Filed under: Movies, Television, Interviews, Celeb Updates
With an Oscar nomination under her belt, and an upcoming television series that's set to premiere this month, Gabourey Sidibe is proving that she's no flash in the pan.
In just two years, the 27 year-old actress has had a starring role in 'Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire,' which garnered her a nomination for a Best Actress Academy Award, and hosted an episode of NBC's long running comedy series, 'Saturday Night Live.' On Aug. 16, Sidibe will be seen opposite actress Laura Linney in Showtime's new drama, 'The Big C.'
Sidibe will play a self assertive student in the class of Cathy (played by Linney), a unhappy suburban wife and mother who goes through a life change after a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Not bad for a New York native whose mom, Alice Tan Ridley, has been singing and busking in the New York subway stations for about 20 years. Ridley also appears on the current season of 'America's Got Talent.'
Sidibe recently was a guest at the Libertas Film Festival in Croatia where 'Precious' is still being screened internationally.
Excerpts of the conversation are below.
How has your life changed since the release of 'Precious?'
Gabourey Sidibe: It's much, more busy. I travel a lot more now, to promote the film and myself as an actress. I've been able to do a lot of really, really cool things as a result of it.
Can you talk about landing a new role on an upcoming show on Showtime?
GS: I was at an audition and luckily enough, they liked me. It's a Showtime series called the 'The Big C' and it's really interesting. I read over the first script before auditioning and thought it was really interesting, and something that I wanted really wanted to get into. It's actually a comedy. So it's something different that I want to try my hand at.
Do you have anything else in the works?
GS: Nope, not at the moment.
Were you nervous hosting 'Saturday Night Live?'
GS: I think I was nervous to take on 'SNL,' but certainly while I was doing it, because it was so quick and there was so much to do, I completely stopped thinking and stopped being nervous. I just became focused like a laser. It's weird. It's like being shot out of a cannon, which is what they told me all week and it was completely true. I was just focused. It was the best. It was so much fun.
Would you do it again?
GS: Yeah, absolutely. I would've done it the next Monday. It was so amazing. It's such an incredible week and it's really, really fun. I was really sad by Saturday that I wasn't going back to SNL studios on Monday. I would do it all over again!
How do you feel about your mom still performing in subways?
GS: Well, it's what she's always done. She's done it since I was in the 4th grade. Now that she's on 'America's Got Talent,' and even if she weren't, it's her job. It's what she does.
--with Jenny Karakaya