‘Birth Of A Nation’s Nate Parker Poses For ‘GQ’ Spread

Nate Parker, the writer, director and star of the forthcoming Birth of a Nation movie, was spotted posing at a photoshoot for GQ Magazine in Los Angeles Tuesday.

Nate Parker Shoots Fashions For ‘GQ’

Parker was pictured leaning against a vintage sports car in Downtown Los Angeles yesterday, clad in a wool three-piece suit. The filmmaker and activist had his jacket slung over his shoulder and wore a patterned tie and buckled boots to complete his look. On the trunk of the blue Corvette, was a leather weekender bag for the shot.

Back in January, Parker’s film Birth of a Nation premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah to rave reviews and a bidding war. The movie, which tackles Nat Turner’s slave rebellion, received a standing ovation following its screening. Fox Searchlight ended up winning the bidding war over the likes of the Weinstein Company and Netflix with a $17.5 million bid, setting a new record for Sundance.

Birth of a Nation, set in 1831, stars Parker in the role of Nat Turner. Also in the cast are Armie Hammer, Jackie Earle Haley, Gabrielle Union and Aja Naomi King, who plays Turner’s wife, Cherry.

“Her inclusion is critical to the narrative,” Parker said of Cherry Turner in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “History tends to overlook or ignore the fact that enslaved Africans had and exercised their capacity to love, that they struggled to stay together and tried to maintain relationships in spite of torturous conditions. They fell in love, were married, and raised families.

Parker added, “They accomplished these things even as slaveholders separated families, raped women, and perpetuated an environment of terror for the enslaved. Highlighting Cherry and Nat’s love is a way to humanize them, and to remind audiences that enslaved people had dignified relationships against incredible odds.”

The Birth of a Nation, which is expected to be a favorite come awards season, hits theaters Oct. 7.