'When They See Us': Why Ava DuVernay Didn't Cast a Donald Trump Character

Ava DuVernay looks stunning on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter‘s latest issue!

Here’s what the 46-year-old director, mogul, and activist had to share with the mag:

On why [Donald] Trump will only appear via news footage and was not cast in her Central Park Five Netflix miniseries When They See Us: “I decided I was telling the story of the men. They knew a rich, kind of bloated, flamboyant guy who owned buildings across town had said something about them. They were much more concerned with their families and their lives than some guy in a golden tower.”

On why Trump was involved to begin with: “It made him feel like a player and important. Press conferences ensued. He was on CNN. Those are all the things that we know he wanted at that time. By doing this, he got quite a bit of attention, and still is getting it for doing the same kinds of things. I don’t think it was for any real desire to seek justice for Trisha Meili, because if he did feel that way he would have sought it for [Brett Kavanaugh accuser] Christine Blasey Ford. It was an opportunity, and he’s an opportunist.”

On her hopes for series star Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight): “My prayer for Jharrel is, may opportunities come for this young black man in the ways that they come for Ansel Elgort.”

On viewing misreported facts on the case back in 1989, as a teenager: “Sometimes ‘wilin’ out’ just means you’re hanging out. Sometimes it means you’re out just having fun. It certainly doesn’t mean you’re raping people. The fact that wilin’ became wilding, became wolf pack, became these boys are animals. … I remember for the first time realizing that the news might not be true, that the news is something that you have to really think about and question.”

For more from Ava, visit HollywoodReporter.com.