Overview
- Nyong’o says she was asked to play another enslaved character after 12 Years a Slave, including an offer set on a slave ship.
- She describes the period following her Academy Award as very difficult, with headlines questioning whether her career would stall.
- She explains that she turned down clichéd parts and was willing to accept fewer jobs rather than reinforce expectations about Africans.
- She calls herself a “joyful fighter” focused on changing the paradigm of Africanness presented on screen.
- She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, becoming only the sixth Black actress to do so, and says the film laid the groundwork for her career.