Regina King has said she feels she is “so much more interesting” now she is approaching her 50th birthday.
The Watchmen actress, who won an Oscar for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk, is tipped for further awards success with her directorial debut One Night In Miami, a fictional account of a night boxer Cassius Clay, rights activist Malcolm X, singer-songwriter Sam Cooke and NFL star Jim Brown spent together in a hotel room in 1964.
She also recently won an Emmy for her turn in Watchmen, based on the graphic novel of the same name, and said she feels she has improved with age.
King, who will turn 50 later this month, told British Vogue: “I feel like I’m so much more interesting now, as a soon-to-be 50-year-old woman, than I was at 25.
“I can bring so much more to the table. I think that’s the same for all people.
“You may not have the stamina that you had at 25, but what you know now? So much better.”
Only five women have ever been nominated for the best director Oscar – Lina Wertmuller for Seven Beauties, Jane Campion for The Piano, Sofia Coppola for Lost In Translation, Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker and Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird, and only Bigelow has won.
King is thought to be a contender for the award, alongside Nomadland filmmaker Chloe Zhao.
King said: “With the numbers being off for so long, to be part of a conversation that’s saying you could possibly, finally, see an Academy ceremony with more than one best picture or best director nomination for a woman is fantastic.
“Being talked about in the same conversations as Zhao is… wow. It’s gratifying.”
The Academy has recently introduced strict diversity guidelines for films hoping to qualify for best picture, requiring studios to boost diversity in front of and behind the camera, as well as in executive roles, and King is hopeful it will make a difference.
She said: “I hope that it will encourage people to broaden their perspective and make for richer storytelling.
“The Oscars, at the end of the day, were designed for promotion, and obviously I’m not taking away that it’s also to honour filmmakers and artists, but it was the intent with these awards shows to boost ticket sales.”
The February issue of British Vogue is available by digital download and on newsstands on January 8.