You look gorgeous. It is so nice to see you in person.
-I know. It was all on Zoom last time.
-We were Zooming, but I appreciate you doing it
back then because we needed to entertain people.
So thank you so much. Thanks for being here.
-Oh, it's so great to be here in person.
-We were talking about "Loki"...
-Yeah. -...before it came out.
And now it's the most watched Marvel series on Disney Plus.
[ Cheers and applause ] -I know, I know.
-It blew up, it blew up. -I know.
It just got nominated for six Emmys.
-That's right. Well deserved. Yeah.
[ Cheers and applause ] How cool is that?
-Yeah, yeah. -People love the show.
What was your reaction when you saw it become the biggest thing?
-Oh, it was so surreal.
I mean, the whole experience was amazing.
And for me to join something that has such a huge fan base.
And obviously, Tom Hiddleston's
played that character for such a long time.
So, to be, you know, this morally ambiguous character
like Ravonna Renslayer has kind of been really cool for me.
-It kind of introduced the multiverse to the world.
-Yeah. -Do you understand
the multiverse?
-Does anyone understand the multiverse?
-I don't know. I'm a little -- I think I do.
I act like I do. But don't test me on it.
-I know. I kind of feel like we need a tutorial on it.
When we first started the first season of "Loki,"
Tom gave us a big "Loki" presentation,
kind of a PowerPoint on his character and the history.
-Is that right? He explained it?
From Loki himself? -Exactly.
-That's fantastic. -From the horse's mouth.
But I feel like we need one for the multiverse.
-Do you -- Are you filming season two?
-Yes, we just started. -Oh, really?
-Yeah. -Over in London, right?
-That's right, yeah. -Everything is quiet
and under wraps and --
-It is. It is, I'm afraid.
I'm not allowed to give too much away, but --
But, no, it's really, really great to be back.
And it kind of feels like, you know --
Because my character deals with time
and the Time Variance Authority,
being back in that world,
it's -- it's like no time has past.
-We talked about your paintings last time.
You're an amazing artist. I think you did at the time --
George Floyd was one you did.
-Yeah. -You brought a picture of one.
You did a portrait of Kevin Hart,
and it actually looks exactly like him.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-[ Laughs ]
-That's amazing. Why did you --
Why did you choose Kevin over...other comedians?
[ Laughter ]
I'm just saying. I mean...
-No, I -- Yours is coming. Yours is coming.
-I've been with you through some hard times, COVID.
Zooming with you during COVID and everything, yeah.
But Kevin gets special treatment?
-Yeah, well, I'll tell you the reason I chose Kevin,
we had just finished a movie together.
We did a movie called "Lift," and it's set in the art world.
It's kind of like an action heist thriller,
and he was constantly sort of teasing me about my painting.
You know how Kevin kind of likes to tease.
-Of course. That's why we don't have him back on the show.
He's banned.
[ Laughter ]
-And, you know, he was developing an interest
in art genuinely during the show itself.
-Yeah.
-And I actually, during filming, got COVID.
It was luckily a mild case,
but I had a bunch of time off work.
-Right. -Yeah, so, fortunately
it wasn't too bad, and I got the paints out
because I was in isolation again and so was able to give him
this painting of him as a wrap gift.
-Did he love it? -He loved it.
Yeah, he was really -- It was lovely.
It was really the last day of filming and it was emotional.
-I think you got his eyes perfect because he does have
kind of those little puppy-dog eyes.
It almost looks like he's crying sometimes.
-I know, I know. -"Kevin, what's wrong?"
And he's like, "Nothing's wrong!"
-Yeah, exactly.
-Starts yelling at me, making fun of me, yeah.
Your show, "Surface," let's talk about this.
You star and executive produce it.
-Yeah. -That's a lot of work.
-Thank you. -Congrats on this.
Can you explain --
Basically, you play a character who's lost her memory?
-Yeah, yeah. -And then she's trying to get
her life back together really. -Yeah, that's right.
I play Sophie Ellis, and the whole show
is a psychological thriller set in San Francisco.
And basically, at the beginning of the show, Sophie,
we discover, has lost her memory after an accident.
And she sort of is trying to put the pieces
back of her life together.
And she discovers that her husband, maybe she can't trust.
And the whole -- There's so many twists and turns,
but there's a sort of, "did she jump
or was she pushed" element to this accident.
And we sort of get sucked into her life
and, you know, the glamorous world of San Francisco.
It's really interesting.
-I want to show everyone a clip right here.
Here's Gugu Mbatha-Raw in "Surface." Take a look.
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
-Sir, which way are you taking us?
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
♪♪
-You need to get out of this lane.
-This is the best way. Don't worry.
-No, no, no. You don't understand.
This way goes over the bridge. I can't go over the water!
♪♪
Just -- Just pull over, please!
-[ Sighs ]
-Let me out!
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
[ Handle rattling ] -What are you doing?
-Let me out of the car! -Alright!
Here. Alright. Unlocked! Go!
[ Belt clicks ]
♪♪
[ Horns honking, indistinct shouting ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I will say, too...
Speaking of water,
there's a really good underwater scene.
-Yeah.
-Which it's tough to do underwater acting.
-Yeah, I mean, I've watched movies and TV shows
with underwater scenes my whole life,
but I have never done one.
And I have to say it was kind of a real challenge.
I have to jump into this, you know, big tank,
and every single time I jump --
and I just couldn't help but sort of screw my face up.
And the director was like, "You're screwing your face up.
You're, like, you know, making this weird face."
And I'd be like, "No, I'm not. No, I'm not.
I'm just holding my breath, trying to stay alive."
-That's what someone would do if they go underwater.
-Right, right. And he's like, "No, no.
You're screwing your face up." -"You're an actor."
-"Watch this. Watch the playback."
And every time, I was just like, "Mnh!"
And they were slowing it down.
And so it was kind of really bad.
But it's like -- you're in your --
You're not in your natural element, you know,
and your face does such different things.
-So now you know how to underwater act.
-Exactly. -There you go.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, everybody.
"Surface" premieres globally July 29th on Apple TV Plus.
We'll be back with standup from Pete Lee.
Stick around, everybody. Come on back.