Octavia Spencer is promoting Hidden Figures, which is out in limited released on Christmas day and in wide release on January 6. Advance reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and critics lauding this account of the female African-American scientists and mathematicians working at NASA in the early 1960s. She has several interviews out, including with People and Variety. Watching her People interview I was particularly touched by how she described her mom, a hard-working single mother who died when Spencer was just 18. The lessons her mom taught her and her siblings, that they could achieve whatever they wanted, stayed with her.

On her mom’s lessons
I had a very strong mom who made me and my sisters understand that there were no limitations on our lives except what we placed on ourselves. We were very sheltered too. My mom was very strict. A God-fearing woman… She taught us to see people as people. All people. Taught us to understand our place in the world. And our place in the world is, if you want to be a leader, you can be that. There was no glass ceiling until I got into the real world and realized there are glass ceilings everywhere!

My mom was a single mom. She worked as a maid. She had several jobs to put food on the table. It’s just a – very noble woman and I credit her for the person I am today. Feet firmly on the ground.

On losing her mom at 18
Now, there are so many things that I’d like to know about her. There are conversations that I’d like to have. I think she gave me the necessary foundation to be able to do what I do. I think you have to have blind faith in yourself and your ability. You have to not know that there’s a wall there because if you’re constantly looking for barriers, then they will be there.

My mother always made me understand that at the end of the day it’s how you feel as a person and how you treat the people around you… she really prepared me for the crazy that is this industry. You have to see the sky’s the limit otherwise you will never get off the ground.

[From People]

I can’t imagine losing my mom at 18, that must have been so difficult, to say the least. I’m close with my mom now but it took years for me to realize what she sacrificed for us when we were growing up, and to appreciate what she continues to do for us. Surely perspective has helped Spencer come to terms with her mom’s death, but the foundation her mom gave her may have been the most valuable tool. Her story really resonated with me.

Spencer’s Variety interview is quite in-depth in that she discussed her thoughts after the election – she felt alternately angry and sad (I can relate), on OscarsSoWhite, she thought the focus was on the wrong part of the filmmaking process, the end, and the fact that more slice of life movies need to be made about characters who aren’t just white. She said that these films should translate to a mainstream audience. “There are so many stories out there that need to be told, and just because the leads happen to be three African Americans doesn’t mean they won’t translate to mainstream audiences.” I can’t wait to see Hidden Figures and I hope it does well at the box office. Spencer and the film have already been nominated for the SAG Awards and Golden Globes, and you can assume the Oscars are coming too.

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