Welcome back to the show.
Thank you very much.
-Good to be here. -And let's start by saying
congratulations on all of your nominations.
How many nominations do you have?
'Cause sometimes I feel like...
like Instagram is just repeating a post.
And then I realize, no, you've gotten nominated
-for another thing. -(laughs)
What's your latest nomination now?
The Screen Actors Guild!
-(cheering, applause) -I mean...
That's for Us.
-Yes. For Us. Yes, yes. -Yes.
Are you a little bit worried that when you go
to accept your award, you are gonna kidnap you
and then go accept the award on your behalf?
Like a tiny... Like, how do we know it's...
how do we know you're you right now?
-Do you ever think of that? -All the time.
(laughter)
Welcome back to the show.
-Thank you for having me. -Um, let's start off
-by talking about Star Wars. -Mm-hmm.
New movie coming out.
-Yes. -Maz Ka... Kanata.
-Mm-hmm. -Maz Kanata is your character.
-Yeah. -And, uh, you're coming back again.
These are the most secretive movies, though.
Like, the trailer doesn't give anything away.
-Right. -Which I enjoy.
-Mm-hmm. -They don't let you tell us anything.
-Yeah. -Like...
like, why are we here?
(laughter)
Well, you know, uh...
I don't know. I don't know.
But it seems to work every time.
It works very... yeah, 'cause the movies are amazing,
but then, like, you can't... you can't tell me anyth...
Like, normally, I can ask you, like, what happens in the story?
And I could be like, will this happen or that hap...?
I can't see it. Like, nobody knows what's gonna happen.
It's, like, lock and key.
Okay, one question. Maybe you can tell us.
-What's Baby Yoda like? Is he...? -(laughter)
Is he in... is he in... is he in the movie?
-Another story? -You know...
I know almost as much as you do,
-to be very honest. -That's crazy.
They give you just what you need to know.
-Right. -So I'm curious as well.
-I can't wait. -Is it because they want you
to go and watch the movie as well?
-(laughter) -I think so.
-They're that hard-pressed for cash. -Yeah.
Yeah, Disney is just hard-core. They're like, "No, Lupita,
"you're gonna come and watch the movie.
You're gonna..." But it must be...
it must be really special for you,
being a part of such a major franchise.
I mean, you've done so many epic films.
You're an Oscar-winning actor, but at the same time,
you're part of Star Wars.
Was that something you thought about when you were growing up?
Like, "I'm going to be part of...
the biggest franchise ever"?
It never occurred to me, I have to admit.
And I watched Star Wars growing up,
but I didn't know that it was a-a cultural phenomenon.
-Right. -You know, I just liked, like, C3PO.
-It just come on on public holidays, you know? -Right.
So it was the public holiday movie.
-And then I got cast... -Wait, wait, wait.
-Which country was this in? -In Kenya.
-Sorry. Yes, in Kenya. -Wait. So in Kenya,
-Uh-huh. -Star Wars is the public holiday movie?
Yeah, it would come on on the public holidays. Yeah.
-That's rock and roll. -(laughs)
No, 'cause, like, most countries will play, like,
those old black and white films where it's just, like,
-someone saving Christmas or something. -Yeah.
And you guys are like, "No, we are doing Star Wars."
We're doing Star Wars.
Yeah, so I really liked-- I liked the movie
-but I didn't know what it was all about. -Right.
And then I got cast in Star Wars and my brother cried.
And that's when I was like, "Okay."
And then I was watching-- what is it--
-Whose Line Is It Anyway? -Yes.
And I realized that Star Wars, like,
-is pervasive in all popular culture, -It is.
'cause one of questions was like, "Oh, you're Darth Vader."
And I was like, "Wow. Like, everyone
-is all about Star Wars. -Yes.
And then there was this big splash
about me being a part of it, and I was like,
"Oh. Oh. Shit."
(laughter)
Let me ask you this then.
Is there a part of you that's happy
that your character is, like,
like, you-you wear the-the dot things,
and you do the-- you do the acting, right?
-I am so glad, I thank God... -Because then you don't have--
'Cause Star Wars fans are, like,
-the best fans in the world, -Oh, yeah.
-but they will chase you. -They're intense.
And they'll chase you with lightsabers
-to get, like, a selfie. -Yes.
But they don't-- Like, a lot of people might not know
-that you're in the movie. -Yeah.
-The real buffs know that I'm in the movie. -Got it.
But, yeah, just, like, you know,
-lighter Star Wars fans don't. -Right.
So I get away with being in it
and also not being in it, which I like a lot.
I like that you are also in, like, it's not just Star Wars,
but then at the same time,
you're in Black Panther as well.
So it's like these major, like--
Do you ever get confused, though,
-when you're in epic movies? -(laughs)
Like, do you, in the middle of Star Wars,
-was, like, Maz just doing this? -(laughter)
And then people were like, "What are you doing?"
(laughing)
That's crazy.
-It will be amazing, though. -Wakanda is kind of specific,
-and so is the galaxy far, far away. -Right.
-You know? -Let me ask you this, though.
Okay, so, when you're doing Maz,
-are you in, like, a sound booth? -Yeah.
Well, yeah, this time. In the past, I've done...
-I've done the motion capture. -Right.
