Actor Jodie Turner-Smith On Black Creatives, A New Baby, Playing a Navy Seal for Porter Edit Sept. 21, 2020
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British model-turned-actor Jodie Turner-Smith, best known for her work in ‘The Last Ship’, ‘Nightflyers’, and ‘Queen & Slim’ poses in ‘Raising Hope’ for the September 21, 2020 Porter Edit cover story. Natasha Royt styles Turner-Smith in Alaïa, Erdem, Meryll Rogge, Self Portrait, Simone Rocha, Tory Burch and more for images by Daria Kobayashi Ritch. / Hair by Kim Kimble; makeup by Allan Avendano
Alice Casely-Hayford speaks with Jodie Turner-Smith about passion being so in love with her husband Joshua Jackson and “about the importance of telling stories, motherhood, and why she’s optimistic about the sea-change ahead.”
On the Topic of Race: Perhaps a Sea Change Ahead
In a world that wrenches in one agonizing experience after another in 2020, Turner-Smith feels optimistic that there is sea-change ahead.
“Whatever it is that makes people want to open the door – whether it’s white guilt or a sincere desire for allyship – it’s happening. It’s creating more opportunities for us to tell more stories, and when those stories are told, it’s going to create an opportunity for the storytellers coming up behind,” says Turner-Smith. “The same thing happened with the #MeToo movement – suddenly all these female directors were getting opportunities, but no matter if it’s tokenism, we’re getting in the door.”
“The fact that the door is even opening a crack…” she continues. “The water rushes in and then the door gets pushed back a little, but the weight of that water is going to keep pushing the door open further. What remains a fact is the resilience of Black people; is the joy of Black people; is the beauty of Black people. It’s great when we can get the mainstream to listen and to care about accolades for those stories, but whether or not it’s happening, we’re here, we’re not going anywhere and we’re going to tell our stories.”
Turner-Smith on Motherhood and Passing Trauma Through Breast Milk
Turner-Smith was pregnant while filming ‘Without Remorse with Michael B. Jordan. Playing a Navy SEAL, while in her second trimester, the aspiring student of life says:
“All these guys wearing all the tactical gear, [were] jumping out of helicopters, carrying big rifles and saving the world, and I was doing everything they were doing but with a baby inside me. It was testament to the fact that women really can do fucking anything.”
On the subject of motherhood, Turner-Smith introduces a scientific/spiritual concept that resonates. Her young family was living in West Hollywood then George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis and America erupted into marches led by the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I could hear all the unrest outside the door, and it actually took me a while before I could watch the video of George Floyd because I was nursing my daughter and you think about the generational trauma that we already carry and deal with and pass on. I was trying really hard not to pass on that fear, sadness and anxiety through my breast to my child. I had to shut a lot of it down and just stay insular and inside my family for a bit.”
