“I think it is just an indication of what this film was — it’s support, it’s empowerment,” Mpasi says of her conversation with Winfrey

Phylicia Pearl Mpasi is still feeling grateful she has Oprah Winfrey’s support.

In the upcoming film The Color Purple — which is an adaptation of The Color Purple stage musical — Mpasi takes on the role of young Celie in her bigscreen debut.

Landing the job was a pivotal moment in Mpasi’s career, and she tells PEOPLE exclusively that she wouldn’t have wanted to work with any other cast and crew.

“There was a little intimidation and a little imposter syndrome seeped in going onto a set with people who are legends and masters of their craft and whose work that I’ve admired for so long,” Mpasi acknowledges. “But I think one of the better parts, and the best part about filming, was the actual sisterhood and community and family we built offscreen.”

CHRISTOPHER POLK/VARIETY VIA GETTY

Produced by Winfrey, 69, and Steven Spielberg — who both also worked on the original film — The Color Purple follows a Black woman named Celie through her struggles living in the South in the 1900s. In addition to Mpasi, the star-studded cast includes Fantasia Barrino as Celie in her feature film debut, Danielle Brooks as Sofia, along with Taraji P. Henson, Halle Bailey, Louis Gossett Jr., Corey Hawkins, David Alan Grier, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, H.E.R., Ciara, Jon Batiste and Deon Cole.

While movie remakes can potentially be difficult, Mpasi says having Winfrey and Spielberg lead the way helped the film stay true to its original story.

The musical twist, she says, also “enhances” the film and adds a spark of fun into a deeply meaningful story.

“It is joyous, it is fun, it is sad, it’s traumatic, it’s dramatic, but at the end of the day, it is a story of a Black woman who is the hero and the center of a story,” she says. “And I think people are going to leave feeling triumphant and they can take on any of the problems the world throws at them because Celie can.”

Mpasi started out in the acting world in theater, performing in Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway for a few years before the pandemic hit in 2020. It was then that she decided she wanted to transition into pursuing new passions.

After finding a career in writing, where she worked on Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies and a scripted podcast for HBO called We Stay Looking, Mpasi says she decided to look up auditions for The Color Purple on a whim.

“I just happened to see that they were casting for it and were willing to cast through open submissions online,” she explains, adding that she hoped to get the role of Celie. “So I submitted a tape and I asked my agent, ‘Hey, can you just follow up with them?’ I got good feedback, but I was told no initially.”

A couple months later, the casting director contacted Mpasi again, asking if she wanted to play young Celie instead. The process was a whirlwind, she says, comparing it to being “shot out of a cannon.”

“I thought I had more time,” she says. “I was like, ‘I’m going to get an acting coach, I’m going to get a vocal coach, I’m just going to prepare, I’m going to know all my lines before I even get there.’ Uh-uh, they were like, ‘We need her to come to Atlanta to start rehearsals — and now.’”

COURTESY WARNER BROS. PICTURES

One of her most memorable moments while filming was right after her first solo scene was shot. She remembers feeling engulfed in her character so deeply that she needed to ground herself — so she ventured off-set.

“Filming these scenes in the rain were very isolating because the crew was far away as to not get equipment wet,” she tells PEOPLE. “There’s a part where I’m alone by myself. And it was the first time I hadn’t been with Halle on set, so I felt very abandoned and very alone.”

She says she went to a yoga class, and as she was leaving she received a text from Winfrey asking if Mpasi could give her a call. At first, she says she thought it was a prank from one of her friends, but when she answered the phone, Winfrey was on the line.

“She just called to say, ‘You were never alone. I was there the whole time watching you, protecting you, supporting you. You just had it so much, I had to let you be in that character and I had to let you be in that moment, and the work you did was absolutely beautiful,'” Mpasi recalls of the conversation. “And she thanked me.”

“I think it is just an indication of what this film was — it’s support, it’s empowerment, it is people that we look up to and people that have walked this walk already pouring into a new generation.”

GETTY (2)

From the beginning of filming, Mpasi says she formed a close bond with co-star Bailey, who plays Nettie. As she got more comfortable with her new life in the realm of movies, Mpasi says she started to get to know the rest of the cast. And by the end, they felt like family.

“It really just felt like being around old friends at a certain point,” she says, adding: “To work with like-minded artists was so special and so informative and a great learning experience.”

As award season approaches, Mpasi says she looks forward to hearing peoples’ reactions over the next couple months.

“We’re tapping into other avenues and other themes in the story that haven’t been explored quite yet, and I think it’s so beautiful that this story has lasted the test of time to give us room to do that,” she says. “We’re not changing anything, we’re just adding a little frosting on top. And I think people are going to be really surprised to experience every spectrum of human emotion while watching our film.”