Ava DuVernay’s Selma is one of the most acclaimed and beloved films of the last five years, it also marks another collaboration with actor David Oyelowo, who appeared in DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere.
ESSENCE spoke to Oyelowo for our cover story on DuVernay with the actor dishing on their relationship and joking about finding the director a ”Nigerian prince.”
“Who we are intersects with what we create and Ava is someone I geniunely adore spending time with,” Oyelowo says of working with the director. The actor appeared in DuVernay’s Selma as Martin Luther King Jr., a role that earned him a Golde Globe nomination. The two had previously worked together on 2012’s Middle of Nowhere, a film that tells the story a woman who’s life changes when her husband is sent to jail.
“I refer to her as my sister because I feel like I’ve known her far longer than I have. We barely need to say words for me to know what she needs out of me.”
That kind of relationship also means that Oyelowo and DuVernay can joke around about everything, including relationships. DuVernay’s hectic schedule might not leave much time for dating, but Oyelowo isn’t giving up on finding the perfect guy for the director. “I’m still on the hunt for her Nigerian prince.”
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