Danielle Brooks Needed Physical Therapy After Arrest Scene In ‘The Color Purple’

“Because I ended up having to do that scene over the course of two days for multiple hours a day, and it pulled my back out,” explained the acclaimed actress.

“Swinging back and forth trying to get the mob off of me. Of course, we have an incredible stage combat leader [stunt coordinator Mark Hicks] and his crew were fabulous, but doing it over and over, that really took me out, where I had to do physical therapy and go to the chiropractor for a few weeks to recover while still having to work.”

The Tony Award-nominated thespian continued to detail how the climactic scene differed from when she starred in the same role on stage.

“So when we did the mob scene on Broadway, you don’t even see it. You just see me come down center stage and fall to my knees, and then you’ll see I lift my head up and now I’ve transformed into a new version, a downtrodden, spirit-stolen Sofia, which I can sustain for a year. But it’s much different doing [it for real], and having 10 to 15 guys surrounding you and you wanting to put everything in it because you want it to make sense from every angle, to not feel like you phoned it in. … I pride myself on being a physical actor. That’s where I live. I love finding how I can use all of my body for the character. I just want to use everything that I can.”

Alongside Brooks, the record-breaking film stars Fantasia Barrino as the adult Celie, Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo as Mister. H.E.R., Ciara, Halle Bailey, Deon Cole, David Alan Grier, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor all have roles in the musical, as well.