After two years of talks with director Kirill Mikhanovsky and screenwriter Alice Austen, Lauren “Lolo" Spencer never thought Give Me Liberty would see the light of day.
The hilarious comedy follows Vic (Chris Galust), a 25-year-old wheelchair-accessible transport vehicle driver. Spencer stars as Tracy, a social worker who gets caught up in the chaos as Vic tears through the streets of Milwaukee determined to help his family while adhering to his route
For Spencer, a disability lifestyle influencer who has lived with ALS for the past 17-years, the role has been a dream come true, especially after getting nominated alongside Octavia Spencer and Jennifer Lopez for a Best Supporting Female Actress award at the 35th annual Spirit Awards. Shadow And Act spoke with her to learn more about her experience making the film and her plans for the future.
“I learned about the film through my agent," Spencer remembered. “She came to me and told me, ‘Hey, these indie filmmakers are trying to make this film, they're specifically looking for a young Black woman who's a wheelchair user. Do you want to audition?' Prior to then, I had never acted. Thankfully, Kirill, who was our director, and Alice, who's our producer, really liked what I had done, and the rest is history. We kept in contact for two years via Skype before even going into production."
The moment Tracy appears on the screen when Vic enters her home to pick her up, viewers are thrust into her hectic and outspoken family. Understanding who Tracy was in all of her nuances and humanity was something Spencer was adamant about from the beginning. “I was really drawn to my character of Tracy because of the way she was written," the Sitting Pretty Productions founder explained. “She just so happened to have a disability. It wasn't some inspiration porn gaze. It was about her humanity, her personality and how she shows up in the world, first and foremost. It was literally about the realness of who she was, and the whole team was open to any notes for authenticity. Once I knew they were cool with those kinds of things, I was 100% on board." Spencer also discussed the similarities she has with the character and how she brought that to the role. “A good chunk of Tracy's personality is me--or was me. When I was younger, in my early and mid-twenties, I was way more rambunctious. I was able to tap into that part of Tracy because I was once that young woman, subconsciously proving to the world that I can hold my own regardless of how I get around."
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