Lupita Nyong’o has a bone to pick with Hollywood casting directors, and she’s not afraid to get loud about it (ironic for someone starring in A Quiet Place, right?).
On the glorious Friday of June 14, Paramount Pictures and Hollywood Confidential threw a bash to celebrate our favorite Oscar-winning actress, Lupita Nyong’o, who just turned the fabulous age of 41. This star-studded shindig took place at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles, and everyone was there to toast her incredible career in the film and TV industries.
Nyong’o’s résumé is longer than a CVS receipt. She snagged an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2014 for her heart-wrenching role in 12 Years a Slave, kicked butt as a spy and love interest opposite Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther, and gave us all nightmares in Jordan Peele’s thriller Us. But guess what? There’s one genre she hasn’t tackled yet, and she’s practically begging for a shot. She confessed to PEOPLE with a playful grin, “Please tell everybody I’m looking for the rom-com. I am here. I’m taking calls. Listen, if I need to audition, I’ll do it. I’m dying to do a comedy. Dying to do a comedy.”
Apparently, Nyong’o has taken it upon herself to prove she’s not all drama and horror. She’s been flooding social media with goofy videos featuring herself, her cat, and whatever else tickles her fancy, just to show the world her lighter side.
“I’m trying to tell these executives that I’m funny and that I can be lighthearted and light-footed,” she added with a wink. “But I do have more dramatic roles in the can than light ones, so someone’s just got to take a chance with me. So consider this my open application.”
For now, she’s still living in horrorville, starring in the upcoming Quiet Place prequel, A Quiet Place: Day One. Nyong’o had nothing but praise for John Krasinski, the mastermind behind the franchise. “I was very honored to get offered this role because I think it is a very innovative world that John Krasinski created,” she said of The Office alum, who clearly traded in his jokes for jump scares. “And it is a fun world. It’s a very specific world. It’s a tense world.”
Nyong’o compared the silent, alien-infested world of A Quiet Place to childhood games. “Like the floor is lava. You commit to that context and you go for it,” she explained, as if she were describing a fun day at the park. “And you’re asking adults to do this. Imagine a world where you have to stay quiet to survive. It’s exciting to me to be in that kind of hyper-imaginative world.”
She also gushed about her co-star, Joseph Quinn, of Stranger Things fame. “Doing [the movie] with someone like Joe was awesome,” she said, reminiscing about his role as the unforgettable Eddie Munson. “I thought he was extremely memorable and moving as an actor, and I was very eager to meet him and wondering what he would be like in person. And what I discovered is that he’s a very hardworking actor and an extreme gentleman, and he’s a team player.”
They quickly found their groove, and Nyong’o couldn’t stop raving about their on-screen chemistry. “We very quickly got into a rhythm working together, and it was fun. It was always surprising. I just loved it. It was a wonderful, wonderful match when it comes to our chemistry.”
A Quiet Place: Day One is shaking things up by moving the terror from a secluded farm to the chaos of New York City during the initial alien invasion. “I think that this movie is an homage to New York,” Nyong’o added, hoping it would be a blockbuster hit in theaters. “It is a reminder of how amazing and valuable it is to come together to watch a movie.”
Nyong’o is all about the big screen experience. “That cinematic experience — you can’t trade it,” she declared passionately. “Like, yes, okay, it’s fine, the ease of putting on a movie at home, but this movie is made for that immersive cinematic experience, and there’s nothing as cool and satisfying as having a cathartic experience in a group setting.”
The Hollywood Confidential event series, brainchild of TV and content producer Steve Jones, who’s rubbed elbows with Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, and Jennifer Lopez, has been a guiding light for Hollywood hopefuls for the past decade. It’s known for its intimate chats with the entertainment industry’s powerhouses, aimed at inspiring and equipping the next generation of actors, writers, producers, and directors of color.
Before Nyong’o, other honorees included legends like Regina King, Angela Bassett, Tabitha Brown, Issa Rae, Snoop Dogg, and Sterling K. Brown. Talk about being in good company!
So, Hollywood, are you listening? Lupita Nyong’o is ready to bring the laughs!
