Emmy-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph received the Sidney Poitier Icon Tribute at the Gotham Television Awards June 2. The “Abbott Elementary” star has a special history with the tribute’s namesake.
“It’s a very full circle moment, because quite literally Mr. Poitier opened the door to Hollywood for me by casting me in my first film — ‘A Piece of the Action,’” Ralph told IndieWire on the red carpet ahead of the ceremony.
The 1977 crime comedy both starred and was directed by Poitier. Ralph played a supporting role in the movie, which also featured James Earl Jones. After this appearance, Ralph began scoring guest spots on popular TV show such as “Good Times” and “Wonder Woman,” before landing her Tony-nominated role in the 1981 Broadway musical “Dreamgirls.” Since then, Ralph has been a film, television and stage staple, but she professes that none of her success would have been possible without Poitier.
“Mr. Poitier looked at me and said, ‘Sheryl Lee Ralph I expect great things from you … I am sorry that the industry doesn’t have more to offer you, because you deserve it.’ He planted a seed in me that represented the great possibility. And because I believed in great possibility, I kept at it and never gave up. I kept honing my craft. I kept on keeping on. And I wish that he were here tonight to be able see the seed that he planted in me and how it’s grown,” Ralph said.
She added that Poitier taught how important the director is to a project.
“I remember one day I was just lost, reading a book, and I couldn’t hear what he was saying, and he just came over to the desk — we were all students in a classroom — and he just got my attention, and he said, ‘You’re on my set. I am your director, and you pay attention to me’ … I’ll never forget that. So, I try to respect directors always,” she said.
Poitier’s groundbreaking Hollywood career included an Oscar-win for “Lilies of the Field” in 1964, when he became the first Black man to receive the Best Actor Academy Award. He later starred in seminal classics like “In the Heat of the Night,” “To Sir, With Love,” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” He bridged into directing during the 1970s with credits including “Buck and the Preacher,” “A Warm December,” and “Stir Crazy.” Poitier died in 2022 at the age of 94.
Watch IndieWire’s conversation with Ralph below.
