This film seems well timed for everything going on in the world.
Absolutely. I posted something on social media, a Martin Luther King quote, ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.’ Hate doesn’t drive out hate, only love can do that. The most response I got was negative. ‘That’s so naïve.” “How can you think love will solve that? Love won’t solve everything.’ I think this film though is this overwhelming sense that love can conquer hate. The impulse is hate and that’s absolutely the impulse, otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten that reaction. But the key is to kind of somehow turn that around.
It’s interesting to see Esther’s service to her community, caring for those people. For people who want the world to be a better place, how does a character like Esther serve as a role model?
I love playing this role specifically because I am an activist and I see her as an activist during her time. I think to serve is not to be selfless completely, because I sleep better at night knowing that I’ve helped other people, as cheesy as that sounds. For me, I’m doing for self fulfillment. It’s not that I give, give, give for no reason. It truly makes me feel good. I think with this role comes that sort of message that serving others and caring about others ultimately gives you everything you hope to achieve. It is about making your own life better in a way and I thinkt hat’s an easier, more palatable for people to consume, if each one of us takes care of our sphere of influence. When people find out I’m an activist, they say it’s easy for me as an actress to get up on a soapbox and say these things. I always say ‘no, because I know activists and you don’t know their names and they’re doing amazing work in communities, even if just their school, their family, as a mother, as a father. Whatever your sphere of influence is, taking care of that will ultimately make the world a better place and I think that’s where Esther comes from.
For more about Ben-Hur, visit the Ben-Hur Movie Roundtable at Patheos Entertainment.
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