Winner of the Week: Monique in Precious

Already gaining Oscar buzz for her role in the indie flick, Precious, comedian and plus sized diva – Mo’Nique – is taking it all in stride. When asked about her inspiration for playing the role of Precious’ mother Mary, she responded, “…I didn't have to do research. I was abused by my older brother and my parents didn't really believe me, either, just like in this movie.” Tugging at the themes of poverty, abuse, lovelessness and neglect – the Tyler Perry / Oprah Winfrey production is based on the novel Push, by writer Sapphire. The 41 year-old Maryland native explains that she was never intimidated by the role, claiming that “…by page 10, I thought, 'What the hell is this?' I couldn't put the book down."

Going to a place that is dark, disturbing and beyond deep, Monique strips herself of all vanity, appearing on screen makeup less and emotion filled. Since Mo’Nique’s character lives on the wild side, director, Lee Daniels, also advised her to eat pimple-producing foods (like chocolate and potato chips by the bagful) and withdraw from shaving during the shoot. To stay in line with the purity of the character, she obliged.

Critics, who viewed the film at Sundance, are calling Mo’Nique’s performance a once in a lifetime, breakthrough role; that is bound to change her career. Starting off as a sex phone operator, until now the stand-up comedian turned actress turned talk show host was known for slap stick comedies like Phat Girlz, Hair Show and Soul Plane. Her role in Precious not only illustrates her range but will surely catapult her career into another strata. Daniels, explains that he decided on Mo’Nique because “"…there is something twisted about the comedian. They have that third eye that finds another understanding to a character that an ordinary actor would not."

Mo’Nique holds the title for Ocean Splash’s Winner of the Week for coming out of her comfort zone to produce a bone-tingling performance in the feature film, Precious. While she insists that her comedic base will remain, Mo’Nique has already started to film a biographic rendition of Hattie McDaniel’s life. McDaniel was the first African-American person to win an Oscar for Gone with the Wind.

Hats off to Mo’Nique, Winner of the Week for continuing to Push on...