Marianne Jean-Baptiste Discusses Oscar Buzz for Her Role as a ‘Difficult’ Character

British actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste has re-entered the awards conversation, almost three decades after her initial Oscar nomination, due to her outstanding portrayal in director Mike Leigh’s latest drama, Hard Truths. The 57-year-old actress humorously remarked that she feels “older and wider” (instead of wiser) this time, attributing the phrase to her co-star Michele Austin, who portrays her character’s sister. Regardless of personal jest, her renewed collaboration with Leigh, following their first project, 1996’s Secrets & Lies, has garnered some of the most favorable critical reception of her professional life. Hard Truths focuses on Pansy, a perpetually irritable and unhappy woman, and the effects of her unaddressed depression on her acquaintances and family. Describing the film as a “comeback” for Jean-Baptiste would be inaccurate, given her continuous work in the period since her last major awards recognition. However, her second project with Leigh has indeed brought her renewed prominence within the film awards landscape. She informed BBC News, “It’s kind of a full circle moment, rather than a comeback.” “It’s very interesting, because the first time, I was not aware at all that we were even in an Oscar race. You’ve got to remember, in 1996, there was still a huge independent film presence in the United States. “At that time, we weren’t that aware of the whole Oscar thing. It was something that happened over there,” she says, gesturing far away, “with really big stars. So it really was not on our radar.” After Secrets & Lies secured the highest honor at Cannes, Jean-Baptiste only gained greater awareness of the awards excitement when the film screened at the New York Film Festival four months subsequent. She remembered, “I hadn’t even heard of the Golden Globes at that point.” She added, “We were just talking about the film, doing loads of interviews, we were just knackered from all the plane rides, so there was a naivety to it the first time.” She continued, “Now we have the internet and it’s become more of an aggressive pursuit of those awards. The campaigning process has changed quite a lot. Or maybe it hasn’t and we just weren’t aware of it back then.” Jean-Baptiste clarified that Leigh and she have “kept in touch over the years,” which eventually resulted in their second joint cinematic endeavor. Hard Truths has garnered acclaim for its impactful yet subtle portrayal of depression and intricate family relationships. Numerous scenes feature humor, as Pansy initiates disputes with nearly everyone she meets, ranging from her immediate family to her dentist. Even a man in a car park who inquires about her departure faces her full verbal assault. Nevertheless, a more profound issue underlies these interactions. While the term “depression” is not explicitly uttered within the film, Pansy’s internal struggle is evident. “Yeah, it’s not spoken,” Jean-Baptiste states. “And the interesting thing about that is the whole family, everyone that she comes into contact with, other than her sister, just sort of gets on with it. “It’s under the surface. ‘Oh, it’s just Pansy.’ And so many people live like that, where you have somebody that’s really difficult, and nobody says to them, ‘Man, what is it? What’s really going on?’ You just sort of avoid them.” While portraying such a rich, ill-tempered character might seem appealing to an actor in theory, Jean-Baptiste’s depiction uncovers a far more intricate reality. “People have asked if it was cathartic, the chance to just spew. But no, it wasn’t like that,” she explains. “I felt the very real pain, anxiety and fear. There was not a lot of enjoyment to be had in that.” She continued, “And also, Pansy comes from a generation where you’re taught to just get on with things. It’s like the pre-Oprah generation, self-help – it’s before all that. You just went, ‘I feel rubbish, but I’ve got to do the laundry.’ You get up and you get on with it.” Carla Hay of Culture Mix, in her assessment of Hard Truths, stated that Jean-Baptiste “gives a fierce and complex performance,” characterizing it as “a raw and realistic portrayal of how toxic anger and untreated mental illness can affect a family.” Cole Kronman of Slant observed, “Even at its funniest, Hard Truths finds Marianne Jean-Baptiste channelling an anger that feels excruciatingly real.” Jon Frosch, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, remarked that Leigh “pushes the bounds of our empathy and asks us to look, really look, at someone from whom we’d surely avert our gaze if we had the misfortune of crossing her path in real life.” Leigh is known for dedicating several months to rehearsals, developing his screenplay from improvisation sessions conducted with the cast. Jean-Baptiste elaborated, “Basically, the process is to create a character from scratch.” She added, “Their first memory, their education, house they grew up in, family members, neighbours, where the local park was. Minute detail.” Subsequently, the actors are brought together to construct their characters’ interrelationships. “We do all sorts of exercises to establish the family routines and the traditions. We do improvisations based on, ‘What’s Sunday dinner like?'” she stated. When filming commences, the script is fully finalized. “Nothing is ever improvised on camera,” she clarified. “So we rehearse it and rehearse it.” Jean-Baptiste spoke with BBC News the day following the British Independent Film Awards, where she secured the award for best lead performance, among other initial honors she has received. Should she be ultimately nominated by Hollywood’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on 17 January, Jean-Baptiste would make history as the first black British woman to earn two Oscar nominations for acting. Intriguingly, Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo is also a candidate for best actress, potentially equaling that achievement, having previously been nominated in 2020. “I guess it’s a sign of progress, and I think it’s all great,” Jean-Baptiste mused. “It’s recognition for a job well done, I guess.” Four black American actresses—Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer—have previously achieved two Academy nominations. Jean-Baptiste acknowledged that progress in diversity has occurred almost ten years after the OscarsSoWhite movement, but emphasized that the fundamental challenge remains the availability of roles. She commented, “I think [awards bodies] are trying. It’s always going to come back down to opportunity, though.” She further explained, “If the films aren’t being made that feature black women [or] Asian women in the lead role, then they don’t even stand a chance of being nominated.” She concluded, “So we always have to come back to the opportunities in the first place, the work being made, the stories being told.” It is worth noting that Jean-Baptiste currently resides in Los Angeles, a city where numerous British actors have relocated to advance their professional careers. “Well, I was being offered work out there, so it made sense actually, because in the end I left to do a job that would require me to be there for an extended amount of time,” she clarified, referencing her 2000s television police drama Without A Trace. She elaborated, “Because that show went on for seven years. I’d been flying back and forth for the first year or two of the show, and then it was like, you know what, this is a lot. It’s a long flight just for a weekend.” During her visits to the UK, she enjoys opportunities to experience British theatre and read on the London Underground, noting, “You have to drive in LA, so it’s books on tape.” Currently, however, her attention is directed towards Hard Truths, scheduled for release in the UK on 31 January. Jean-Baptiste expressed her desire for audiences to depart the film with “a bit more compassion for people, difficult people.” She added, “Not to avoid them, necessarily, but just sort of ask your aunt what’s going on, and if there’s something you can do to help. Don’t assume you’re going to be berated for doing it.” The piece concludes with the observation that, despite the common experience of becoming “older and wider,” Marianne Jean-Baptiste is also portrayed as having gained significant wisdom.