Uno, dos, tres.
Líik'ik Talokan!
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HOST: Who has the best costumes in this movie?
And it doesn't have to be your own character.
But it is though.
It is.
HOST: [LAUGHS] Right?
I'm sorry.
My costumes are pretty fly.
I liked my jumpsuit the most.
I remember just watching Ruth's process in making it.
Ruth is very collaborative, and each fitting is that.
How do you feel in it?
You know, 'cause she wants you to feel your best in it.
And she wants you to be able to do what
you need to do in the suit.
So she's very receptive to feedback and all the patterns--
I would give her my opinion about that.
And she's just got such a great eye.
Every time I went for a fitting, there
was different colors added to it, iridescence
and what have you.
And in the end, it's such a sculptural piece on my body.
I loved it
I mean, Ruth is a national treasure.
You know what I mean?
Like, she did Spike's early stuff for God's sake.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, she's a living legend, and you would not know
it from spending time with her.
You would not know it.
She is a humble, generous, giving person.
Yeah, she's special.
Those costumes are insane.
And they would look even better on camera.
You know what I'm saying?
Like you'll walk up to them in person and say, man,
we're never gonna catch all of these details.
And I look at the dailies, just like, man, it's even clearer.
Oh, there's so many great looks.
I mean, you know, I love--
I love the Midnight Angels outfit.
But I was like, guys, you got to make the eye holes bigger.
Need peripheral vision.
[LAUGHS] But you know, I do love that look.
And I love the Talokanil, you know?
I think they're incredible.
That was a very new and beautiful eyeful to receive.
It was luscious and beautiful, and they
just carried it so gorgeously.
My favorite costume, without spoilers,
is a wrap with some wings.
OK, I see where you're going.
I see where you're going.
It's an amazing costume.
But at the same time, that costume almost
killed me under the water.
The costume embraced yourself literally.
And it's crazy, but it's my favorite.
It was so pretty to look at.
I'm just like, wow, you know?
Like, I really see the inspiration of the blowfish
and the little details of it.
This guy.
He has the best costume.
I love how regal it is.
I love how it's a beautiful connection
to Mesoamerican tradition and culture.
I just love it.
I love the costume.
It's great.
TENOCH HUERTA: That person with the feathers,
I love that costume with the cape and everything.
And the shorts.
Thank you.
My people call me Kukulkan but my enemies call me Namor.
HOST: What is the most memorable thing a fan has said
to you about your character?
I mean, Shuri is really loved.
A memory for me was going to Disneyland
and seeing a little girl with a Shuri T-shirt on.
She was like, this high, and she ran up to me,
and she hugged me.
She's like, the princess on her T-shirt
came to life in front of her.
I said I loved her.
She said she loved me back.
That was the most memorable thing.
One of the most surprising experiences was in London.
This young, white, English boy, he just
really wouldn't let go of my hand
and was just looking at me with great joy.
And his father was like I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.
You're just his absolute favorite.
And there was just something very interesting in that moment
'cause the realization of how we can put women
in these roles on these big platforms,
and they transfer to everybody.
We don't have to worry about--
you're not the right race or gender to play a heroic role.
That's nonsense.
There was a kid, a young kid, maybe five years old,
with the whole costume, you know, with the helmet.
And the kid said, my daddy did it.
So for me, it was like, oh, my God, that's so sweet.
This father, this guy--
I think he was single or whatever.
But he did this for his kid.
And how much love and passion he put in that costume--
like, oh my God, this is meaningful.
This is the kind of power, in the best way possible,
that you have as an actor, when you are doing something
like this, like this movie.
It's beautiful.
I was at home in Oakland working
with a friend of mine named Elvis Mitchell on his show.
We were at King's Boxing Gym.
A gentleman about my age came up to me,
and he had a young daughter.
She was dressed as Shuri, and she's like, hey,
Shuri's my favorite character.
It was a heartwarming.
What's your name, sweetheart?
Oh, my goodness.
HOST: So you spend a lot of time in water in this movie.
How long did you have to hold your breath?
You know, I worked very hard for this,
a lot longer than she did.
I started, you know, thirty, twenty seconds,
and then I built myself up to, like, close to four minutes,
you know?
Three minutes and forty-five seconds.
But this one, she went over six minutes.
But my first day, I started at thirty seconds.
And at the end, I finished in six minutes and a half.
So I was like, OK, I'm good.
I mean, no one came close to her.
Well, it's not better than Kate Winslet.
She has the record.
HOST: From Avatar?
Yes.
HOST: Among a cast of heavyweights,
whose performance really knocked you out?
Oh, no, you can't ask me that.
I honestly think everyone was just so fantastic.
I feel very, very fortunate to be a part
of this type of ensemble.
You know, what I can tell you is we
just really give each other everything we've got.
It doesn't matter who the camera's on.
We are always just pouring out to each other.
So you know that they've got you, you've got them.
And that was really the culture of the first movie.
It was definitely spearheaded by our late brother Chadwick.
And it's definitely something that really guided us
through this process, which you know,
of course, had its challenges 'cause it was
a process of grief and loss for us in a literal form
and also in the narrative.
But having that connection with this amazing group of actors,
and the camaraderie, and giving each other everything you've
got all the time, that was it.
That was what really made everything work.
