Grammy-Award winning actress and singer Jill Scott is rooting for Zoe Saldana to take on the role of iconic singer Nina Simone. Saldana caught flack when news surfaced she had landed the part. Many believed she wasn’t a good fit from her acting abilities to her skin complexion.
“Although Saldana is a talented actress, inhabiting such a complex and iconic role as Nina Simone takes more than just talent. The actress chosen should not only be able to pull off her mannerisms, wit, and her signature spunk, but she should also look like her.”
During a recent interview Scott believed that with a little makeup Saldana could pull off the role. “Zoe is an incredible actress. I think that there should be some work done, like a prosthetic nose would be helpful and definitely some darker make-up.”
She added, “If Forest Whitaker can become darker in The Last King Of Scotland then I believe Nina should be treated with that respect. [Simone] was very adamant about her color, about her nose, about her shape and herself. And there needs to be some homage paid to that.”
Do you think with a little makeup Saldana can execute the role of Nina Simone?
Scott herself is keeping busy as she was out promoting her latest film, the remake of Steel Magnolias on Lifetime. The singer/actress joins Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad and others the highly anticipated remake. It was also reported that the “Golden” singer landed a role on Fox network’s Fringe as Simone, described as “an incredibly intuitive woman, an oracle-like person.”
“Steel Magnolias” will air on October 7th on Lifetime.
