Danielle Brooks sought advice from her Peacemaker director James Gunn when she experienced months of silence after her audition for The Color Purple.

The Orange Is the New Black actress had long interviews with director Blitz Bazawule and sent in a self-tape in order to score the role of Sofia in the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical.

After being discouraged by the months of silence that followed her audition, Brooks asked Gunn for his advice and he inspired her to reach out to the filmmakers.

“He was like, ‘Yes, you should definitely shoot your shot.’ I remember having this long conversation with him about faith and trust in the process,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “So I wrote a letter to say, ‘Hey, I love this part, and even if I’m not your Sofia, I wish this project well.’ I didn’t hear anything back, which was like, ‘OK, that’s part of trust in the process.'”

Brooks eventually found out she had booked the role when Oprah Winfrey – who played Sofia in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation – called her over Zoom.

“Danielle, my God, I knew from day one,” Winfrey, who produced the new movie, gushed. “I felt that one of the most fun moments was being able to call her, because I obviously had watched her on Broadway. There were other people, but she embodied it.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Brooks admitted she was disappointed about having to audition for the part because she proved she could play Sofia in the Broadway musical in 2015. However, she wanted the film role so badly that she swallowed her pride and auditioned.

The Color Purple is in U.S. cinemas now.

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