I’m still reeling over my first official Marvel Press junket for Black Panter in LA last month, and today, I’m here to share the very first interview with you all! Danai Gurira (Okoye) and Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia) are two of the lovely leading ladies who we were able to sit down with and discuss everything from their thought of women led guards and being a love interest of the king. Here’s what they had to say.
I specifically asked about the casino fight scene that the trailers have been teasing us with for several weeks, because I was ENTHRALLED with the red dress that Okoye wears. The choreography that goes into it also fascinated me, and hearing that they did it in ONE TAKE took the cake. Read more below.
Q: Can we you talk about how beautiful the scene in thecasino was and that red dress? It’s just amazing and thetraining process for that or both of you. What did you gothrough and how did you challenge that and still look supergraceful while you were doing it? It was almost like a dance andI absolutely loved it. It’s one of my favorite scenes.
DG:Yeah, we trained a lot. I loved seeing those guys lastnight. Jo Jo and — Michael (fight chroeographers) wasn’t there. Michael was my guy.Maddie was hers and they’re just awesome, awesome guys and, youknow, just took us through so many like components of — andthey really were so smart with how they crafted with Ryan. Youknow, how these two, these women are different and how they —their fighting styles are very different. Mine is verytraditional. Hers is get the job done, you know, and so mycharacter’s gonna pull out her spear and she’s gonna do formsthat have been in Wakandan tradition for generations in thisparticular place and she’s just gonna take them down and smackthem down you know what I mean and I just love that.
I love that deliberation but yeah, I mean for the casino, likefor all of us there was a lot of, a lot of preparation for thatscene and he wanted to do a one-er which I think does — one-erfor those who don’t know which I don’t know (getting a scene in one take), you know, so likethe idea of how like, you know, when she lifts up the gun and,you know, then the camera would follow her and then land up onme, up on the balcony. I mean that was a precision and then theidea of how like, you know, when I was up there and, Iwas at that there were some other stuff I was doing but theyjust caught me before at that move and then going into the restof it like it had to — all of us, everybody around we had to,there wasn’t — they weren’t gonna cut it up so we couldn’t gookay, if something happens we’re going back to the beginning,you know, and it was tedious.
LN: It was tedious but fun.
DG: Yeah, it was fun. I did love finding her. I always —I’m in a show where my character has a sword and that’s just an— it’s a very — it has similar lines but it’s a very differentweapon and she’s also, she’s probably more like Nakia. She’smore like getting it done, you know, whereas the idea ofstepping into a character who’s connected to this traditionalancient way of moving was really amazing and I loved how they found that for each of us and then they put that into it intraining and helped us and then we found it and we owned ourcharacters around that, those movements.
LN: The training was a big part of getting into characterbecause understanding how someone fights reveals a lot about,you know, what their values are and who they are and so when wewere first talking about Nakia’s fighting style Ryan said to meshe’s street and that was really all I needed so by any means
necessary she will use any weapon. Like the Dora Milaje, they don’t use guns but Nakia has no problem usingguns, you know. She will use her shoe. She will use whatever.She will grab whatever it takes to get the job done and just andthen that again is another way that when we put together westand in solidarity, you know.
We occupy our own space and then going into battle togethereveryone has a different strength to bring to the table and Ithink that was just such a — it was a very, it was a way tomake fighting extremely rich, you know, and full of culture inand of itself. You know, it’s very specific.
Q: You have both brought very female characters to lifeon screen. I don’t think I would be strong enough to turn downthe king like you did at the beginning but can you talk aboutwhat it takes to bring these characters to life? I know it’sacting but it represents what we wanna see in ourselves and seeon screen. You guys do it in a way that’s so authentic. What isyour process in creating these characters?
LN: Well I think for both of us especially when we’redealing with African representation in story we feel such astrong sense of responsibility and desire, deep desire to seeAfrican women on screen that look and feel like we know them tobe. And so with these characters we wanted them to be women that
we know and like the women that I know are complex and they’redeep and they’re about something other than just the man intheir lives and so I think that was really important to us.It was also really important to Ryan as well to have women whoare standing in their own in this movie because personally and I
know Danai so well because I know her so well women with agencyand strength and strength does not mean an absence ofvulnerability but it means that you understand, you have it inyourself to get yourself through things, you know, to seek help,you know, what I mean that is strength in itself is a very
complex idea, you know, and so it was important to us that thewomen however, whoever and however many lines you have that youcome across as being full and that’s not hard if you just, ifyou commit to expressing humanity.
I commend Ryan for this because in the end his storyis not about punchlines and quips and things to make it fun andenjoyable and yet it’s still fun and enjoyable but there’s anintegrity to these people. You know, we really get a sense ofwhat Wakanda’s society is like and we see a society where men
and women are participating fully in the development of thenation and in so doing they’re reaching their full potential andthat’s good for everybody.
Q: I noticed that hair in culture seem to be a beautystatement and they brought it to where we are today with thecurrent, you know, natural styles and things like that. Can yougive us a little bit more because you said you had to shave yourhead and you adapted to getting used to it and I did the sameand now I have a different crown but the crown is different towomen of color and it’s a huge statement in this film.
DG: Yeah, I mean I think the beauty is, you know, it’ssuch a celebration and I think that that’s what’s so powerful tome about it because I don’t think as I was saying, you know, youoften don’t see Africanisms celebrated and so I think thatcompletely connects with the hair. I love what the hairdepartment and the costume department did. They really pulledfrom real actual cultures and ethnic differentiations and howhair is celebrated across the continent traditionally andcurrently and, you know, I think there is something reallypowerful about all the ways that hair was represented therebecause I think there are so many things that tell us, you know,the thing that tells those of African descent or, you know,people who get categorized as the other that there’s one waythat they should actually manifest themselves in society inorder to be accepted or acceptable.
I mean it’s an argument I still hear every time I go to Zimbabwesometimes. It’s like oh, my god they had dreadlocks and I don’twant to go to work with dreadlocks. It’s gotten thinner andthinner but it’s something that still needs to get addressedsometimes and there’s some issues even like we thought
somethings we dealt with in the 60s. We thought we got withblack is beautiful. We thought we got it and we haven’t. Youknow, it keeps coming back sometimes so I love that there are somany manifestations of that sort of expressions and, you know,with Nakia, Nakia’s got her little knots and then she’s got afro, you know, what I mean and then and Okoye loves her baldhead!
It’s just like I loved that and like just thisdifferentiation of expression and it all is like, you know, something that, you know, there’s things that only, you know,sometimes there’s something that only sisters can do. We can dothe most with our hair than anybody really you know I mean andwe can go bald too and it works.I think that is a celebration we’ve rarely seen exhibited insuch splendor so that really excites me for people to see.
Many thanks to Danai and Lupita for sitting with us to answer some of our questions, and we look forward to seeing the great success of Black Panther when it hits theaters February 16!
Great interview. I'm learning so much about this movie and behind the scenes.
Natasha Nicholes
Wednesday 21st of February 2018
Thank you! It was so amazing to be able to sit with them and ask very pointed questions at times. They both are really passionate about their crafts, and the way that they express it.
Bernetta
Sunday 18th of February 2018
Great interview. I'm learning so much about this movie and behind the scenes.
Natasha Nicholes
Wednesday 21st of February 2018
Thank you! It was so amazing to be able to sit with them and ask very pointed questions at times. They both are really passionate about their crafts, and the way that they express it.