A Fateful Jurnee with Denzel and Oprah

The Great Debaters almost didn't get made.

When Denzel Washington first became attached to the movie, it was only to direct. But studio bosses also wanted him to star in the 1930s drama, about a debate team from a small black college in Texas that went on to becoming national champions by beating Harvard. (It's based on the true story of Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.)

“Denzel said, ‘No, I should not be in it. I should direct,' ” one of the movie's costars, Jurnee Smollett, told me on the phone from New York City, where she is in the middle of a national promotional tour for the movie, which hits theaters on Christmas Day. “And they couldn’t come to an agreement, so they canceled the entire project.”

But Washington eventually had a change of heart. He not only directed the drama, he stars as the professor who leads the team to victory. Smollett plays Samantha Booke, the lone female student on the otherwise all-boys team. Great Debaters recently nabbed a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture, Drama.

As she snacked on chocolates in her New York hotel room, the 21-year-old Smollett and I chatted about auditioning for Washington, meeting producer Oprah Winfrey for the first time and watching out for snakes on the Louisiana set...

What was it like auditioning for Denzel Washington?
They gave me, like, 13 pages to prepare that Friday night and another 15 to prepare on Sunday. They were like, “We don’t know what Denzel is going to do, so here, have all the pages he has just in case.” 

When you walk into an audition with Denzel, does he say, "Hi, I'm Denzel"?
I think he said, “How you doing, darling?” And I gave him a hug. We immediately got down to business, though.

When did Oprah get involved?
Oprah had the script almost before anyone had it. She’s had it for almost 10 years.

What was it like meeting Oprah for the first time?
When we did Oprah’s show, she walked out, and literally it was the first time we’d met her. She stood there—I can still see it—with her arms stretched out. I think that’s what everyone is drawn to about her. Sitting on her couch, I felt like I was sitting on my aunt’s couch. You know, I didn’t feel this massive persona that everyone attaches to her. She’s just so warm.

I saw some of the photos of the two of you from the premiere here in L.A., and you look like old friends.
She has just been so open and so giving and so encouraging. My goodness! She gave me so many words of encouragement after we did her show. Those are the moments you cherish forever.

In one scene,  it's just you and Nate Parker (who plays debate team member Henry Lowe) on a rowboat in the middle of a lake. How beautiful was that?
We had to shoot really, really quickly because it started to rain, and then it started to storm in a matter of minutes. We had to get it really quick. We almost didn’t get it that day, because it kept on raining. There was a thunderstorm in the morning, and there was just this one window where we could get it.

And what's this I hear about the production requiring a snake wrangler for another of the outdoor scenes?
Yeah, you can’t see him, but behind the bushes is a snake wrangler, and he actually caught snakes.

You shot the film on location in Louisiana and Texas. Did everyone hang out together all the time? Did you share a house?
We all lived in the same apartment complex in Shreveport, Louisiana, and we were together all the time. There were barbecues on the weekends sometimes.

So, you were partying with Denzel Washington?
Oh, no—no parties! On the weekends, Denzel was working. And honestly, on the weekends, I was sleeping, because my wake-up call usually on a Monday morning was at 3.

Three in the morning?
Yeah, for a pickup at, like, 4.

What did you think the first time you saw the film?
I cried. I kept on saying, “What are we a part of? What are we a part of?” The screening was on the Sony lot, and when I was walking on the lot leaving the screening, I heard this voice say, “Jurnee!” I looked up, and it was Denzel, and he said, “Hey girl, you look drained.” And I walked over to him and ran into his arms and said, “I am drained.”