Meanwhile, rehearsals with Denzel, Morgan, Jihmi, and Andre had begun. It’s possible that four other actors might have had the kind of chemistry they did, but I doubt it. It was mesmerizing. Everybody had something to contribute to the scenes. I had sent them copies of a book that moved me, a collection of excerpts from slave diaries and oral histories called Bullwhip Days. Morgan, who would someday buy the plantation on which his family had been slaves, was a repository of stories, some moving, others chilling.
