By Javacia Harris Bowser | For The Birmingham Times

When the film “Exhibiting Forgiveness” opens in theaters on October 18, audiences across the country will have a chance to see a proud Bessemer, Alabama, talent shine.

Critically acclaimed actor André Holland considers his role as the lead character his most challenging yet and feels he’s been preparing for the role his whole life, in part, because of where he was born and raised.

“Most of what I know about acting, ironically, I learned here [in Bessemer, just outside of Birmingham],” he told The Birmingham Times during a recent visit to the Magic City. “I grew up in a very tight-knit Black community. We spent a lot of time sitting around just listening to old people tell stories. When you really listen, you learn. You start to understand how to tell a story. My ear got tuned to what keeps people interested and engaged.”

“Exhibiting Forgiveness” follows Tarrell, a Black artist on the path to success whose journey is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a recovering addict who’s desperate to reconcile. The film was written and directed by artist Titus Kaphar and is loosely based on Kaphar’s life.

Holland grew up in church (his family attended Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God Cathedral when it was located in downtown Birmingham and Faith Apostolic Church in the city’s West End community), and that also showed him how stories like Tarrell’s could move people. These storytelling skills have paid off and helped Holland excel in several formidable roles.

In 2014, he portrayed Civil Rights icon Andrew Young in director Ava DuVernay’s powerful historical drama “Selma,” earning him a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

From 2014 to 2015, he shared the spotlight with British actor Clive Owen in the Cinemax original drama series “The Knick,” holding his own in a gripping supporting role. In 2016, Holland’s portrayal of Kevin in Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” truly put him on the map. The film took home multiple Academy Awards, including the coveted Best Picture, at the 89th annual ceremony. Holland also starred in a production of “Othello” at Shakespeare’s Globe, a renowned theater in London, England, and recently portrayed Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton in the television miniseries “The Big Cigar.”

Still, Holland considers “Exhibiting Forgiveness” a major milestone. After premiering at Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 to rave reviews, the film was acquired by Roadside Attractions production company for distribution.

“There have been a lot of cases, earlier in my career, where I’ve been very close to getting things that I really wanted and I felt like I was ready to do but it wasn’t my time,” the actor said. “I have felt for a long time that I’m capable of more than I’ve been given the opportunity to do. So, I feel like I’ve been preparing and ready and waiting and sometimes getting frustrated, wondering when I’m going to get a chance to really do what I feel like I’m here to do. … This movie came along, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s something I know I can do.”

The Greatest Night

Though Holland has been on the Oscars stage, performed on Broadway, and been a leading actor at the Globe, he counts a moment on stage at the Alabama Theatre as one of the greatest nights of his career.

It was in August on the opening night of the 26th annual Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham. The programming team had selected “Exhibiting Forgiveness” as the opening night film. At the screening, Holland, along with Kaphar, took to the stage of the Alabama Theatre to greet the audience of nearly 2,000 attendees.

“It was unbelievable,” Holland, 44, recalled. “Out of all the movies and shows I’ve done; this was the first time I’ve had something I’ve been able to bring back home in such a big way.”

Friends and family members filled the front rows, and festival attendees all over the theater loudly cheered for Holland as he took the stage. After the screening, he was met with a standing ovation. The film went on to win the Jambor-Franklin Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature Film at the festival.

“It was maybe the most special night of my career,” Holland said, adding that the night was made even more special because it took place in a theatre that Black people couldn’t patronize decades ago. “To come back and to see all those beautiful Black folks in that theater and with us telling a Black story—that was special.”

T. Marie King, who helped with programming for Sidewalk Film Festival, pushed for “Exhibiting Forgiveness” to be the opening night film for this year’s festival.

“From the moment I heard about it, I wanted it for the festival—even before I saw it,” King said of the film. “Once I saw it, I texted my fellow programmer Charlie [Brown Sanders III] and said, ‘We have to get it.’ I knew it would be a heavy film but a timely film. I wanted to share something that gave people permission to leave the pain behind. Titus, [Holland], and the rest of the cast left us a wonderful gift.”

But simply screening the film wasn’t enough. King was determined to bring Holland back to Birmingham, too.

“I wanted [Holland] present at the festival to give him his flowers,” she said. “Too often we miss the window to give people their flowers when they can enjoy them. I wanted him to know his community is proud of him.”

