Teyana Taylor has revealed that she’s been chosen to play legendary soul singer Dionne Warwick in an upcoming biopic.
During a recent interview with The Tamron Hall Show on Wednesday (March 29), the Harlem native spoke about Warwick handpicking her for the role.
“We’re already working on it,” Teyana Taylor confirmed. “We’re in the building process right now. I’ve always wanted to make sure like, I could lock in with any person that I would be playing, you know? How Angela and Tina [Turner] was, how Jamie Foxx and Ray Charles, you know what I’m saying? Like, to really get to know them and I miss when movies was like that, when you get to know them and tap in and just bond.”
She continued: “We talk almost everyday. That’s my girl. Me, her, and her son. I mean, I’ve always been a firm believer in just always standing on safety. She’s had a wonderful career, you know, and I think right now it’s about making her feel as safe as possible so she can tell her story. A lot of these stories get misconstrued or extremely dramatized to an extent and that’s not where we want to go.”
Check out the full clip below:
Teyana Taylor is no stranger to the big screen. Over the years, she’s garnered roles in movies including 2011’s Madea’s Big Happy Family, 2018’s Honey: Rise Up And Dance, and 2021’s Coming To America 2.
Currently on a promo run for her new movie, A Thousand and One, Taylor sat down with The Neighborhood Talk to discuss mothers being able to reconnect with their children after giving them up for adoption.
“It’s never too late,” she began. “The same way they say, ‘Oh I went back to college at 40.’ I feel like that’s how it should be all across the board. It’s never too late to love. It’s never too late to give, it’s never too late to change, it’s never too late to show and give grace. And I think that that’s the most important thing is knowing that it’s never too late, and also knowing that a mother’s love is something that can’t be replaced or erased. So for me, it’s never too late for a mom to want to do better.
“Because the thing about it is, I feel like a lot of moms get blamed for putting their children up for adoption – not realizing that may be for the better. Because, ‘I don’t have it all the way together so I’d rather put you somewhere where I know you’ll be more stable than with me. And when I get my mind right, get myself together, I’m coming back for you.’ It’s the same way like when we lose something, we don’t say, ‘Well forget that then.’”
She continued: “We go and we get better and we practice more and we come back for that trophy. And that’s how it has to be with life! Not just in the tournament, not just in the game, not just who’s the best of the best of a contest. This is life! You gotta be willing to dust yourself off and try again. You gotta be willing to fall down and get back up.
A Thousand and One was released in theatres on Friday (March 31).
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