this idea in my head that I was going to be more of an activist, not as an actor or an artist. I belonged to an organization called Artists For A New South Africa, but I was broke. This organization was a group of artists I had grown up with and who were my mentors, including Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, LaTanya Richardson, Alfre Woodard, and Blair Underwood. They all led delegations to South Africa to build wells (so that villagers would have access to clean and safe water).

This trip changed my life. What I saw there was the power of art. I saw how my leaders were able to use art to bring about tangible change. We went to a small village and walked through huts with tin roofs. The locals were so beautiful, kind, and humble. There were children raising their siblings; children who had lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. They walked 5 km one way and 5 km round trip just to fetch water. Installing a well in a village can have a huge impact on the village. It blew my mind to see how these artists and the art they created affected these people when they came to the village. I thought, "If I have a talent, why not use it?

MC: Owning power can be leveraged in many ways. You grew up in Hollywood and began your career as a child actor in "Full House." How has Hollywood evolved? How has the balance of power changed? JSB: We have seen it evolve. I think what we are witnessing now is a shift in the balance of power within the industry. A lot of people have stopped asking for a seat at the table. They just said, 'I'm going to go build my own table. I feel strongly about being part of the Times Up movement and have worked closely with the organization since its inception. I focus a lot on WOC, which stands for Women of Color, within Times Up. Working with Times Up to ensure that women of all kinds are at the core of this movement is a true passion of mine. In the past we have seen how divisive the women's movement has become, and what makes MeToo and Time's Up so powerful is that women of color are at the center. This is unprecedented. It has never happened before in our history. The goal is to be truly intersectional. Women of all abilities, women of all kinds, coming to the table and saying, 'No, this is what we need to do,' and speaking up. ' It was incredibly powerful. To see how it has impacted the industry is very powerful. It's had a huge impact on me personally.

MC: What do you think? JSB: Reese Witherspoon is incredible to me. I admire her so much. She is very proactive and has been a really powerful force for change in the field. When I started attending Times Up meetings and volunteering, I never thought I would be so influenced. When I was selected to sign a contract with Lovecraft Country, I saw the impact of Time's Up during the negotiation process. Things happened to me that had never happened to me before Time's Up. Reese went to meet with Casey Blois, HBO's head of programming, to talk about the importance of gender equality within the company. That conversation led to many of us receiving salary adjustments. He really looked at the salaries of the women working in his program. A lot of it stemmed from that conversation with Reese.

MC: Before "Time's Up," you talked about something that happened to you. Do you mean the pay gap? JSB: Yes, of course. I found out many times later that I was paid less than men my age, no matter what my bills were. It was shocking. We all do the same job. We work the same hours. Commitments are never lower. Frankly, it is criminal that for so long our commitment, vision, and talent have been undervalued. We all needed to come together to say 'no,' to say Time's Up. The changes in the industry are of a magnitude I have never seen before.

MC: Many fans (and author Gail Simone) were excited about your casting, while others expected Black Canary to be white like in the comics. How do you respond to them? JSB: For a long time many people have been closed off. There are many among us who would like to see the world as it actually appears in the film.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity. This interview was originally published in the February 2020 issue of Marie Claire.

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