Nia Long wants to bring a freedom fighter’s life to the big screen.

In an interview with Variety about Fatal Affair, Long said that she wants to play one of the female civil rights liberators in American history.

“I would love to play a freedom fighter in the 1970s. I would love to play Assata Shakur, a woman who stands for everything Black in a very proud way,” she said. “I would love to play an Angela Davis-type character, where I use my voice and my power and my commitment to black culture to make a statement. I haven’t done that yet. I’ve played the supportive wife to that, but I haven’t actually played the leader.”

The leadership role is something Long took on for Fatal Affair as a producer of the film. In the interview, she talks about how being a producer allowed her to own her power as a Black woman.

“[As a producer,] they have to listen and I don’t have to apologize or tiptoe around it or feel like I went too far. There’s certain things that I’m not going to back down from. I don’t love conflict but I’m not afraid of conflict, [and] I think out of conflict comes growth,” she said. “And my intentions are not to just serve me but to serve my community. To serve other Black women, to give them something to think about, to know that when they’re feeling fired about the same issues I’m fired up about, it’s okay. You don’t need to feel guilty about it. You don’t need to apologize about it and stand in your strength.”

Fatal Affair is streaming now on Netflix.

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Fatal Affair

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