Actor, Michael K. Wiliams appeared on the Arsenio Hall show earlier this week and gave an emotional testimony of an experience he’d gone through while filming “12 Years A Slave”.
Like many people including Africans/African-Americans, remembering “Slavery” in any form [movie, tv show, or even discussion] often strikes an un-nerving cord in your body just to think what our ancestors went through just to sustain their freedom. In the interview, Williams described a chilling scene where he had an ‘outer body” experience during filming and Arsenio Hall was brought to tears.
Williams said:
” It was very hard to get into that. Steve shoots in series meaning he won’t yell cut while the camera’s are running, he’ll just say “start back to one”. There was a scene unfortunately it didn’t make the film.”
” We’re shooting this scene where my character {Robert] was being carried to slave ship and he was revolting, frailing and going crazy. Around the fifth time that we shot it, you know, Steve [the director] yelled cut and something came over me. I don’t know what it was but i fell to the around and I couldn’t stop crying and screaming. I couldn’t get up off the floor, it was surreal and the stunt coordinator [a white man] he got down on the floor with me and he cradled me and he said:”It’s Okay Mike, Let It Out“.”
” And I screamed at the top of my lung for what seemed like 15 -20 min. And a cloud passed over me and I got up and was like okay let’s go. I think what happened to me is that I was given a glimpse of what our Ancestors went through.”
If you have not seen this movie [12 Years A Slave] yet please do so. You will be moved in more ways than one.