You're Going To Remember Aja Naomi King's Name

2016 is gearing up to be a defining year for actress Aja Naomi King. After almost two seasons on ABC's "How to Get Away with Murder," King's performance as Cherry, the wife of slave rebellion leader Nat Turner, in "The Birth of a Nation," is a major departure from ambitious law student Michaela Pratt. What connects the roles of women past and present, however, is King's passion for projects that have an impact on audiences long after the screen cuts to black. 

Scoring a record-shattering $17.5 million from Fox Searchlight for distribution rights and receiving three standing ovations at Sundance , "The Birth of a Nation" reclaims its name from D.W. Griffith's now infamously racist 1915 propaganda film. The passion project written by, directed by and starring Nate Parker traces the story of a slave uprising on a Virginia plantation in 1831, and yet remains deeply connected to the social inequities of present day. 

"There are people that are still feeling the effects of that trauma today," King told The Huffington Post about the devastation slavery has wrought on generations of black Americans. "You have to keep telling this story and all of the various stories around it, so people don’t forget what hate does and what that looks like. We need to see and remember these things so we can do better."

In "The Birth of a Nation," King sinks deep into the role of Cherry and is almost unrecognizable in her first scene, in which Turner asks his master (Armie Hammer) to purchase her as a gift for his sister. Seeing quiet hope cross Cherry's face as she realizes she’s being saved from far worse conditions is the moment when her romance with Turner begins. Describing the emotional experience of reliving the horrors of that era, King credits her director for setting the tone on set. 

"Nate wanted it to be realistic, and his direction allowed me to be so uninhibited and not care about most of the trappings we get caught up in today," she explained. "I remember feeling very free at the time, so witnessing that and being able to read that kind of energy off of myself was a little mind-blowing."

What makes her breakout performance that much more, to use her own words, "mind-blowing" is that there is little evidence Cherry was a real historical figure. Apart from bits of information in literature and essays, there is little to no documentation of Cherry's life, leaving some to believe that she was perhaps sold off and separated from her family, Turner fiercely protected her identity or she never existed in the first place. 

"I had the opportunity to invent her backstory for myself," the 31-year-old actress said, describing how she prepared for the role. "There was a heavy responsibility, of course, to flesh out her character and create what I thought would be this person that would stick out and connect to [Turner] in some way that was really special."

Substantive roles like Cherry are hard to come by for women, and especially women of color, in Hollywood these days, but King says she's found a great role model in Viola Davis, her "How to Get Away with Murder" co-star. Like "Birth of a Nation," the twisty thriller series boldly puts forth three-dimensional characters of color and refuses to conform to the dominant narratives in film and television today. 

In the first season of "HTGAWM," Davis' character, who usually maintains a very glam exterior, completely exposes herself  to the audience by removing her makeup, false lashes and wig. Recalling her reaction to the series-defining moment, King remembers jokingly questioning Davis' decision to do the scene in the first place. 

"Are you sure you want to do that because we’re on network TV?" she asked.

According to King, Davis responded,"It’s time. I’m tired of people waking up and they’ve got eyelashes and lip gloss on and their hair all perfect. That’s not real and it creates this idea of something to live up to that doesn’t exist." 

"In the way that Michaela idolizes Annalise, I idolize Viola for that for doing that, for showing that, for baring that. Her reasoning behind it is so powerful -- this idea of just owning who you are and being OK with it," she added. 

No matter the role, King is committed to supporting projects that contribute to a greater social good. As debates swirl around #OscarsSoWhite and the absence of diverse representation in mainstream cinema, "The Birth of A Nation" is exactly the kind of film Hollywood needs . 

"I think people are hungry for this kind of a film and I think they are gonna go out of their own way to see it," she said. "I know Nate will strive to get it into schools, so children can see it. We wish that there was a film like this when we were younger."

This message of empowering youth with the knowledge of Nat Turner's significance in the struggle of black liberation resonates deeply with King. The first time the actress saw the 1915 "Birth of a Nation," she was in college -- the disturbingly racist Civil War epic is still widely taught in schools across the country today. 

"It’s hard to watch any kind of depiction of your ancestors in that way. What ['Birth of a Nation'] did during the time it was released is that it ignited the KKK in the South and led to so much more violence. Knowing that made me appreciate Nate’s taking back of the title even more and giving us the story of the true birth of this nation."

"How to Get Away with Murder" returns on ABC tonight at 10 p.m.

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