There is something in New York that is its own,” Hadera said. “You can stroll through an exhibit or sing your heart out and feel art through the osmosis of watching others create.”

A collaborator of Lee’s for more than a decade now, Hadera also appeared in Oldboy (2013), Chi-Raq (2015), and the Netflix adaptation of She’s Gotta Have It, besides starring in series such as Show Me a Hero, Billions, and MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem, the fourth season of which aired this past spring.

Spike Lee trusts her. Denzel Washington knows what she can do. Now is time for the rest of Hollywood to wake up to the powerhouse that is Ilfenesh Hadera. “Put me in, coach,” The Harlem-born actor said to Refinery29 in a recent Zoom interview.