Actress No Shrinking "Violet"

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Actress No Shrinking "Violet"

Nicole Beharie was still studying at Juilliard when she auditioned for a role in "American Violet." She's in nearly every scene of the new movie--a huge accomplishment for a newcomer.

Originally, Beharie was going to audition for a smaller role. However, she then talked with director Tim Disney and producer Bill Haney.

The producer told her about Regina Kelly, on whom the story has been based. As he told her about the young woman fighting the legal system, Beharie found herself in tears.

"And that's when I became invested in the character," she says.

She felt a huge responsibility playing a real person. She says she did her best to capture Kelly's essence.

Her research included watching hours of interviews conducted by Haney and Disney and representatives of the ACLU, who handled her case.

She wound up sitting next to Kelly at the Telluride Film Festival. They held hands through the whole film. "I think it must have turned out all right from Regina's perspective," Beharie says.

She says Kelly calls her all the time and is "like family now."

Gina Wilhelm Actress