Although Hollywood continued to experience a major baby boom in 2013, there is one actress who says she is "fine" without having kids of her own.
"I should be married and have 19 kids," Octavia Spencer told fellow stars Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Emma Thompson, Amy Adams, and Lupita Nyong'o in a roundtable discussion posted Nov. 25 for the Actresses Issue of The Hollywood Reporter. "And now I'm thinking my eggs are dying on the shelf. They're going to go past their expiration date," said the Fruitvale Station lead, 43. "But it's what I chose, so I'm fine with that decision."
The Oscar-winning actress explained how she had to conjure up alternative real-life situations to fulfill her role in Fruitvale — a harrowing drama based on a true story, in which she plays the mother of the late Oscar Grant (played by Michael B. Jordan), who was killed after he was shot on New Year's Eve in 2009. (The officer who shot Grant was later found not guilty of second-degree murder, a verdict which sparked a wave of violent protests.)
"I think for me, the scariest moment was taking Fruitvale Station because I've never played a real person," the Help star shared with her peers. "There's a responsibility that is owed, and then there's a life that extends beyond the screen," she continued. "
And having to go to that place to where, I'm not a mom, and having to imagine losing a child that I had to substitute for one of my nephews," was all around terrifying for Spencer, who jokingly added that she would rather take on a "fun and dark" role. Although she does not have any children of her own, the actress is part of a large family; She grew up as the second young child in a brood of seven kids.
Up next, the real-life aunt will take on the role of Aunt Honey in the Tate Taylor-directed James Brown biopic: A "knife-wielding, strong woman — not sweet," she shared in the roundtable discussion. The actress will be joined by her Help costar Viola Davis and 42 actor Chadwick Boseman, who will play Brown in the movie.
