Lupita Nyong'o, who plays Nakia in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has more than proven her versatility over the years with memorable roles in the likes of Us, Little Monsters, Queen of Katwe, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and many more, but the actress has now revealed that there was an attempt to typecast her following her Oscar win.
Nyong'o blasted onto the scene with Steve McQueen's powerful 2013 film 12 Years a Slave, winning a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her feature debut as Patsey.
“My winning an Academy Award came at the very start of my career,” Nyong’o said during an interview with CNN Africa. “It was for the first film I had ever done. So, it really did set the paces for everything I’ve done since. What’s very interesting is that after I won the Academy Award, you’d think like, ‘Oh, I’m going to get the lead roles here and there.’ But it’s ‘Oh, Lupita. We’d like you to do another movie where you’re a slave but this time you’re on a slave ship.’ Those are the kinds of offers [I was getting] in the months after winning my Academy Award.”
Typecasting can be an easy trap to fall into for any actor, as studios will often attempt to capitalize on the success of a major hit by... replicating everything that made it a hit.
“It was a very tender time,” she continued. “There is an expectation for you and your career. There were think pieces about is this the beginning or the end of this African woman’s career? I had to deafen myself to all those pontificators because at the end of the day I am not a theory. I am an actual person. I like to be a joyful warrior for changing the paradigms of what it means to be African. If that means I work one less job a year to ensure that I am not perpetuating these stereotypes that are expected of people from my content then let me do that.”
While speaking about The Wild Robot at a BFI London Film Festival event last year, Nyong’o was shown a clip from Black Panther featuring Nakia and Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, and became emotional when thinking about her late friend.
“The grief is the love, and no place to put it,” she said. “No, no… It’s fine. I don’t want to run away from the tears or the grief. You just live with it. That experience will never be separate from the love that was formed. I watch this clip and I’m filled with grief and I don’t know whether I’ll ever be done shedding my tears from losing my friend. But I’m like, we get to see him alive. And that’s so wonderful.”
Nyong'o went on to recall the incredibly positive response to the movie, while admitting that the studio did have some reservations.
“There was a lot of fear, definitely from the executives… Marvel was shaking a little bit in their boots!” she laughed, adding, “We were too because we were like, we only get to do this once. And we gotta do it right. But ultimately, it totally shattered the myth that Black doesn’t sell.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever didn't quite reach the same heights as the original, but was still a big hit.
We're not sure if Nakia will be a part of the next Avengers movies, but Nyong'o is certain to reprise the role for Ryan Coogler's Black Panther 3.