Bosco premiered on Peacock earlier this month and has received strong ratings, earning a 71 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is based on the true story of Quawntay “Bosco” Adams, a Black man who was sentenced to prison on marijuana possession charges and escaped a maximum security wing in 2006. PopCulture.com spoke to Vivia A. Fox who plays Bosco’s mother Willia. She talked about what made her want to be part of the film.
“When I found out that the main thing was that it was a story of redemption, that he did do something positive with his life and continues to reach back to the community and educate, I was all in,” Fox told PopCulture. “A good girlfriend of mine by the name of Kenya Ware came to me and was like, ‘Hey, they want you to play the mom. You’re the first and only choice. So your name would help to move things along to get exposure, to get distribution.’ And that’s what I’m all about because sometimes Hollywood doesn’t let me play the grittier roles. They just see it as one way. And I love independent films and the opportunities as an actress that it allows me.”
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Fox is not seen a lot in Bosco as most of her scenes are flashbacks of when Bosco (Aubrey Joseph) was younger. The film shows how Bosco ended up in prison, which lot of it has to do with his father Tootie (Tyrese Gibson). Willia tries to do what she can to guide Bosco on the right path, but Fox knows she could have done more.
“When the streets come calling a young man, sometimes ain’t nothing you can do about that,” Fox explained. “At 11 years old, the streets was calling him. You have to think about the time period as well too, what opportunities were available for African-American men. Everybody liked that quick money, that rolls through with the drug life. And her being a single mother, the relationship with the father not being great as we saw in some of the flashbacks, unfortunately, Bosco became a product of his environment. But I think she loved him and tried as much as what she could as a single mother.”
Bosco also stars Nikki Blonsky, Theo Rossi and Thomas Jane. The film is directed by Nicholas Manuel Pino and is based on the book Chasin Freedum by Adams.
