“Marshall's” Keesha Sharp On Playing Civil Rights Icon’s Wife In New Movie

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – SEPTEMBER 25: Actress Keesha Sharp attends the FOX Fall Party at Catch LA on September 25, 2017 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)

“Lethal Weapon” Actress Keesha Sharp Talks New Movie “Marshall”

The actress who plays Thurgood Marshall’s wife in the new movie “Marshall” said she hopes the movie will shine a light not only on the famed civil rights lawyer, but the woman behind him.

Keesha Sharp portrays Vivian “Buster” Marshall, Thurgood Marshall’s feisty wife who stood by his side as he battled racists in and out of the courtroom.

“He was such a strong man, where did he go to get that nurturing?” Sharp told BOSSIP. “She was that woman.”

The movie tells the little-known story of one of Marshall’s first cases as a lawyer for the NAACP, defending an African-American man accused of raping his white female employer.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 12: Actress Keesha Sharp arrives to Alienware and Dell Gaming E3 kick off party on June 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Alienware)

“It’s a courtroom thriller,” Sharp said. “It was considered, when you look back on it, it was the O.J. Simpson trial of its time.”

Sharp said that while playing Buster – who got her nickname from being so busty – she kept in mind that every time that Marshall left to defend cases in the South, she knew he may never come back.

“I want people to know that women may not have had a strong voice in that time, but they were just as important as Thurgood Marshall,” the actress said. “She was the strength behind him. Without her, there would be no him.”

The Rochester, N.Y. native has been acting for 20 years and studied at the Boston Conservatory before moving to LA to pursue her career in front of the camera.

Sharp said she’d like to stay in the biopic space for her next project: a film about the life of 40s and 50s screen siren Eartha Kitt.

“That’s my dream, and we are working on it,” Sharp said. I think she has a story that is fascinating.”

“Marshall” hits theaters Oct. 13.