Gabrielle Union on ‘Inspection’ film, loving ‘loud’ with Dwyane Wade – USA TODAY
Gabrielle Union‘s latest role couldn’t seem further from her own life.
In “The Inspection” (now in theaters in New York and Los Angeles; nationwide Dec. 2), the “Bring It On” star plays Inez French, the homophobic mom of Ellis (Jeremy Pope), a young gay homeless man. Ellis enlists in the Marines, hoping to make his estranged mother proud, only to be met with violence and slurs at boot camp because of his sexuality. Even after graduation, Inez refuses to acknowledge her son’s queerness, and cruelly pressures him to date girls.
“At first, I was offended that anyone would ever think that I could play a character like this,” says Union, 50, an outspoken LGBTQ ally and parent of a trans child. “I’m like, ‘What have I ever given off that anyone would think I could play a homophobic character?'”
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But after reading writer-director Elegance Bratton’s script, Union began finding her way into the character. As a young Black actress in a predominantly white industry in the 1990s and early 2000s, Union could relate to Inez’s desire to belong and be seen as “worthy.”
“For years, I didn’t even smile with my upper lip because I felt it was revealing too much of my Blackness,” Union says. At its core, the film is about “all the things you are willing to barter with in order to be accepted, and all the soul sacrifices you will make to get two little steps further. For some, that includes sacrificing their children. A lot of folks really, truly do believe that they are helping or saving or protecting their children by denying their identity, which ultimately denies their humanity.”
Bratton wrote “Inspection” in an attempt to reconcile his relationship with his own mom, who hid the fact that she had a son from her friends and colleagues because he is gay. It was the reason why he became a filmmaker: “I resolved that ‘you are not going to ignore me. You will see my name in the paper. You will see my name on screen. Somebody will ask you if I’m from you,'” Bratton says.
But just three days after the movie was greenlit, Bratton’s mom was murdered. “I’m still dealing with that grief,” he says. “But I’m grateful for Gabrielle to be the woman who portrayed her, because Gabrielle really made space for that part of the process for me. In a way, by bringing my mother back to life, she provided me the closure that my mother couldn’t give me while she was alive.”
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Union shares two children with her husband, former NBA player Dwyane Wade: daughter Kaavia, 4, and stepdaughter Zaya, 15, who came out as transgender in 2020. Union, who was raised Catholic, credits her own mother for instilling values of love and tolerance at an early age in Pleasanton, California.
When Union was 8, her mom took her and her siblings to their first gay pride parade in San Francisco, wearing buttons that said “Straight But Not Narrow-Minded.”
“She always wanted to make sure that we were exposed to every community. She didn’t want us to have a (narrow) perspective on what makes somebody good or deserving,” Union says. “I’m still adhering to, ‘Love everyone as children of God,’ and that doesn’t exclude whole chunks of the world. That’s how we raise our kids, and so far, so good.”
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Union and Wade frequently hear from other parents of trans kids, who thank the couple for speaking so openly about raising and supporting LGBTQ youth.
“There’s been a lot of parents who are like, ‘I just didn’t know how to love my child,'” Union says. “And me and my husband are like, ‘Huh?’ That phrase is very common, which is heartbreaking.
“We will gladly love our children out loud,” she continues. “The bar is on the floor, my goodness. But if that’s what’s really moving people, we take it. We hope that more folks come to that on their own, and realize that there is literally no harm in loving your children and accepting your children for exactly who they are. It’s not our job to force them to be mini versions of us. Your job is to love them and provide a safe haven.”
Union’s advocacy has been inspiring to Pope: “I definitely appreciate how she shows up for her family in real life. That speaks volumes to the LGBTQ community,” he says. But he also believes her powerful dramatic work in “Inspection” will surprise audiences who may know her from comedies like 2003’s “Deliver Us From Eva” and 2012’s “Think Like a Man.”
“I think it marks a turn in her career, of what is possible and what’s she capable of,” Pope says.
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Later this month, Union will vie for the best supporting performance prize at the Gotham Awards. “It’s incredibly humbling,” Union says. “I’ve never had a role like this or been acknowledged in this way.”
She hopes to soon share the movie with her father, a U.S. Army veteran who has dementia.
“My dad has about 30% of the time when he’s more present,” Union says. “Hopefully we can catch him in one of those 30% moments where he can watch the film, and maybe add it to his list of ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Hacksaw Ridge.’ You know, all his favorite war movies.”
