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Entertainment
Raven Goodwin talks to theGrio exclusively about loss, love, and starring in Nicola Peltz Beckham’s directorial debut.
Raven Goodwin shines in her new role as the ultimate girls’ girl in Nicola Peltz Beckham’s directorial debut, “Lola.”
The 31-year-old actress stars as Babina, a store clerk who is best friends with Peltz Beckham’s Lola, in the drama film. When Lola finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and struggling to make ends meet, Babina helps her navigate her troubling time. Goodwin shows a wide range of emotions in the role, providing both laughter (see the two women dancing to TLC’s “No Scrubs” on their way to work) and sadness. Goodwin’s emotional compass in the film was shaped by the contrasting feelings she was facing in her real life: the happiness of being a new wife and mother and the heartbreak over the loss of her father.
Goodwin welcomed her first child, a daughter, with her husband, Wiley Battle, in 2020. Not long afterward, her father passed away. Goodwin tells theGrio that navigating the immense joy she felt as a new mom and the deep grief she experienced from the loss of her dad impacted her performance while filming “Lola.”
“Shooting ‘Lola,’ that was my first project back after becoming a mother and post-pandemic,” the actress says. “I lost my dad in the summer of 2021. In summer 2021, I [also] got married. Fall 2021, my daughter was turning 1. We had just come out of this weird time.”
“[My husband and I] eloped,” she continues. “I was coming out of a hell of a mental state [while filming] because it was like, I was blissful because I had this beautiful family, but then I lost a parent. I was getting reacclimated to life and because I was so caught up in this new beautiful soul, I wasn’t really able to mourn properly. In doing this film, it kind of brought all of that up.”
Goodwin went on to share that she experienced postpartum symptoms for the first time while filming “Lola” and the scenes where the audience sees her in tears were “authentic emotions.”
“My daughter was almost 1 and that’s actually when postpartum hit me. Grieving hit me — everything just kind of hit me and I was like, “Oh!” Goodwin says. “I was just full of adrenaline and going, going, going, and trying to get to my wedding day, and trying to get to all the good stuff that I forgot to process everything that had happened. It was authentic emotions [in those scenes] because I was leaving my baby girl for the first time. Being without her kind of brought up some things. It was definitely an interesting time.”
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Goodwin’s experience on set was helped by the cast and creatives around her. Music legend Quincy Jones executive produced the music — “Oh my God, amazing! The music draws me in,” Goodwin says — and Peltz Beckham worked closely with Goodwin to bring their characters to life.
She said Peltz Beckham “was beautifully involved in the process,” Goodwin shares. “I mean, it’s her project. You could tell it was her baby and she treated it as such. She showed up every day. She watched her playback and she really was committed to making a beautiful film.
“When they sent me the trailer, I was so taken aback because I knew [the movie] was gonna be beautiful. It was just so stunning — so visually stunning. I love how committed she was to the process. As a female director, producer and actress myself, I was kind of just watching her move. I always do that, especially when I’m in an environment where there’s a female filmmaker, because I’ve been blessed to work with so many. I really was in awe of how it turned out.”
“Lola” is available to watch now on Prime Video, YouTube, AppleTV, Google Play, and Vudu.
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