Hollywood's Game Changer: Regina King

Regina King is more than what Hollywood has come to acknowledge and comprehend.

She’s multifaceted.

She’s a fearless actor, one that takes on roles that are complex yet intriguing. She is a director, a producer and founder of Royal Ties–the production company she owns with her sister. She is a champion of the arts, a black, female creative that continuously changes the game–and yes, she’s won an Oscar.

With grace, King has created a legacy that is extensive and impressive. After all, it is her time, and rightfully so, she’s not letting up.

Later this month, the Academy-Award winning actress will debut her latest role–a superhero in Damon Lindelof’s revamp of Watchmen.

According to the series’ press release, Watchmen is “set in an alternate history where masked vigilantes are treated as outlaws.” Adding the series “embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, while attempting to break new ground of its own.”

It’s a project King says she’s both “nervous and excited about.” Which in the eyes of this legend, is a “great place to be.”

“There’s pride that I feel about this journey with Damon,” King told exclusively to TNJ during Culturecon. “Not just because we’ve never seen a black woman in this space, but just as an artist to artist. I knew immediately from knowing [Damon] that this was a bold move, but that’s what you’re supposed to do...move outside of your comfort zone.”

An overview of King’s career proves that moving outside of her comfort zone is her norm. It’s what she’s always done, and she pushes others to do the same–no matter the outcome.

“There’s beauty in the bruises,” King told Keke Palmer and a room of over 2,000 creatives during her Creative Genius segment at the Creative Collective NYC’s Culturecon.

“I wish there was something like this when I was in my 20s, or late teens,” she told the room. “Something like this, I would’ve made it my business to be here. I think it is so necessary.”

Those same sentiments remained even backstage.

“My hope, my dream is that five years from now, it will be so huge that you won’t be able to be in this venue. It will be a whole weekend, and I see it being that way,” King told TNJ. “I’m excited to be apart of it, to be able to say I was there.”

Watchmen premieres Sunday, Oct. 20 on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.