ATLANTA — The movie “Straw” has only been streaming for two weeks, and already, an Atlanta area teacher who stars in the movie has helped make the film hit Number 1 on Netflix.
Shalet Monique, an Atlanta teacher and actress, sat down with Channel 2’s Lori Wilson to talk about the movie’s mass appeal and what keeps her inspired.
In the two weeks since “Straw” premiered, 50 million people have streamed the new Tyler Perry drama.
It stars Sherry Shepherd and Taraji P. Henson as a mother who is coming undone, but also featured in the movie is Clayton County teacher and mom Monique.
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“Humbly, gratefully, overwhelmingly excited,” Monique told Channel 2 Action News, describing her feelings about the film’s success.
Monique is in the scenes at the bank, as Henson’s character becomes desperate to get her check cashed.
She told Wilson that she’d only just started acting when her teaching hours were cut and she needed money for her family during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Collabing with Taraji and Sherry, it has been a a masterclass,” Monique said of the work.
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Monique said the experience of making “Straw” was powerful, an experience made all the more sweet by being able to share it to inspire her students.
“My students are my biggest fans and they always have been,” she said.
Many of Monique’s students have reached out online since “Straw” started streaming on Netflix.
“That’s my teacher!” some said, or “I saw her on the news, I saw her on ‘Straw’”
The self-proclaimed “class clown of teachers” told Channel 2 Action News that life is a lot like art and everyone is going through something, that’s why she strives to give her students what Henson’s character in “Straw” did not get.
“Everyone should get that unique individualized attention to say ‘hey, I see something in you, and if you keep going, you’ll get there,’” Monique said.
The actor and teacher told Channel 2 Action News that when people are done watching, what she wants them to take away is to “just treat everyone kindly, be a light in this world.”
“There is so much darkness, you don’t know what a person is covering,” Monique said.
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