Interviews by: Daniel Deadweiler and Jaelyn Hall

The new biographical drama Till, directed by Chinonye Chukwu (“Clemency”) and based on the heartbreaking true story of Emmet Till, hits theaters on October 14th.

The film tells the true story of 14-year-old Emmett Till (Jaylin Hall), who in 1955 traveled from Chicago to Mississippi and was murdered by white racists. The story also follows the aftermath of the tragedy and how Emmett’s mother, Mamie (Danielle Deadweiler) becomes an educator and activist in the Civil Rights Movement after her son’s death.

In addition to Hall and Deadweiler, the cast also includes Frankie Faison, Jamie Lawson, Tosin Cole, Haley Bennett and Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Danielle Deadwyler and Jalyn Hall about their work on ‘Till, the true story it’s based on, their approach to their roles and what they hope audiences will learn from the film.

(Left to right) Daniel Deadweiler as Mamie Till Bradley and Whoopi Goldberg as Alma Kartan in TILL directed by Chinonye Chukwu and released by Orion Pictures. Credit: Lynsey Weatherspoon / Orion Pictures. © 2022 ORION PICTURES RELEASING LLC. All rights reserved.

Moviefone: First off, Daniel, what does it mean to you personally to be a part of a project like this, and how did your research help prepare you for this role?

Daniel Deadweiler: This project is part of the continuum of my experience as a recipient of the civil rights legacy. I’m from Atlanta. My family attended Cascade United Methodist Church, where the pastor at the time was Dr. Joseph Lowery. Dr. Joseph Lowry had a relationship with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and they started the SCLC, which is the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

And that’s where I spent years with my brothers and sisters volunteering and learning about organizing and learning about civil rights. I learned about SCLC’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement and from women who are unsung in the way that Mamie Till is unsung.

So this all ties into Mamie Till and Dr. King being heavily influenced by her, Rosa Parks being heavily influenced by here and the choices she made at that point. So all of that personal history and experience of mine goes into my understanding, my own spiritual personal exploration of what this project is, what Mamie Till’s role was historically and in the context of that, based on the telling of the true story .

On top of that, there were just tons of other resources that I dived into, whether it was archival images, photos, videos, tons of academic dissertations, music, poetry, all kinds of things. As well as personal anecdotes that come from people in Chicago who had connections with Mamie Till in the last years of her life.

We also talk to Keith Beauchamp, who was Mamie’s mentor and was one of our producers and co-writer on the film. So, I just had super well-rounded, spiritual, family, personal, academic, artistic resources that allowed me to have as much as I could to step into this role.

Jalyn Hall as Emmett Till in TILL, directed by Chinonye Chukwu, released by Orion Pictures. Credit: Andre Wagner / Orion Pictures. © 2022 ORION PICTURES RELEASING LLC. All rights reserved.

MF: Jalyn, what does it mean to you personally to be a part of a project like this?

Jalyn Hall: This project means so much to me in the sense that I myself am only a year older than Emmett was when this series of events took place. So, I see myself in this person, in this child, and I have the same personality traits, love for my mother, love for my family, love for the world at large, and I just want to be happy and have fun.

So to be able to portray that in such a way that the whole world could see this human being, this human child as he is, was something that was so important not only to me, but to my team and my family and my community as a whole. This is something that is not always shown.

Unfortunately, not everyone knows about the story, but those who do know only a little, a tiny fraction of who he was. Or not even who he was, but what happened to him that changed the world, that started revolutions. But not him as an individual. Not his relationship with his mother, not the love his mother had for him and what made her do it.

So this is the understanding of the nature of these two people and what actually happened. That authenticity is amazing and that’s it for me. It is the authentic story that people can learn, educate, feel, relate to and take back in whatever they do.

MF: Finally, what do you hope audiences take away from Emmett’s story?

JH: They will reclaim everything that is important to them and change in whatever way is unique to them. But hopefully we just know the love and unity that was shown between Emmett and his mother and we see the love and unity that was not shown by others in Mississippi at that time.

Seeing the loving unity around people today, around themselves, around their people, around their family, around others, and just seeing where it’s coming from and where it’s going to go in the future. So, I hope they see it. We hope they come back with the knowledge of this.

(Left to right) Director Chinonye Chukwu and actor Jaylin Hill on the set of TILL, released by Orion Pictures. Credit: Lynsey Weatherspoon / Orion Pictures. © 2022 ORION PICTURES RELEASING LLC. All rights reserved.

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“Witness to the power of a mother’s love.”

PG-132 hours 10 minutesOctober 28, 2022

Screenings and tickets

The true story of Mamie Till Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son Emmett Till, who in 1955 was lynched while visiting his cousins… Read the story