Cicely Tyson Graces The Cover of TIME Magazine & Talks About Why She Loves Acting

The living legend Cicely Tyson is featured on the cover of TIME magazines 2019 Optimists issue after being chosen for the honor by filmmaker and guest editor, Ava DuVernay. The cover captures the timeless beauty of the 94-year old.

Dress: B Michael Couture; Hair & Makeup: Armond Hambrick; Earrings: TAFFIN by James de Givenchy

The stunning feature follows the honorary Academy Award Tyson received for her long-spanning career excellence back in November 2018 for which she chose DuVernay to present to her.

In Tyson’s interview with TIME for the cover, she discusses why she loves acting and how she faces the challenges of the field.

What do you love about acting?

The thing about acting for me and why I became so enraptured by it was because it allowed me, [someone] who was so shy, to express my emotions through another individual. It wasn’t me — it was someone else. That’s how I got hooked on acting. It’s an education in and of and by itself. I do a tremendous amount of research because I have to know who this person is in order to let you know who she is. If I don’t feel that I have captured the essence of this woman, I cannot do that.

How do you face the challenges of your profession?

My mother always said, when I went out to get a job I didn’t get and came home so beaten, “Let me tell you something: what is for you, you will get. What is not for you, you will never get.” That’s the way my career has gone. I once turned down a movie that everybody thought I was crazy to do, because it wasn’t the kind of woman I wanted to project. Another actress did it, and she got a nomination for an Oscar. But what happened to me, a week after I turned it down, I got the call to do [The Autobiography of Miss] Jane Pittman. So you know, what’s for you, you’ll get. What’s not for you, you’ll never get.

Read the entire interview to find out how the legendary actress got into acting, how the art has changed her, and more!