David Oyelowo on how Oscar voters held Selma to a higher standard than white biopics

As a striking look at the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the breakout film of director Ava DuVernay, Selma was a lightning rod in the #OscarsSoWhite movement, which indicted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for continually ignoring Black excellence in cinema.

But David Oyelowo, who portrayed Dr. King in the film, says the reception of the film and the coordinated attack against it during awards season is indicative of a broader problem.

"Awards season is a very dirty time in Hollywood," he tells EW. "One of the things Selma was accused of was inaccuracy over truth. It's one of those dirty tricks Hollywood uses, particularly against Black films, to try and discredit them — which is why our history has been so skewed in terms of the perspective through which it's told. There are a myriad of white filmmakers who make brilliant work, who would never be accused of that."

Oyelowo is introducing Selma on Turner Classic Movies Sunday, Feb. 20, making its premiere on the network. As part of their Black History Month programming, Oyelowo joins TCM host Jacqueline Stewart from the Academy Museum on Feb. 20 and 27 to introduce four films: Selma, Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment, Black Panthers, and Malcolm X.

We caught up with Stewart and Oyelowo to talk about the films they chose to present, and why they're a crucial part of Black cinema and representation. Stewart cites the amount of creative collaboration featured in much of the programming — the partnerships between the likes of Denzel Washington and Spike Lee, Oscar Micheaux and Paul Robeson, and Oyelowo and DuVernay.

"One of the wonderful things about walking through Black film history is that we tend to look at just the actor or the performances sometimes," Stewart reflects. "But really to think about the collaborative nature of filmmaking and the history of Black collaboration through filmmaking. That's something that viewers will really get some insights into."

Oyelowo describes that partnership as essential for weathering things like the claims of inaccuracy, the backlash to the cast wearing "I Can't Breathe" shirts at the film's New York premiere, and the ways in which DuVernay was labeled "strident" and "defensive" for her responses to these issues in the press.

"These collaborators you're talking about — whether it's me and Ava, or Spike and Denzel, or Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, or Oscar Micheaux and Paul Robeson," he says. "Not only are they potent for the screen, they are so important for behind the screen because the things we go through by way of challenge."

"That solidarity is so crucial," he adds. "The challenges we face — no matter how many pledges are made about Black businesses this and initiatives that — trust and believe, this thing is real. It is still with us, and the level of vigilance needed and the level of solidarity needed is at an absolute optimum."

Selma hit theaters in 2014, but its story of Civil Rights activism and Dr. King's struggle to secure voting rights amidst segregation and intimidation is perhaps only more relevant today — as the United States faces unprecedented threats to voting rights and the battles King and his movement fought to win.

"These things are always urgent," says Stewart of her decision to program Selma. "I don't know that it's more urgent. It's just as urgent now and will be just as urgent 10 years from now, 20 years from now, as when the film was released. One of the things that is most important about Selma is that it is a model for current activists. There is so much in that film that's about strategizing, about how to create coalitions across different groups that might have different approaches to how to address a particular situation. One of the things you don't necessarily see in the newsreel footage or the footage of the speeches is all the work individually and collectively that has to be done to keep a movement going forward."

Oyelowo, who was raised in London and Nigeria and became a U.S. citizen in 2016, echoes Stewart, stressing how the film always set out to be more than merely a movie. "Unfortunately, it's always going to be pertinent because even once it's achieved, there is always the risk and that danger that we won't have learned from history and it will be taken away again," he adds.

An unlikely choice for Dr. King, Oyelowo became a bonafide Hollywood star thanks to the role, something he still marvels at. He felt intimidated by the role, but ultimately called to play it. "I do believe that if you are open to it, there are moments where you truly become a vessel for something," he says. "That was just one of those instances where it happened. It hasn't happened before or since in quite the same way."

"That film ignited something in [all of us who worked on it]," he adds. "It kept us accountable to a certain standard that if we are all completely honest, we're probably still chasing. I remember saying this at the time, and I feel so blessed I realized it then. I said, 'No matter what I go on to do with my life, I know this film will be the one of the greatest things I do with my life.' That's an amazing thing to know in the moment."

Both Oyelowo and Agnes Varda — who directed documentary Black Panthers, which Oyelowo will introduce Feb. 27 — were outsiders to the American Civil Rights movement. But Oyelowo says there's a value in that, coming to something with an objectivity and perspective that is impossible to maintain from the inside.

He points to the fact that he didn't grow up with King as a practically canonized figure in his household, unlike many African-Americans. "There is something to be said for coming at Dr. King without that level of deification," he says. "You can approach him more readily as a human being as opposed to an icon. You can't play an icon."

But what about Malcolm X? A controversial figure in the movement often set in opposition to Dr. King for his more fiery approach. He's part of our cinematic discourse also, particularly as represented by Denzel Washington and Spike Lee in 1992's Malcolm X. Oyelowo will be discussing that film too, and credits it as an essential part of his preparation for playing Dr. King.

"Every time I have a tough role to play, I watch Malcolm X," he admits. "Literally. I'm not even kidding. I watch Malcolm X; I watch There Will Be Blood because Daniel Day Lewis and Denzel Washington, I don't even know how they do what they do. I will watch those two films to humble myself, to see what exists to aspire to, but also to try and get a grasp of what is happening both technically and spiritually."

He'd never say it himself, but Oyelowo's performance in Selma could serve the same purpose for other actors — and the next two weekends, they'll get the chance to observe them both on Turner Classic Movies.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• Selma star says Oscar voters blacklisted film over cast's 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirts
• Watch real Selma protesters discuss the importance of 'Selma' in 2014
• Inside the Best Picture nominees: A deep dive into 'Selma'