Shadow & Act interview
Nyong’o discusses her perspective on her role as a slave woman in 12 Years a Slave. She talks about the extreme emotions that went into playing the role along with the other cast members on set.
Everyone knew that this was going to be a hard day, not just for me, but for everyone involved. And we just went about getting it done.
Tavis Smiley interview
Nyong’o discusses her role in 12 Years a Slave and the fanfare surrounding her life in the aftermath of the movie in this interview for PBS.
I was heartbroken when I read her story, and I felt a deep sense of sympathy. I felt so sorry for her. I realized then that I had a lot of work to do in order to be able to actually play her. Because playing – seeing someone sympathetically is a judgment of their situation rather than an advocacy for where they are and what they’re fighting for. So I had my work cut out for me, but I had a gut reaction to her.
Albinism interview
Nyong’o shares her experience coming to America. She reflects on how important it is to her to see herself as Black now that she is in America, after studying albinism.
Albinism in particular was an interesting subject because they’re the one group of people that unify all races. Having come to the United States was the first time that I really had to consider myself as being black and to learn what my race meant. Because race is such an important part of understanding American society.
