Summary

• Octavia Spencer's captivating performance as Sue Ann in Ma was a highlight of the movie.
• Octavia Spencer and director Tate Taylor aimed to break the mold for women of color in the entertainment industry, leading to changes in the film's casting and narrative.
• The original role of Sue Ann in Ma was written for a white actress, but Taylor decided to cast Spencer to bring nuance to the character and address important conversations about race.

Despite her compelling performance as the vengeful killer Sue Ann "Ma" Ellington, Octavia Spencer wasn't originally slated for the lead in the Ma movie, but she was cast for a surprising reason. The psychological thriller follows the lonely Sue Ann who befriends a group of teenagers by enticing them with alcohol and unsupervised parties at her house. Sue Ann's motive comes to be especially sinister, as the teens are children of her childhood bullies and, consequently, pawns to her overall plot for revenge.

Spencer offers a captivating performance as the unhinged murderess, and Ma and Sue Ann's violent, whirlwind murder spree was tailored just for her. The movie was developed in part by Ma co-star, co-producer, and director Tate Taylor, who adjusted the narrative to complement Spencer as the lead antagonist. At the early onset of production, however, several aspects of the Ma film were quite different - and Spencer wasn't initially considered for the role.

Tate Taylor And Octavia Spencer Wanted To Break The Acting Mold For Women Of Color

Before production on the Ma film started, Spencer and Taylor lived with each other as roommates for several years. Taylor has since opened up about their lifeboarding together, at which time they'd frequently talk about the status of women of color in the world of entertainment. According to an interview with Collider, Taylor and Spencer's conversations would turn into initiative, and both performers eventually set out to break the acting mold for women of color who were traditionally confined to stereotypical roles.

In the interview, Taylor gave insight into what rallied the two to seek changes in the entertainment industry. He divulged that "Women of color are put in their box. They're not leads, and they do the same stuff that people are comfortable with them doing. So, I was like, 'Well, I'll find something.'" And that he did, marking the start of filling Ma's Sue Ann role with his dear friend and roommate, Spencer.

The Role Of Sue Ann In Ma Was Originally Written For A White Actress

Originally, Ma was written with a white woman at its core who Taylor described as "middle-aged and crazy" with no backstory to her. Given the nature of Taylor's conversations with Spencer, he felt compelled to make a major change to the story when the Ma script fell into his lap. Taylor immediately thought to place Spencer in the lead, as it would not only help to break the acting mold of women of color but would give nuance to Sue Ann's character.

With Spencer in the lead, Sue Ann's story became an engrossing narrative of how trauma can develop into terrifying circumstances. Spencer's Sue Ann was once a young Black teenager bullied and publicly embarrassed by her white peers, and by the time of Ma's shocking ending her trauma fed into unremorseful vengeance and murder. The entertainment industry may not be used to seeing a Black woman as the lead antagonist of a major thriller, but Taylor's Ma film necessitates a new narrative with Spencer - and conversations of race - at its center.

Source: Collider