-Welcome to the show. -I-I'm really very nice.
-Very sweet lady. -Yeah, you, uh, you...
-It's interesting that you have to... -A flower.
Do you have to start a lot of conversations with other people,
"I'm really a very nice person..."
-Yeah, try dating. -(both laugh)
Yeah, because in... 'Cause, I mean, like, in Walking Dead,
you are... you're a master of many weapons,
and then, obviously, in Wakanda, you're, like, the most badass...
You are... This is the thing I always say to people.
I was like, "Do you know how badass you have to be
to be the bodyguard of the Black Panther?"
Do you understand how next-level...
It's like, yeah. When you...
Like, she's gonna protect you from the Black Panther.
Do you have to tell people all the time? Be like,
"I'm very nice. I won't hurt you."
-Are people afraid of you? -Uh, well, you know,
I mean, they don't show it too overtly.
-Right. -But, you know, there... I do have to disarm.
You know, and I probably should get better at it.
But, you know, it's like, you know, be jovial
-and sweet and giggly, goofy. -Right, right, right.
Which I am, you know. But, uh, yeah.
Sometimes you have to work at that a little bit, 'cause...
I feel like waiters would come up to you and be like,
"I'm sorry, ma'am, I messed up your order.
I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."
The, uh... Let's start with congratulating you.
Black Panther. Congratulations.
-Thank you. -Seven Oscar nominations.
-(cheering and applause) -First superhero movie
-to get a Best Picture nomination. -Thank you.
-Thank you. -And the cast already won an award,
a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble Cast.
What do you think makes the cast so special on Black Panther?
You know, it's-it's really kind of simple
in the sense that Ryan, really,
was so amazing in how he gathered
-a very particular group of people that he... -Right.
And he always used to say this. He's like, "I wanted a cast
that didn't just want to come to work and learn their lines."
And I think there was something really great about the spirit
that we just had as a family on that set,
which was we came in every day.
We had ideas. We had thoughts.
We were, you know, in it 150%.
We understood that, you know, this was...
-this was a special opportunity. -Right.
And a moment that we really wanted to pore into.
I mean, getting to speak Xhosa, by the way, um, to the world--
-these are things, like, you know, we dreamed of. -Yes. Yes.
You know, to be able to-to share
this sort of, you know, cultural exchange
but, like, allowing epic characters
from this perspective to come to the fore.
So, I really think that was just the spirit everyone had.
People came in with so much dedication,
-so much preparation. -Right, right, right.
You know, I think of Winston Duke and how, you know,
he came in with that whole moment that everyone became,
you know, um, imitates. You know, the-the power
of how he brought in that-- his character had to be different
from ours, in the sense that he was Yoruba, you know?
In a sense, he was, uh, mimic-mimicking
or, you know, using the cultural,
uh, nuances of the Yoruba. And so he-- you know,
the way that he went into that sort of research and work.
I mean, everyone just came with so much dedication,
and I think that, um,
is what I-I guess resonated for those who voted for us.
Right. It's-it's no--
you know, it's no surprise that you do well onscreen.
You're-you're an amazing actor.
But, at the same time, your-your casts are really great.
The Walking Dead is coming back for its ninth season now,
and the story has evolved so much.
I mean, when it started, was a pretty standard,
all right, there's zombies, people out there,
you got to kill the zombies, keep it moving.
But now we're in a world where it seems
like the biggest monsters aren't necessarily the zombies.
Uh, yes. Well, we do have a new, uh--
a very new and very scary enemy.
-You saw a little glimpse of it there. -Right.
And it is-- you know, there's a whole new psychological,
like, mind-you-know-what.
Because it's like we-- this is a whole new thing.
We do-- We have no idea how to deal with this,
like, the idea that they are that disguised.
And you-you know how walkers behave.
We spent nine seasons establishing how walkers behave.
-Yes. -And now there's this whole flip on it.
And so how are we gonna grapple with that?
Because, you know, we've-we've already lost someone
to how they work. And, you know, what are we gonna do next?
It's-it's such an intense show. You're--
Like, you know, some people die off,
and then some people just disappear into the wilderness
and-and they've gone off.
Um, but-but one thing I've-I've always loved
is that you-you always have these intense characters.
A lot of people may not know this about you,
but you're also a very accomplished playwright.
You know? This is one of your passions.
You-You're a Tony, uh, nominated, um, playwright.
Whenever you're reading a script,
do you have to hold yourself back?
Or do you just change whatever you want?
'Cause, l-like, you write scripts.
