Octavia Spencer Discusses Her Role as Producer and Advocates for Women in Media
Octavia Spencer Discusses Her Role as Producer and Advocates for Women in Media
Will SayreThu, March 5, 2026 at 5:05 AM UTC
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For all you fans of The Help (2011) out there, the No. 1 favorite character may go to Minny. It's no wonder, then, that Octavia Spencer won an Academy Award for the portrayal.
Years later, the beloved actress, 55, has stepped behind the camera as producer for a pair of television series. In an all-new interview, Spencer reflects on her intentional career path and why her most meaningful work seems to happen behind the lens.
“I wanted to be a producer before I was an actor because I understand it.” the Green Book executive producer told AARP's Movies for Grownups in an article published Wednesday, March 4. "I see a producer as bringing together material and talent, being a person who solves puzzles. I see it as problem-solving. It’s also a means of generating work, not only for myself but for other people. I think it’s the most important role that I play, actually."
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Spencer currently produces two shows for Investigation Discovery: Feds and Lost Women of Alaska. The latter is a three-part documentary that examines the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people in The Last Frontier through the specific case of a serial killer.
"I always felt that too much attention was being paid to the criminals and not those who are victimized. Far too often, women are discarded," Spencer told AARP amid Women's History Month. "I think it was with the Gabby Petito case, with her being the person that we were most captivated with instead of her assaulter, people realized that we had been focusing on the wrong thing. So we always try to make sure that the women are the central focus, and their families and those that are advocating for them."
Meanwhile, Spencer's Give Them Their Flowers was featured on Oprah Winfrey's coveted Book Club list back in January. The publication that topped the list of books Winfrey, 72, can’t wait to read this year was Small Town Girls by Jayne Anne Phillips.
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
