It took 33 years after the death of Bob Marley for a biopic to come to fruition. And that was not by mistake. His widow and children made sure that whenever the time was right, they’d be part of the process from start to finish to ensure the story was told right. Bob Marley is symbolic of a biblical figure. The Jamaican-born reggae artist came from humble beginnings to world success with his music and messages of peace. The film One Love, appropriately titled after one of Marley’s biggest songs, chronicles that. It also puts his marriage, which was both beautiful and complex, to his longtime love and widow, Rita Marley, at the center. Rita served as an executive producer on the film. She is portrayed in the film by Lashana Lynch.
Lynch admits she wasn’t well versed in Rita Marley’s life and legacy, especially outside of her relationship with Bob Marley. “My parents are Jamaican, and I thought that that would have just been something that I just knew as a child. And it’s unfortunate that I didn’t know enough,” she told us. “But, it also it gave me a real opportunity to dive in, to really dive into who she is, what she meant, the pillar that she is, how powerful she is, and to really get, hopefully, a fresh perspective on who she is for the people that know her already into the movie so that I can feel a little bit of responsibility for educating the world on her power.”
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Moreso, she says she was hesitant to take on the role at all once she researched Rita Marley’s life. She had an honest conversation with the film’s director, Reinaldo Marcus Green, to ensure the project wouldn’t be watered down and filled with fluff for a film.
“I did not want to take the role at the beginning. I didn’t want to be responsible for misrepresenting my own culture, misrepresenting a legend, a woman that deserves all of the things. And that was before I even got into the meat and bones of two she actually is,” she said firmly. “And what she represents in the world. I expressed that to Reinaldo before I got an audition…I was like, ‘It has to be right. It just has to be right in so many ways. I have a whole culture riding on this. This is the opportunity for Jamaica to be rewritten in so many different ways on the world stage.’ So I wanted to be a part of something that was going to fully do that and execute that in a way that made me proud to be a Jamaican and proud to come from the people that I come from.”
Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel. Lynch talks about spending time with the Marley’s, the film’s themes, and more. One Love is also available to purchase digitally on various platforms.
