By Gill Pringle
How were you cast, did Ryan call you, or did you have to go through auditions? How did you feel when you got this part?
It’s crazy, because a year ago I didn’t want to do acting again, I wanted to give up acting, and God was like, ‘look, this is your talent, you’ve got to do it’. And I went on IMDb, and I saw all of these films that were in pre-production, and the first one I wrote down on the list was Black Panther, and I wrote down [Casting Director] Sarah Finn’s name. And the summer came about, and my agent said, ‘hey, Black Panther, they want to see a tape’, and I said, ‘okay’, and had fun. And then a week later, Black Panther want to see another tape, like ‘what’s going on here?’ and sent another tape out. And I just had a lot of faith that, if it’s meant to go my way, then it will. About a month later, I got a call that I was going out to LA, and I went out, and I met Ryan, and I remember just being really nervous about it, and I kept praying, and God was like, ‘just have fun’. And I met Ryan, and he was so cool, and then I met Chad [Boseman], and got really nervous! He just eyeballed me, he was like, ‘hmm, are you worthy of this part?’, and I just wanted to have fun. And the second I got into the room, and we started to play, I felt, like I fell in love with him, and he became my brother that moment, and I cared so much about him. And I came out to Atlanta to do another screen test, and then a week later, the role.
Why were you feeling so disillusioned a year ago?
You know, when you’re doing acting, it takes so much out of you, creatively, and it’s really great to know who you are before you come into this business, because it can really shape you. And if you’re not really level-headed, it can take a lot out of you, so I just kind of fell out of love with it, and I just needed to take a step back, get myself together spiritually, know why I’m doing it, do it for the right reasons, and then come out, and this was one of the jobs I got to do whilst coming back into it. I got to work with Spielberg [Ready Player One], I got to work with Ryan Coogler, like, I got to fix me, and then come back and give my best to these jobs, so it turned out pretty good!
How did you fix yourself, what did you do?
I called my agent, and I asked him for six months out of acting, and then I spent time praying, I spent time seeking God, and I found what I was looking for, an inner peace that I cannot exchange for silver or gold, and it made me just focus as a young individual. It’s so important to focus, and it really made me focus on what I want to contribute to the world. And that’s just good work, and make people feel something when they watch my films. And these films have come about, and I’ve been able to do that, and Black Panther has been a dream, I pinch myself on set, I’m like, ‘yo, this is a dream role to play’, so it’s been awesome, I’m really grateful for it.
What’s going to happen to your inner peace – you’re about to be in two of the biggest movies, are you nervous about that?
Oh man, I get nervous sometimes, but you know what, a light cannot shine if it’s hidden under a basket. Meaning that I have a lot of love and light in me, and a lot to give in terms of acting, but I’m not afraid, but we do this for the love of it, and for the right reasons, and when you get projects like this, it makes it so much more worth it. So, I just hope that people enjoy it, and I’m going to embrace them with love, I’m going to feel like John Boyega in Star Wars! It’s going to be awesome, this movie’s going to be awesome.
How do you describe the relationship between Shuri and T’Challa?
So much love there, and just like a brother would to a little sister, he looks out for her, he protects her, but just like a little sister would to her brother, she picks on him, she teases him, but she loves him. Shuri’s character’s great, she creates a lot of the cool gadgets for her brother, so that’s how she gets to show her love for him. She creates amazing gadgets for him that will protect him when he goes out, it’s her way of saying, ‘I love you, but I’m still going to pick on you’, so it’s a relationship that’s great to see on screen.
Do you think characters like this are important for young women, in particular young women of colour?
I’ve always told my agents this, I want to play roles that will inspire people. It doesn’t always have to be a goody-two shoes, but, just something to make us feel proud. I remember watching Akeelah and the Bee, and Keke Palmer inspired me. This role, Shuri, I really pray that people are inspired by her, because she’s into technology, she’s intelligent, she’s absolutely witty and funny, she has a great fashion sense… Danai’s character Okoye, she’s a badass, but she’s so strong, we hardly see that on film, a woman as a soldier, a warrior. Ramonda, my mother, Angela Bassett plays her, she’s strength, courage, being afraid of things happening to your children; women in this film, off the charts, will be inspiring, not just for women of colour, but all women, around the world.
Black Panther is in cinemas February 15, 2018
