fed you, if you were not getting along with your parents, you could go there. So I knew Teresa well, yeah.
‘Moonlight’ is such a beautiful, pure, heart-breaking film. But in one of the most beautiful scenes, you get to have a moment of such amazing comedy, which is the table scene with you and Mahershala Ali, where you pull that amazing face. Was that in the script? It wasn’t, that was a Janelle Monáe face. It was the face that I give a lot of people that I love and care about.
It said so much with so little? Yeah and people talk about that moment a lot.
You mentioned the Oscars. What was it like to be in that most surreal moment? It was the Twilight Zone. It really was. It definitely felt like a science fiction film. When they announced the name and you had the ‘La La Land’ folks come up and then all that happened. We were just in the audience. I think we just felt like, ‘Wait, is this ours? Is it not?’ Then it just felt crazy to like, snatch. Backstage we didn’t know if we were supposed to be celebrating or not - it was just a weird kind of feeling. Ultimately we ended up as a family, celebrating that moment, because we all worked hard. That film meant a lot to us personally and to a lot of people who watched it - so we definitely were happy to take that.
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It’s only been a few years since it was released but the legacy is already incredible. People put it in the best films of all time lists and things like that, as they quite rightly should. But what has it meant for you that a film you’ve made to have had such an impact such a short time after it was released? It’s a beautiful thing, especially for the folks who wrote it – Tarell [Alvin McCraney] and Barry [Jenkins]. That was a deeply personal story for them. I think, as an artist, you want good people to have those moments and they’re really beautiful people and had something to say and there was a specificity to their writing. There was no other film out like it. I’m just happy for them. You always think fondly of the people that you really like and think about them forever being able to say that.
‘Hidden Figures’ is based on an incredible story. Were you aware of the women in this story before you were cast in the film? No and it was part of the reason that I said yes. When we were doing Black History Month even, those were not options. I was like, ‘I wonder how many other people had not heard of these geniuses’, who single-handedly changed the course of American history. Like these are American heroes who, if it was not for them, America would not have been able to go into space and orbit.
And now people can sit at home and watch it and learn something new. I can’t tell you like the amount of even little kids too who are now, their parents are so like, ‘Oh my gosh, little Jenny loves math because of ‘Hidden Figures’. I could not get her to do well with her homework, but she saw your character and she’s getting As now.’ I’m like, ‘That’s great.’ Stuff like that does matter. I think those are like the unsung heroes who are working behind the scenes helping us with technology and helping us advance as a civilization.
In your first two film roles – ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Hidden Figures’ you’re part of these incredible black ensemble casts? Was that a conscious choice?
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No, I didn’t know that they would want me to read for Mary Jackson and for that part. It still feels surreal now that I look back at that moment. I was so in it. But looking back, it was a really fun and exciting moment in cinema, especially for actors portraying the black experience and like the black experience back then. Even ‘Moonlight’ more present day - all of it was great. The black experience is not monolithic. Like we can be at NASA doing equations, sending white men to space, sending black women to space, shout out to Mae Jemison. We can be astronauts, we can be in the ghettos taking care of young black, queer children who are trying to make sense of life and need a safe space.
Let’s talk about ‘Harriet’. This is a role that brings to life an incredible historical figure that we don’t necessarily know about – why are you drawn to these powerful black stories? It starts with the script. Just because it’s centred around a black character, I’m not just going to do it because that wouldn’t be honest to me wanting to do things that I’m passionate about. I think Harriet Tubman is a legend and we owe her so much. It was just my way of honouring her, to say thank you.
‘Glass Onion’ in a way is a new direction for you but it’s very consistent with your career - taking risks doing very different thing. But what was it about ‘Glass Onion’ that you thought this is the next thing? Before I read the script, I already said ‘yes’ because I wanted to work with Rian Johnson. When I saw ‘Looper’, I was like, ‘Who is this director? If he ever wants me to do anything - I’m doing it. No question.’ I just felt it was a film I wish I had written, wish I had starred in – all the above. And so when I got the script, I was like, ‘I cannot believe this is happening.’ And then when I read it, I was like, ‘F--k, yes. We’re doing this. Greece yes. We’re going.’ And then Daniel Craig, I was a fan of the first ‘Knives Out’ and being able to work with him. He’s such a legend and wonderful actor. But it was the story, the twist. It’s so exciting and murder mystery - I’m a fan of that genre. And you know, it’s one of the most fun films I’ve done.
CE L EBRIT Y INTERVI EW JANE L L E MONÁE
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