HOST: Whose performance inspired you the most?
Letitia Wright, Shuri.
Her character goes through one hell of an arc in this story.
The Shuri we met in the first Black Panther
has evolved a whole lot more.
In this movie, we're all exploring
grief and how we handle it.
And Shuri is handling it in a challenging fashion
that audiences will be surprised by
but also hopefully will be able to relate to.
HOST: How did you, as a cast, decompress?
We laughed a lot.
We would remember things about Chadwick and exchange stories.
We would imagine how he would react to certain things
that were going on on set.
His memory was alive, so it wasn't all morose.
It was actually quite a joyful process.
And the process of making this film was therapeutic.
And we were all just so happy to be back together again.
I spent a lot of time with Letitia, especially.
Amazing Angela would have special outings,
and we'd go watch a movie at a place
where they're feeding you and plying
you with drinks at the same time as watching the film.
So you know, she was really amazing with that.
And Lupita organized some outings too,
so we'd, like, have outings together to check
in and take care of each other.
But there were times we'd just have
quiet evenings together as well, and I did a lot of that
with Letitia.
And you have a check in.
You have some spiritual time, might have some prayer time.
HOST: What is your favorite cast tradition on set?
My favorite one is the wrap gifts.
They all make sweatshirts and t-shirts and swag.
It's like, kind of decked out in their own character stuff.
And it's like a competition.
Whose merch was better?
And I had an epic one, man, epic one
that says bald-headed demon.
[LAUGHS] It's got an image of the top of Okoye's head,
the tattoo, and then the blue eyeshadow that she
has on at the end of this film.
You know, but I would say it's the merch.
HOST: What is your favorite Talokan word.
And what does it mean?
Líik'ik Talokan.
Líik'ik Talokan!
It's powerful.
it's like, hey, let's go.
Uno, dos, tres--
Líik'ik Talokan!
HOST: So besides you, who's the expert in all things
Wakanda in the cast?
The expert, besides me, is not in the cast.
That's got to be Hannah Beachler,
our production designer.
Hannah will start talking to you about the history
of the country, and where things was built,
and what neighborhood we in, and why this neighborhood
is built with this material.
With the cast, they kind of like-- they kind of in they
own lanes.
HOST: When you think about your contributions
to the Black Panther legacy, what are you most proud of?
I'm proud of rising to the occasion.
Some of the things that Nakia has to do weren't easy for me.
The way Nakia was dealing with the loss of T'Challa
is very different from how I was dealing
with the loss of Chadwick.
And so I had to really, like, learn from her.
And I'm proud of that because when we started the process,
I wasn't in a place of maturity that the role
required me to be in.
But as a result of having to step in her shoes,
I think she helped me through my grief.
I'm proud of Chadwick.
I'm proud of what he created.
He brought the integrity to this world
from day one, and the authenticity.
He said, this man speaks with an African accent.
This man speaks an African language.
Him and John Kani instilled that in Captain America
when we first meet him.
And that, from there on, we were dealing
with a real, authentic interpretation
of this African world.
And, to me, that means everything.
And that sort of integrity that he put into place
is, I think, such a core aspect of its success.
And that is the legacy he created.
HOST: You're so generous.
You mentioned Chadwick, but what are you most proud of for you
personally, for what you contributed?
Oh.
[LAUGHS] I just feel thankful that I actually understood
the assignment in the sense that I was raised in Southern
Africa, in Zimbabwe.
And so I wanted to give it everything I had and more
because I know how marginalized the viewership can
be around Africa.
So to actually get to tell this type of a story, for me,
it was like, bring it on.
I definitely gave it everything I've had like,
in terms of my fight training and in terms of really
giving this woman as much dimension and fullness
as I possibly could.
And so I'll embrace that as something
that I tried to contribute.
It has traveled to many nations
and touched the hearts of many people.
This franchise has blessed so many people,
and we have such a true support from the world.
It feels amazing.
Really proud to be a part of it.
People that normally felt apart from the narratives,
you know?
But now the people have something really close.
That happened to me when I watched Black Panther.
The first one, for me, was like, oh, my God, they look like me,
you know?
And many actors in Mexican, Latin America all of us
were like, [GASPS] now it's our turn?
And then the second part happens, and it's like, [GASPS]
yeah, it's our turn!
It's our turn! You know?
It's beautiful.
[SIGHS] It's crazy being in a movie like this
because the fans could enjoy a little diversity
and a lot of different language and colors and different faces.
I'm very proud in this movie about my face
because when I watch my face for the first time, it was like,
oh my God, a lot of women in Mexico
looks like me with this color, with this face.
And I'm very proud about this.
I'm proud of what all of my collaborators have done.
I mean, all of them, every day.
But I would say the emotion I feel more than pride is just
gratitude that it would be me that got to work
with these people, that got to spend years with Chad,
talking about these characters and watching the relationships
blossom, watching this fictional culture
turn into something real.
And then on this one, you know, watching
us come together and deal with the very human emotion
of grief, wrap our arms around each other
and make something again.
I had a front row seat to it.
So I'm grateful.
If this thing connects with audiences,
we might be in a position where there'll be generations
of Black Panther movies.
Each generation gets their own version.
You know what I'm saying?
They're making these things long after me, Nate,
and Kevin are gone.
That would be a true hope.
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