- How do I deal with negativity?
I block it out.
(laughing)
Hi, I'm Lupita Nyong'o,
and today I'm gonna let Elle ask me anything.
But before I do,
make sure you check out "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"
in theaters now.
(upbeat music)
The first time I read
the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" script,
I thought, oh Lord, this is long.
Also, this is a lot of story,
but also, wow,
how expansive this place has been,
how truthful it is to the loss we felt for Chadwick,
when we lost Chadwick Boseman.
And what a great tribute to his life and legacy.
The hardest role to prepare for, I would say, to date
would be Adelaide and Red in Jordan peel's "Us"
because I was playing two characters,
very different from each other,
but also very connected
and I had to get prepared for that
in the time I usually spend getting ready for one character.
What actor would be my variant?
Maybe Jody Turner Smith.
How do I deal with negativity?
I block it out. (laughing)
I try and avoid it as much as possible.
But also, you know what, when I receive negativity
I try and like let it through me.
Because to try and resist it only makes it worse.
So, if someone says something negative to me,
I try and practicing that hurt my feelings
and hopefully that makes it pass a little faster.
The fact that Black Panther brought Brianna
out from her music hiatus is testament
to the power of Chadwick Boseman.
Because I know that she wanted to pay tribute to him.
So, he clearly was a man who touched a whole lot of people
and inspired them enough that she was,
she felt it fit to pick up a microphone again and sing.
If I had to play a different character in Black Panther,
I would wanna be, I don't know who I would want to play,
but I think I would wanna be a Jabari.
Just because they're cool.
They're vegetarian and they still kick ass. (laughing)
The most emotional part of filming this movie
was filming this movie.
We had lost Chadwick Boseman,
and it was hard to figure out
how we could go back to this universe without him.
But in the end, we were gifted with a story
that allowed us to feel our grief
and put our grief to good use.
And so that felt like a worthwhile reason
to go back to Wakanda,
to celebrate his life and his legacy and push it forward.
So what was hardest was also the most fruitful thing.
Oh man.
One piece of advice that I completely ignore
on a daily basis is go to bed early.
I just struggle.
I could be tired and talking about sleep from like 6:00 PM,
but somehow I never get to bed
until like midnight or one o'clock.
I don't know what it is,
but I really would like to take that advice,
so I can get more sleep and be healthier
and stave off illnesses by doing so.
The most memorable night out
with a cast of Black Panther, I mean,
this time around Angela Bassett had a party,
I believe it was like her last day,
and she had like a going away party
and we were ripping it on the dance floor.
And she has so much energy.
I cannot keep up with Angela Bassett, like, wow.
That woman can dance
and she will dance battle you at any point.
And I just remember that was such a great release,
catharsis of all of us just letting it loose.
Well, Angela Bassett is one of them.
Her performance in this thing is wild and just wonderful
and she brings everything to her work
and it's it's really astounding.
That's one.
Stacey Abrams is blowing my mind
and what she stands for
and just her grassroots way of handling
a political business is blowing my mind.
And then my niece, my niece,
my niece Zakai is blowing my mind
because she learns things so quickly
and she's so articulate and I love to watch her grow.
Ooh, I don't know how to answer that
without ruining it for everyone.
I want to say that Nakia is a character
who shows up for her people and stands up for herself.
And we see how she keeps charting her own way,
but she also keeps showing up in the hour of need.
And I would love to see her become,
to continue to influence the direction of Wakanda.
You know, what I'd really like to do?
I'd like to spend a day when I don't check my email,
just one day is all I'm trying to accomplish.
Is one day with no email, no text messages
and just be in the present moment with whomever I'm with.
(upbeat music fading)