Anikia Noni Rose was introduced to mainstream cinema audiences in Dreamgirls, in which she co-starred with Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. Prior to that she had worked extensively on stage and won a Tony award in 2004 for her work on Caroline, or Change. Since Dreamgirls she has appeared in The Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency, The Starter Wife and has landed the coveted role of Tiana in The Princess and the Frog, Disney’s first hand-drawn feature in 6 years.
I talked to her recently about working in animation, maintaining her singing voice and her less-than stellar cinematic debut.
How do you prepare for a role like this?
The same way you prepare for any typical acting role, finding out where the character’s from in New Orleans. I spoke to a lot of people just to hear the sound of the city. I’d been to the city before so I had some background with them. I read up a lot on the forming of the city and how the music came about, and I listened to a lot of music. And then you just take what’s in the script and use that, and that’s all you can do really. Because it’s not that time [period] so I read as much as possible, and built all of that for myself.
This is the first lead character in a Disney cartoon who's black. Did you feel the cultural significance in the role?
You know it’s interesting because, although I knew that to be the case, I don’t think that it was personally poignant to me, but I always wanted to do a Disney voice anyway. And I was so thrilled that I didn’t care what the voice was. But this was bigger and better than what I had in my own dream. In dealing with people, the reaction of parents and seeing little kids seeing someone who looks like them or their mommy has been really wonderful. And I think today, at this time, our society is so integrated, that it could be a child who doesn’t necessarily look brown, but whose mommy is brown, or his cousin or neighbour or sister. So we are so intermingled, it’s a really wonderful thing and it just moves the cadre of Disney princesses another step towards the circle of completion with regard to American culture.
But frogs still have a long way to go…
Ha ha! Frogs have a couple more leaps!
It was fun to be a frog, because as a princess you become so staid, so ladylike, but Tiana is a lovely lady, but when you get to be a frog for a while you also get to have adventure and princesses don’t tend to get a lot of adventure, so that was a lot of fun.
Would you appreciate that this is one of the more modern Disney films from a feminist point of view, especially for a hand-drawn one?
You know, I do think so. It has the distinction of going back to classic Disney, but also taking the princess forward in that she’s more in line with who we as women are today. And it’s wonderful for young girls to see a young woman who is so self-sufficient and determined, but also not afraid to dream and to wish as big as she can, the furthest star, the one she’s reaching for. And I think children should. But she’s also been told by her daddy, who’s so loving and wonderful, “dream and wish, but know that anything worth having comes with hard work so be prepared to build your own staircase to that star”. And she’s doing that. It’s very important for kids to see, especially in a time when there is so much instant gratification or there appears to be on our televisions and magazines. But life doesn’t generally work that way. You have to make it happen yourself.
And did you get to do any of the voicework with any of the voice cast?
No, we didn’t actually. We were generally on our own. It’s very solitary. It’s you and maybe one of the Disney people in the room to read with you if you want, but otherwise it’s you and the microphone and a video camera filming you as you go along so they get your action and your movement. Bruno Campos, who plays Prince Naveen, and I had two sessions together just to get some improvisation, but otherwise, literally you wouldn’t even pass people in the hallway. I’m lucky because I knew a lot of people just randomly, that were cast, so we got to see each other at the premiere. But if I didn’t know them, no, I wouldn’t have seen almost anyone!
Was it challenging to abandon many of your acting tics and tricks when it’s just your voice?
Generally no. I really approach it the same way. I think that always you’re searching for truth and character, truth in the story. I think there are technical things that you have to be aware of, such as your physicality, where you are in the script. If you’re doing live action or theatre, you have a set that informs you. So if you’re going to try to climb a tree or something, there’s going to be a tree or a ladder for you to climb. Here you have to figure out a way to take your voice to that physical place so it becomes a very physical place in the way of children who are in their own imaginary world. A water bottle is, all of a sudden, the Eiffel Tower. You really have to create that world yourself. It’s a matter of remembering that. As a singer, I’m not really big on screaming. If I’m screaming it’s very open and clear so it doesn’t hurt my voice. And there were some times where I had to go straight to the horror movie screams, so that was something where I had to work myself up to and remembering that it’s okay to yell when the mic is right in front of you because [when acting] onscreen you’re actually at the floor and somebody is holding the mic [above you] on top of something. So those are the things that you have to be aware of and reminded yourself of.
You mentioned something interesting – as a singer you’re aware of what not to do to your voice. I’ve noticed a lot of singers I like, including David Grohl, have had their voices dipped in quality over the years. Do you fear for your voice when you’re acting?
I don’t worry about it because, and this is no comment on him or anybody who has had the misfortune to hurt their voice, because sometimes it’s just the situation, sometimes if you’re a rock performer you’re in a situation where you have a lot of rock performances and you can’t hear yourself or you’re singing over music that is so absolutely loud that there may be nothing you can do about that. So far, touch wood, I know how to place my voice correctly so that I’m not inflicting pain. And if something hurts or feels even scratchy or funky, then I know that’s not the way to do it and I find a way around it. Hopefully that will hold me in some stead for a long time, but a lot of brilliant singers and wonderful technicians have hurt their voice because we’re doing something consistently that you’re body is not made to do. We’re made to sing but not every day, not for hours at a time. So you do the best you can to take care of yourself and to know your instrument, but sometimes things go awry anyway. I have been lucky not to have that happen to me.
Speaking of singing, what did Dreamgirls do for your career and exposure?
It did boost my profile. Just many more people were aware of who I was. Certainly, I did The Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency afterwards and Anthony Minghella would not otherwise have known who I was if not for Dreamgirls. He saw me in that movie and was interested in what I did. It didn’t mean that I didn’t have to audition, I auditioned for this movie too, but people are more aware of my presence and the work that I do.
And finally, I’d like to ask you about your supporting role in the American Idol spin-off film, From Justin to Kelly…
That classic! Ha!
Indeed! People had enormous hopes for that, commercially beforehand, and yet, as we sadly know now it didn’t fulfil those hopes. What were you expecting? Were you excited, or were you aware during filming that it wasn’t working?
You know, I really didn’t expect it to be anything, by which I’m not saying that I expected it to be nothing. I just try not to put expectations on projects. I knew it wasn’t a masterpiece going in. For me it was something that was really great because it allowed me to learn about the technicalities of making a film. I just had not done it before and didn’t know. So I know now if you’re dancing in a number you have to find out the angles of the camera because even if the camera’s across the street, they could be really close on you. And if you’re dancing like you’re on the Broadway stage because you think the camera is far, that’s going to look funny later! So there were things that I learned that were really great. Just because someone can do one thing does not mean that they can do everything else, so you have to allow people to do what they do well and give them space to do that. You can’t put people into a box of your choosing. It’s unfair for them as a performer. I can’t really say much more about it because I can’t comment on their wants and desires. It’s up to them. But I will say that it has turned into something that people love to watch, even if it’s just…
Ironic?
Exactly! So for that I guess it’s sort of good anyway. I’m not ashamed of the work that I did in it and I think I did solid work. And I try to do that at all times. It’s just another step as you make a career. Jennifer Aniston was in Leprechaun! [laughs] That’s no diss on her, I think it’s fantastic because then you get to see where someone started and where you end up and that’s part of the work that they do and how they handle themselves and the ethics they apply to it.
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