On the night of her 15th birthday, Demi Singleton attended her first awards show.
The young actress, who plays tennis star Serena Williams in the film King Richard, opens up to BAZAAR.com about what it was like standing in a room with so many industry greats at the 2022 SAG Awards, walking the red carpet wearing her favorite designer of the moment, and being recognized for her work on her first film.
“It’s surreal and honestly amazing,” she says of the entire experience. “And this is my first film. I feel like not everybody is that lucky.”
Singleton, originally from New Orleans, has been an artist since she could walk. When she was just a toddler, her family moved to New York City, where she began to study dancing, acting, and music. Now, she’s a ballerina, plays several instruments, and has an undeniable talent for acting—both on TV and on the theater stage. When she was 10, she made her Broadway debut in School of Rock the Musical and later starred in The Lion King, where she played young Nala. “I am the biggest theater nerd. I’ve watched a ridiculous amount of Broadway shows, like over 30. That’s the type of person I am,” she says. Her first TV role was in the show Godfather of Harlem, and King Richard is her first Hollywood movie.
Jamie Bruce
In the film, executive-produced by the Williams sisters, Will Smith plays Venus and Serena’s father, Richard Williams; Aunjanue Ellis plays their mother, Oracene Price; and Saniyya Sidney plays Venus Williams. Singleton says she couldn’t have asked for a better cast to guide her into the industry.
“On set when we were filming, I feel like every day was full of new things,” she says. “[Smith] was constantly teaching everyone something new, even when he wasn’t trying to, just by watching him work and bring Richard Williams to life onscreen—it was pretty incredible to watch. I learned a lot about him, about his career, about how he does what he does, what it takes to do what he does.”
Singleton says one of the biggest lessons she learned from Smith and from Ellis is how important it is to surround yourself—especially as a young person in the industry—with people you respect, love, and trust.
“That cast, we really are like family now. We created this family,” she says. “I think that’s why a lot of people say King Richard feels so natural, feels so real. It’s because it was real, it was natural. Like, a lot of things you see onscreen are things that happened organically. Sometimes we were just having fun and they would start rolling; it wasn’t even in the script.”
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Her onscreen parents, she says, also taught her the importance of standing up for her ideas. “I feel like before King Richard, whenever I was on set or whenever I was working, especially with a lot of adults, I was always nervous to say something … like, I was not supposed to say anything because I was so young compared to all these greats on set. But both Mr. Will and Aunjanue taught me that it’s okay to speak up when you feel like something’s wrong. Miss Aunjanue told me, ‘This is your character. You know it the most, you studied the most about this particular person, so you should never be afraid to say something when you feel like something isn’t right. At the end of the day, you’re the actress.’”
Singleton may not have as much experience as Smith or Ellis, but she tells BAZAAR that she’s proud of the film she helped make and believes the cast was able to honor the Williams’ story.
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Asked if she got to chat with the Williams sisters during filming, Singleton says COVID-19 made that difficult, but she shares that the famous pair did surprise the cast and crew one day, “which was pretty amazing,” and she and Serena have gotten closer since the movie’s release.
“I don’t know if Mr. Will knew or the director knew, but we—the five sisters—didn’t know, so we were just flipping out,” Singleton says, remembering the unexpected visit. “But we spoke with them, and we had so much fun. They’re so kind and humble, and you can really see how much love they have for one another. I feel like even though we didn’t really get to speak with them as much as we would’ve liked to, just seeing them interact and be around each other was all we really needed.”
At the SAG Awards on Sunday night, Smith won the award for Male Actor in a Leading Role, for his portrayal of Richard, and the cast was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Singleton says she felt incredibly honored to be there, with her costars and among actors whom she’s looked up to for years.
She admits that while she tried to stay “cool,” in her very cool Celine look, she was definitely a bit starstruck. “I met Helen Mirren for the first time, which is pretty incredible. She’s a legend, she’s like an icon in the industry. She’s been one of the greats for so long, so getting to speak with her, getting to tell her how much I admire her, I absolutely loved,” Singleton says. “I met Andrew Garfield. I was with Saniyya, my castmate, and we were, like, freaking out inside. I also met Mr. Tyler Perry, and he’s one of the funniest people. He’s just naturally hilarious, so getting to meet him was like, ‘Oh, my god, he’s so cool.’ I grew up watching his movies, so it was really great.”
She may be young and fresh in the industry, but Singleton looked every bit a star when she walked her first red carpet in a black sequined minidress from Celine’s Baies des Anges summer ’22 collection by Hedi Slimane.
“I loved the look. I think the most important for me was searching for something that represented who I am,” Singleton says. “I’ve never been a fan of—for lack of a better word—girly things. I think there are so many ways to show that you’re feminine other than wearing ruffles and big skirts. Although those look beautiful on all the people who do wear them, that’s just never been my personal thing.”
Indeed, she looked both edgy and glamorous in her little black dress, sheer black Wolford socks, and silver sandals.
“During press for King Richard, we had so many fittings for so many events, and my stylist [Jason Bolden] kept showing me Celine looks, and I loved every single one of them, and I guess that’s where I decided that they were definitely a brand that I wanted to be familiar with, have a relationship with, because I love their work so, so much,” Singleton says.
The actress has been obsessed with fashion ever since she was little (Celine, Miu Miu, Chanel, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Versace are her favorite brands of the moment) and says she looks forward to forming relationships with more designers as she continues her career. “That’s also why I love being part of this awards season, because I get to dress up like every other weekend, it’s a lot of fun,” she says with a laugh.
Though she’s been busy promoting her hit film, Singleton says next year she hopes to be able to fly to Paris, Milan, or even return to New York City, where she grew up, to attend Fashion Week.
As for what’s next in her career, the teen is open to anything. “Right now, I think I’m focusing more on TV and film,” she says. “That’s just what I’m thinking about now, but if I got the opportunity to be a part of something great, something new, I would totally go back to theater for a little bit. Theater will always have a very special place in my heart. That’s kind of where it all started, so I’m definitely willing to do both.”
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King Richard‘s Demi Singleton Talks “Surreal” SAG Awards and Her First Red Carpet
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