When faced with certain perceptions of her home state’s troubled history, Alabama native Octavia Spencer shed light on racism she experienced when she first moved to Hollywood.
While promoting the third season of her Apple TV+ series “Truth Be Told,” the Oscar-winning star of “The Help” recently appeared on the “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast where she discussed her successful career in show business as well as her Alabama upbringing.
READ: Octavia Spencer an ‘Auburn Tiger’ but is her family? ‘What is all this Crimson Tide?’
Spencer told Maron she has now lived in California longer than she lived in Alabama. currently, she lives in the San Fernando Valley, which she said she likes because, “It feels like Anywhere, USA.”
She told the host she was born in Montgomery, “smack-dab in central Alabama.”
“It’s a beautiful place, and beautiful people,” she said. “I love being from there.”
Maron, who noted he shot a movie in Birmingham a few years ago (during which he visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Spencer’s hometown), pressed her on her home state’s complicated history. “But it’s heavy, man. Right?”
“I think everywhere is heavy,” Spencer replied. “Everywhere has its history. I think everywhere has problems.”
Maron agreed but said other places’ pasts are “not quite as historical and dug-in.”
“You would think that were true,” she told him.
Maron told Spencer he just watched the Netflix documentary “Descendant,” which tells the unique story of Alabama’s Africatown community. “That movie was pretty intense,” he said.
They then discussed Alabama’s history of racial tension in relation to Spencer’s own upbringing in the state. “You can’t deny that Southern history is intense. It is. What’s beautiful for me is that stuff preceded me. I was a child of the ‘70s. … As you grow older and the things that you can remember, that wasn’t a part of my history. I learned about it. It’s not anything I experienced.”
Maron asked if it hung over her family in any way. She said no. “My mother definitely taught us about the world, and the harsh realities of the world and history. But growing up in Alabama, if I’m going to be honest, I felt more racism when I first moved here than I ever had in Alabama.”
She said her perception of her current home state was different than the reality she faced. “It was like ‘Oh, California is going to this free and liberal-thinking place.’”
Maron asked what she experienced.
“It was so funny. It was right out of ‘Pretty Woman,’” she said. “One of the first things that you do when you move — at least what I did — is you want to go to those historical places. You want to go to Rodeo Drive. You want to go to Hollywood Boulevard, the wax museum, all of those landmark places. And I just remember …t he funny thing is, Rodeo, I don’t even know what I thought Rodeo … When you walk down Rodeo, I remember going into a shop and being followed. At first, I was just so excited. Then I realized … I was like, ‘Oh …” It was kind of strange in that way.”
Maron then said “There is a culture of profound racism in Los Angeles.”
“The funny thing is, after getting over that initial ‘aha …,’ I’ve not really necessarily experienced … but it was glaringly obvious,” Spencer said.
The Montgomery-born actress and Auburn alumna has three best supporting actress Oscar nominations to her name for performances in “The Shape of Water,” “Hidden Figures” and “The Help.” She won for the latter. During her speech, she thanked the state of Alabama.
Spencer has barely taken a breath since her debut in 1996′s “A Time to Kill.” In 2020, she earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie thanks to her work in the Netflix show “Self Made: Inspired By The Life Of Madam C.J. Walker,” which she produced with LeBron James.
She co-starred in the Alabama-set re-adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The Witches” on HBO Max, in collaboration with Oscar-winners Robert Zemeckis and Anne Hathaway. Add the Apple TV+ series “Truth Be Told,” plus the films “Dolittle,” “Onward” and “Superintelligence.” She also appeared in the Apple TV+ film “Spirited,” co-starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.
Spencer was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 2022.
More on Octavia Spencer:
Octavia Spencer to be honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Octavia Spencer, Jimmy Fallon beat Seth Rogen in hilarious ‘Tonight Show’ game
Octavia Spencer helps healthcare workers in Alabama and elsewhere
Octavia Spencer: Women of color increasing their clout in Hollywood