Are you ever, like, reading and be like,
"Trash, trash, trash"
and just come and be like, "These are my new lines"?
(laughter)
Ah, that would be lovely. No.
Um, no. I-I don't do it quite like that.
But, um, you know, it's-it's the beauty
of the places I've been able to work.
-Yes. -And I think that's kind of 'cause
that's the only sort of work I seem to attract,
which I'm thankful for, is that the folks at the helm
of those projects, like Walking Dead, like Black Panther,
-are collaborators. And so they really have -Oh, nice.
allowed me and they allow others--
Like, you know, I really think a great artist--
be they an actor or a writer--
their-- the storytelling ability is there,
-to really feel out what's-what's resonating, -Yes.
what's not. They know their characters.
They can see what could work a little, you know, sharper,
and they can bring forth arguments.
So I've been able to-to do that.
And it's great. I have such amazing, uh,
showrunner and a cast and, you know, Ryan as the director,
like, just being able to say, conversation,
"Let's think about this" or "Can I try this or that?"
And they-they allow some-some things, at times.
And I accept when they don't,
because that's how leaders must be.
They must allow things and then not allow things,
'cause they have the final say, and that's always respected.
You are somebody who is lauded onscreen and offscreen as well.
People look up to as-as a powerful woman on-on screen,
a powerful actor, uh, behind the-the camera,
but at the same time,
what you do in real life is-is-is really amazing.
-You have an organization called "Love Our Girls." -Mm-hmm.
And that organization has a very specific focus.
-What is that? -Well, really it's, um... I was born
on Valentine's Day, so, uh, it was...
-That must suck. -And you know what?
-It doesn't. -What-what...? When do you...?
Because there's always someone...
Someone's always gonna buy me dinner.
Someone's always gonna buy me dinner, Trevor.
Yeah, but what... But what's the dinner for?
-How do you know what the dinner's for? -My birthday!
-No, it doesn't matter. -Oh, so you just wanted the dinner?
-I'm celebrating on the fourteenth. -Either way?
-Either way. -Okay. Okay, I can see that.
I would be like, "Yeah." I feel like it's like, which one is it?
No, no, no. I mean, 'cause, like,
-you know, either it's a group of friends. -Uh-huh.
But, you know, we're always gonna have a good time
-on Valentine's Day. -Okay. No, that's a nice way to look at it.
-Okay. -You know, I'm never sitting at home going,
"Aah! I wish..." No, I'm always out
having a good time on Valentine's Day.
-Right, right, right. -But, um, you know, I've never...
Honestly, I've never quite understood the holiday.
So it was really about me saying, you know, what...
During Eclipsed, which was on Broadway, as you mentioned,
the-the, um... the focus is about girls
and how they get displaced,
-and-and, uh, abducted during war. -Right.
The sort of sexual violence that happens during conflict.
So the bodies of girls and women tend to be the stomping ground
of-of wars ignited by warlords,
-and, um, you know, big men disagreeing. -Yes.
And, so, uh, it was really
about highlighting the-the personhoods, the lives
and-and the struggles of women and girls going through that.
And I really wanted to sort of find a way
to highlight that in a way that, um,
was more permanent than, you know, saying,
-"Oh, we're on Broadway now." -Yes.
So the idea of-of Love Our Girls was really, like,
I want to take back Valentine's Day just my own way,
and say, if we loved on women and girls more,
would we really be in a state of this level of disparity
-between the genders? -Right.
Would we still be here
if there was just more genuine love given
to how we can help women and girls nur... be nurtured
-and reach their highest potential? -Right.
So, Love Our Girls is-is not... You know, I...
There are so many amazing organizations out there
doing astounding work around gender inequality
-across the globe. -Mm-hmm.
So, it wasn't about me saying,
"I'm gonna come in and do this and that."
But it was really about how-how can we nurture awareness?
-Yes. -You know, 'cause there...
You can't become an activist without it.
And the idea of saying, like, if you just take a pledge,
and the pledge only means that you agree
to receive the newsletter every month in your inbox...
-Mm-hmm. -...at logpledge.org,
you take a pledge, and we keep you informed,
and we focus on various organizations
-and amazing women across the world... -That's amazing.
...that are trying to impact this issue.
Thank you so much. That's really amazing. Congratulations...
-Thank you. -...for what you're doing,
for the awards you're winning and all the awards
that you're gonna win in the future.
Wonderful having you on the show.
Thank you. Good to see you.
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. on AMC.
Danai Gurira, everybody.