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Ruth Negga reveals she drew inspiration from Ireland for film role

Ruth Negga has revealed that she drew inspiration from Ireland for her new role in Loving.

The Limerick native new film is set in the 1950s and she stars as Mildred Loving, a black woman illegally married to a white man, Richard Loving.

“Virginia isn’t that different from Ireland,” she says.

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No place like home: Ruth connected to Mildred by imagining not being able to return to Ireland | UNIVERSAL PICTURES

To better connect to her character, Ruth imagined what it would be like to not be able to return home to Ireland because of who she married.

“Land and home and community are super important,” the actress told Vogue.

“When I was playing her, I tried to imagine I couldn’t go home again because of whom I married.

“It must have drained the lifeblood from her.”

Filming of Breakfast on Pluto in Ireland

Experiences: The actress said she never experienced racism in Ireland but did in London | VIPIRELAND.COM

The Love/Hate star also revealed that she never experienced racism in Ireland, where people thought she was “cute,” but it was in London she first experienced it.

“When I was a kid in Ireland, there were not very many black people. I was very much like the strange brown thing, intriguing and cute.

“I didn’t experience racism there. The first time I did was in London,” she added.

“It was that moment that you realize you’re black. A kind of lifting of the veil.”

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