Lupita Nyong’o has shared why she now turns down slavery roles, which she has received after her breakout role in 12 Years A Slave.
The actress received an Oscar for it
Nyong’o won her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 2013 movie 12 Years A Slave.
This was the very first Hollywood film she ever acted in, and the success helped her break into the industry.
It set the tone for her career
She spoke about the aftermath of the Oscar win in a conversation with actress-musician Angélique Kidjo on CNN.
Nyong’o said that the win ‘was for the first film I had ever done’ adding, ‘so it really did set the paces for everything I’ve done since’.
She found herself confined in the role
The 42-year-old actress then pointed out how many of the offers she received afterwards were confined to stereotypes.
“What’s interesting is that after I won the Academy Award, you’d think, like, I’m going to get the lead roles here and there,” she said.
She was expected to do similar roles
“[Instead it was,] ‘Oh, Lupita. We’d like you to play another movie where you’re a slave, but this time you’re on a slave ship,’” the Kenyan-Mexican actress went on.
“Those are the kinds of offers I was getting in the months after winning my Academy Award.”
It was difficult at the beginning of her career
“It was a very tender time,” Nyong’o said of the years following her Oscar win. “There is an expectation for you and your career.”
“There were think pieces about, ‘Is this the beginning and end of this dark-skinned, African woman’s career?’”
She had to ‘defend’ herself against it
“And I had to deafen myself to all those pontificators because at the end of the day I’m not a theory. I’m an actual person,” the actress went on.
Nyong’o went on to star in voiceover roles in Star Wars and The Jungle Book. She also played a supporting role in 2018’s Black Panther and got her first lead role in the 2019 horror Us.
Nyong’o explained her reasoning behind it
Elaborating on why she no longer accepts slave roles, Nyong’o said, “I like to be a joyful warrior for changing the paradigms of what it means to be African.”
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“And if that means I work one less job a year to ensure that I am not perpetuating the stereotypes that are expected of people from my continent, then let me do that.”
