When a young Cassius Clay buys his mother a brand-new pink Cadillac in Prime Video's The Greatest, she is moved to tears. Dana Gourrier, who plays Odessa "Bird" Clay, told Cup of Soul it was never about the car.
"She doesn't care about the Cadillac," Gourrier said. "She cares that her child thought enough of her to purchase it for her."
'On Sundays, they're royalty'
The real Odessa Clay worked as a domestic worker, and Gourrier said the gift forced a hard question. "In her mind's eye, she thought, 'How am I going to show up to my job to go clean bathrooms in a Cadillac, a brand-new Cadillac, a Black woman in a brand-new Cadillac?'" she said.
In one scene, Odessa asks her son why he is rushing. He tells her he wants to give her a better life. "And she simply replies in a very heartfelt way, 'I like my life,'" Gourrier said. She believes Odessa's son is the one who taught her to think beyond the limits the world had set for her.
Asked about the dignity of women like Odessa, the grandmothers and aunties many Black families know, Gourrier didn't hesitate. "Monday through Saturday, they're invisible, but on Sundays, they're royalty," she said. "And what makes them royal is their faith."
To the world, Gourrier said, Ali became a global icon. "But to Odessa, he's just her Cassius Junior," she said. "She knew he was exceptional, but she also knew he was just her boy."
Created by Ben Watkins and executive produced by Michael B. Jordan and Lonnie Ali, The Greatest stars Jaalen Best as Cassius Clay, with Omari Hardwick as Cassius Clay Sr. and Giovanni Ribisi as trainer Angelo Dundee. The series is streaming now on Prime Video.
Watch the full conversation with Gourrier, Best, Ribisi, Watkins and Lonnie Ali in our interview with the cast of The Greatest or on YouTube, and read our review of The Greatest.