Always eager to give back, Holland told King he also wanted to lead a workshop for aspiring actors during festival weekend. On the Saturday afternoon after the screening of “Exhibiting Forgiveness” nearly 50 people gathered at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to learn from Holland.

“His success brings attention to our city, but I feel this is just the beginning of what [Holland’s] success can do,” King said. “The vision he has for [the historic Lincoln Theatre, in downtown Bessemer], will bring young people who lack access to other programs an opportunity to discover creative parts of themselves. His success will bring exposure to career opportunities that are center stage and backstage. His success also lets all artists, creatives, actors, filmmakers, and everyone in between know that success is possible because André did it.”

“An Overachiever”

Growing up, Holland, his older sister, Maketha, and his younger sister, Natalie, were involved in a host of extracurricular activities.

“I always tried to expose them to everything out there that was good,” his mother, Mary Holland, said. “They always participated in sports. The girls played softball, and he always played baseball and basketball.”

Mary Holland noticed Andre’s knack for public speaking and memorizing lines as early as his days in preschool at Flint Hill Christian School in McCalla, Alabama. If told by his teacher to memorize the first five verses of Isaiah 53 in the Bible, for instance, he’d memorize the entire chapter.

“He was always an overachiever,” Mary Holland said. “He always loved being in front of the class and showing all that he knew.”

After a young André later proved to have good debate skills, too, Mary Holland and her husband, Donald, hoped their son would one day become an attorney.

Nonetheless, when Mary Holland saw in the newspaper that the Town and Gown Theatre (now the Virginia Samford Theatre) in Birmingham was holding auditions, she was eager to take her son downtown to try out.

At first, the showrunners at Town and Gown tried to turn the Hollands away. They felt that André, who was around 8 years old at the time, was too young.

“They did not want to let him audition because they said children as young as he was would not be patient enough and attentive enough to adhere to the training,” Mary Holland recalled. “But I sort of talked them into giving him a try, so they gave him a try and he actually was cast in a play.”

Greatest Teacher

Getting a good academic education was top priority, as well. While André was a student at McAdory Middle School, he took a scholastic aptitude test that determined he was a gifted learner. So, his parents enrolled him in the Shades Valley Resource Learning Center, an enrichment program for gifted students attending Jefferson County Schools.

Eventually, André enrolled at John Carroll Catholic High School and was soon acting in school theater productions. André graduated from John Carroll in 1997, went on to attend Florida State University (FSU), and studied abroad at the FSU London Study Centre. He also earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University in 2006.

Holland credits his home as his greatest teacher. Beyond the early stage experiences at Town and Gown and at school, and in addition to gleaning lessons in storytelling from the elders in his community, growing up in Bessemer taught him how to be a good person.

“It’s surprising how few people understand how important being a good person is to having a career and to being an actor,” André said.

Being raised in and around Bessemer, he learned how to be a good citizen, he said. “I grew to understand what it means to be a member of the community,” André added. “If my bike had a flat, I knew I could take it to my uncle to fix it. If we wanted some collard greens, I knew who had some greens, but I’m going to take them some peas from our garden.”

He believes people are more willing to work with you when you’re a good person that other artists want to be around.

“André is a gifted artist and shows up with a spirit of generosity,” Kaphar said of the actor.

Because he grew up with parents who encouraged discovery and were always eager to introduce him to something new, André Holland was raised to be curious, too.

“The biggest tool you have as an actor is being curious,” André said. “If you’re curious about the world, you learn things, and then you figure out, ‘How can this inform what it is that I’m trying to do?’”

So, every lesson learned can be applied to make his work in a role stronger.

Mary Holland enjoys seeing her son on screen but his stage work is her favorite.

“With plays, you have one chance to get it right,” she said.

Most of all, Mary Holland is proud of how her son selects his roles.

“My husband and I instilled in him to not ever do anything that’s going to embarrass the culture,” she said. “So far, he has taken on roles that have represented the culture well. He chooses a role because it means something to him, it speaks to his heart, and I love that.”

“Exhibiting Forgiveness” — starring André Holland, Andra Day, John Earl Jelks and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and directed by Titus Kaphar – opens in theaters nationwide on October 18, 2024.