LIVE 24-SEVEN
Amandla Stenberg - The Darkest Minds, Read the full interview in the August Issue of Live 24-Seven Magazine.
everyone on set. She makes everyone feel comfortable and accepted and that was something I learned from her. Gwendoline is a powerhouse! I love how commanding she is on set, just knowing what she wants to do and how she wants to do it..
The film is partly about these young people gaining self-esteem. How confident and secure do you feel? Right now I do feel confident. Tomorrow, maybe not … who knows? It varies, it fluctuates, but I think that’s just a part of being human.
What kind of camaraderie was there with the young actors on the set of the film? Did you get together after work? It was a very family-like atmosphere. We were shooting in Atlanta, so we would go to an amusement park called Stone Mountain and we’d go on the rides. We would go out together for dinner. I really bonded with Miya Cech, who played Zu, and her mom. I felt very sisterly and protective over her because this was one of her first experiences being on a big set and I just remembered how I felt when I was her age being on a big set, filming The Hunger Games, and how much it meant for me to have someone like Jennifer Lawrence looking out for me and making me feel safe.
Was Jennifer an inspiration? She was a huge role model for me when I was a kid. She was so sweet and made me feel comfortable on set. She was always making me laugh and cracking jokes. She’s one of the most real people, and so grounded. Her morals are about family and friendship. I think she has done an amazing job with her career and she continues to skyrocket.
What advice do you have for teenagers and young kids? Just put your phone down sometimes and get off social media. Kiss and hug your friends and your family. I think it’s so easy to rely upon social media and see it as being synonymous with real life and it’s easy to value those online relationships as much, if not more than, your real ones. It’s so important to cultivate a genuine community and friendships.
You seem so balanced and mature. How influential and inspirational have your family been? My parents are strong and amazing. My mom is a badass woman! She is really smart, spiritual and very grounded. She gave me a lot of spiritual practices and techniques growing up, like meditation, a belief system, and faith. That’s something that’s very valuable to me right now, just knowing that when I doubt myself, or I doubt the world around me, I can fall back upon my faith. I wasn’t raised Christian or in any particular religion, but my mom practices a kind of new spirituality which is all about how to be a good person in the world, how to keep yourself grounded and believe in something larger than yourself.
When did you discover that you were a talented actor and musician? I guess throughout my whole life, I’ve done whatever I’ve felt called to do. I always played music growing up and I’ve always acted. I would make my own little videos. I’ve been working on my music a lot recently with some cool producers and I hope to start putting stuff out soon, just for fun.
You have another interesting film coming up: The Hate You Give. I’m so excited about that film. It’s about a girl who grows up in a black neighborhood but attends a white private school, causing her to explore her identity. She is living the duality of navigating different communities. Then her friend is shot and killed by police. The film follows events as the nation digests what has happened, and it looks at how the media skews the incident. Then it explores how she has to find the power and the strength to speak up for her friend, as the sole witness to the incident. It is one of the first narrative features to tackle Black Lives Matter. What is really refreshing about the film is that it places everything in a personal context, which makes it accessible. That is important because we become so desensitized to these terrible, tragic events that happen so often in our communities, like the deaths of black children at the hands of police. I think when people see this film, they will empathize on a very personal level.
You are such an influential role model. How did your following grow and what are your messages about? I think it began with a conversation around race. As someone who had a platform, and was a black kid, that was where I initially found that my voice was most needed. Some of the first things I talked about were cultural appropriation and representation and intersectionality, which means the intersection of feminism and race. It’s about how feminism always needs to be inclusive of race in order for it to mean anything.
What do the many accolades and honors you’ve received mean to you? They push me to want to work harder because I’m really tough on myself. It feels like a huge privilege to have my work recognized and I’m just excited to do more!
How much are you enjoying your career right now? I love acting so much, especially when I’m able to put my whole heart and soul into something. It’s the most rewarding experience in the world.
What’s next for you? I don’t know. It’s up in the air right now. I was supposed to go to NYU (New York University) to study film but then I started working so I deferred my place and I had to give it up. Eventually, I would like to go to college if it feels right. Right now, I really enjoy working and learning about the process of filmmaking through being on set. I feel like I’m being an apprentice to all the directors that I’ve worked with.
What are your dreams and goals? I will always advocate for black women – that is something I will do forever. It’s my number one priority. What I want to speak about shifts depending on what is happening in the world. The most valuable thing right now that I think I can do is to help create more representation with the projects that I’m working on. I hope to be a positive role model. My main concern is to help young people, especially young black girls, to feel less alone and to feel validated. I want to direct, work on my music, have fun and help people feel seen and heard.
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