Idris Elba may have just about known what he was getting into by taking on the role of Nelson Mandela, but it wasn’t until Naomie Harris tried to get into character as his wife Winnie that she realised what a mammoth task it was.
When the pair started filming, they knew they had to get the characters exactly right – as not only did it mean so much to both them and the real-life Mandela and Winnie, but it means an awful lot to everyone who admired the great man.
Speaking to Red magazine in the February issue, Harris recalls meeting Elba. "The first thing Idris said to me was, 'Woah, what have we done? It's terrifying, isn't it?' "It really put me at ease. We held each other's hands through the whole process."
Winnie is so far removed from Harris’ usual self that she had to dig deep to get her right. “It meant inhabiting places I try never to go, like revenge, hatred and rage,” she says. “I don’t hate anyone, and I’m really not a vengeful person, but I found it really difficult to switch off. Even after I stopped filming, it took me a while to shake her.”
She adds: “She is the most complex woman I have ever played. To many, she is a saint, she’s Mother Africa, you know? To others, she is completely vilified. The pressure of all those expectations, especially filming in South Africa, was a lot. I definitely understand why she became the woman she did. In the same situation, I don’t know how I would react.”
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Posted by Marianne Kaskela.