This time, I just did her voice,
and they had an animatronics do...
-do the role. -Oh, wow.
-Yeah. -So, then, you... Where, like, do you just, like, do it?
You just wake up, and then you just go and do the voice.
-Yeah, I go in. I... -Do you dress as her?
Do you have to, like, get in... 'Cause you don't...
You're the character, but you don't...
-We don't see you, so... -Yeah.
I wear orange for inspiration.
Right. And, like, those headphone things
-and the... Yes. -Goggles.
Yeah, yeah. That's all in the booth
-waiting for me. -Okay. Okay.
Just to feel like... No, it is not true.
None of this is true. Let's get that straight.
I'm not a crazy person.
No, I go in there in my sweats and, you know,
and I get in there, and they're like, "Okay.
So, this is what happened right before."
-And they give me a rundown about where I-I'm at. -Right.
And then I-I go for it.
You see, now, what you should have done,
-and if you do another Star Wars movie... -Uh-huh.
-'Cause they don't tell you what's gonna happen. -Yeah.
You should just stretch the rundown.
So, they go, "Okay, this is how...
They-They've just been in battle, and now you're..."
Then you're like, "What was the battle about?"
-I totally do that. -And then they...
And then you'd be like, "And-and what was...
What happens after the battle?"
And then you should... And then you just get the whole movie.
-And I'm writing it down. -Yeah, just write.
-Writing it down. -"And then say that again, please?
-Say that again?" -And then I post it on Instagram.
And then Disney's like, "Lupita, we need to speak to you."
-Let's talk about the book now. -Yes.
We know Lupita Nyong'o as-as an award-winning actress,
and now we should know Lupita Nyong'o
as a New York Times best-selling author.
Congratulations.
(chuckles) Thank you.
(cheering and applause)
The book has received many accolades.
Sulwe is a beautiful story
about a young girl who has dark skin,
unlike some of the other members of her family.
They all... They're all black people
-but with different shades, and she's the darkest. -Yeah.
-Mm-hmm. -And what's really cute is, like,
it's a story of how she doesn't like her skin
and the kids tease her in school,
and then she comes to learn
through, like, the magic of the stars
-why her skin is also beautiful. -NYONG'O: Yeah.
It's a story that is resonating with so many people
almost now more than ever.
-Mm. -Why did you feel you need to tell this story,
especially to children?
Well, because I lived this.
This is a very liberal autobiography.
And I wanted to tell it to children
because I think they're the ones who really need to hear it most.
You know, they're in... at that impressable...
impressionable age where they're figuring out
who they are and what their value is in the world.
-Mm-hmm. -And I wanted to get to that child
before the world had told them what they were worth
so they could figure it out for themselves.
So, one of the things that Sulwe does is that she...
Through her imagination
and through this journey in the night sky,
she figures it out for herself.
And I think that's an important message
because you can't really control
how the world is gonna treat you,
but you can control how you treat yourself.
And, uh, and hopefully, when you can love yourself,
you can change the world around you
with the light that you shine.
-That's beautiful. -(applause, cheering)
Thank you.
I think I...
I found it even more touching
because I knew how personally you took the story.
And you write about it in the back of the book, you know?
-Mm-hmm. -It seems like a great kids story,
but then you realize that this was your life,
you start to understand how much of an impact it makes on people.
In fact, just recently, Miss South Africa
-won Miss Universe. -I know. Congratulations!
Right, and she, no, and she was saying
she was saying how, you know, even for her,
seeing somebody of dark skin with natural hair
just being an African woman being celebrated for her beauty,
was in the minds for a lot of people connected to that.
If there is a child out there or anyone, even a grownup,
who says, like, "You know, Lupita,
"I've had dark skin for so long.
"People have said to me I'm not beautiful
because of that dark skin."
Is there anything you did or changed or found in your life
that helped you find the beauty
that you actually always had?
Ooh!
That's a good one.
Anything that I did
that helped me find myself really.
Well, I think-- what did I do?
Um... I think I-I,
I kept my imagination alive.
-I always fed my imagination. -Mm-hmm.
And that's where I found solace.
Uh, and that's why it was so important
that she had an imagination and went on this journey,
because when you have an imagination,
you can create for yourself the person you want to be.
You can... you give yourself vision,
and it's so important to have vision.
Because that's what can take you from where you are
to where you need to be.
So, I think that's really important.
But I think it's also about surrounding yourself
with people who see the best in you, you know?
And finding those people and holding onto them for dear life.
For me, I was lucky my parents really believed in me.
And my parents, even when I didn't believe in myself.
And when I got teased by other people,
-my parents were steadfast in their love. -Right.
And so, even when I didn't want to hear it
'cause it wasn't cool to listen to your mom,
at-at-at the end of the day, she did not,
my parents did not tire from reminding me
of the things that I needed to know about myself.
And when the time came, I could take that on
and use it to move forward.
And you've moved... very far forward.
-Thank you. -Thank you so much for being on the show again.
-Thank you for having me. -Congratulations on everything.
-Thank you. -Star Wars:
The Rise of Skywalker opens in theaters December 20.
And Sulwe is a beautiful book
that's available now-- go out and get it.
Lupita Nyong'o, everybody.