To Sanders it was necessary, vital, magical even.
More importantly, he knew Chiron.
Like him, Sanders grew up with a mother addicted to drugs.
Credit: AMANDA MARSALIS for EW
(He was raised almost entirely by his father and an uncle in South Los Angeles).
It was in acting class and on the stage where Sanders found an escape.
He just never expected his childhood to be such a key informant to his career.
This part [inMoonlight] was like God telling me, you oughta do this.
No one else can play this part but you.
That didnt make filmingMoonlighteasy.
His mother, meanwhile, is vanishing into a cloud of crack smoke.
Despite the support from Jenkins and his costars, includingLuke CagesMahershala Ali, it still took a toll.
There wasnt a day on set when I didnt feel uncomfortable, he said.
I had to relive these experiences that Ive buried in the back of my mind all my life.
Ashton is a giver, he says.
The longer you go with him, the deeper he goes.
I had to manage how deep we took him, because hes a very raw, performer.
I want to do projects that mean something to the world and challenge me, he says.
Now Hollywood just needs to create roles to match those ambitions.
