Malcolm Washington

He's also starred in several films, including Spike Lee's Black Klansman and Christopher Nolan's Time Travel Mindbender Tenet. John David and Malcolm Washington, welcome to Fresh Air.

Thank you for having us. Hello. Yeah, thank you. That was quite an introduction. I was like, whoa.

Thank you for having us. Hello. Yeah, thank you. That was quite an introduction. I was like, whoa.

Thank you for having us. Hello. Yeah, thank you. That was quite an introduction. I was like, whoa.

Well, I want to get right into our discussion about the film by playing a clip. And the story takes place in 1936. Bernice, played by Danielle Deadweiler, lives in Pittsburgh with the piano and her brother, boy Willie, played by you, John David. is a sharecropper in their hometown of Mississippi, and he's driven up to Pittsburgh in hopes of persuading Bernice to sell.

Well, I want to get right into our discussion about the film by playing a clip. And the story takes place in 1936. Bernice, played by Danielle Deadweiler, lives in Pittsburgh with the piano and her brother, boy Willie, played by you, John David. is a sharecropper in their hometown of Mississippi, and he's driven up to Pittsburgh in hopes of persuading Bernice to sell.

Well, I want to get right into our discussion about the film by playing a clip. And the story takes place in 1936. Bernice, played by Danielle Deadweiler, lives in Pittsburgh with the piano and her brother, boy Willie, played by you, John David. is a sharecropper in their hometown of Mississippi, and he's driven up to Pittsburgh in hopes of persuading Bernice to sell.

And their uncle, played by Samuel L. Jackson, explains why Bernice won't do it. He speaks first. Let's listen.

And their uncle, played by Samuel L. Jackson, explains why Bernice won't do it. He speaks first. Let's listen.

And their uncle, played by Samuel L. Jackson, explains why Bernice won't do it. He speaks first. Let's listen.

That was my guest today, John David Washington, with Samuel L. Jackson in the Netflix film The Piano Lesson, directed by my other guest, Malcolm Washington. And, you know, this is such a Black American story that endures that yearning to pass down items of value up against this very real society.

That was my guest today, John David Washington, with Samuel L. Jackson in the Netflix film The Piano Lesson, directed by my other guest, Malcolm Washington. And, you know, this is such a Black American story that endures that yearning to pass down items of value up against this very real society.

That was my guest today, John David Washington, with Samuel L. Jackson in the Netflix film The Piano Lesson, directed by my other guest, Malcolm Washington. And, you know, this is such a Black American story that endures that yearning to pass down items of value up against this very real society.

an often desperate need to sell for practical reasons, or in Boy Willie's case, to gamble towards this American dream of owning land. And I want to start by asking you, Malcolm, what was it about this story that you felt was not only enduring, but an urgent one that needed to be retold now?

an often desperate need to sell for practical reasons, or in Boy Willie's case, to gamble towards this American dream of owning land. And I want to start by asking you, Malcolm, what was it about this story that you felt was not only enduring, but an urgent one that needed to be retold now?

an often desperate need to sell for practical reasons, or in Boy Willie's case, to gamble towards this American dream of owning land. And I want to start by asking you, Malcolm, what was it about this story that you felt was not only enduring, but an urgent one that needed to be retold now?

Yeah, I think it's really, really, really important for people to learn their history, both ancestral and just culturally. Know where you come from and acknowledge it. Because we're living in a time where... People are trying to rewrite history or erase people from history and their contributions.

Yeah, I think it's really, really, really important for people to learn their history, both ancestral and just culturally. Know where you come from and acknowledge it. Because we're living in a time where... People are trying to rewrite history or erase people from history and their contributions.

Yeah, I think it's really, really, really important for people to learn their history, both ancestral and just culturally. Know where you come from and acknowledge it. Because we're living in a time where... People are trying to rewrite history or erase people from history and their contributions.

So it's kind of incumbent upon all of us to reclaim our stories, you know, and proclaim them and declare them who we are as a people, who we are as a culture and identity. All these things are super urgent to reclaim.