We've been talking to
the always inspirational, Ava DuVernay about her new,
amazing series on The CW, "Naomi"
and it's about a teenage girl who discovers
that she is a superhero and played
by 17-year-old, Kaci Walfall.
Who's also here with us today, hi Kaci!
(audience applauding)
Hi, how are you?
I'm so excited about this project.
But this is your first leading TV role,
and you were on Broadway in "The Lion King" playing Nala,
which is so incredibly impressive.
(audience applauding)
Thank you.
And now you're getting to work with one
of your own personal heroes, Ava DuVernay.
And will you talk about that coolest fact ever?
It is the coolest fact ever,
Just having Ms. Ava in my contact in my phone is so cool.
When I first met her,
it was a feeling of nurturing
that she's kept within our relationship.
She's always a call away,
she's always a text away.
And when you're in Ms. Ava's environment,
you just want to be
the best version of yourself because she always is.
And seeing her interact with everyone on set
is truly inspiring.
Now, Ava, are you a superhero geek?
Is there something particular about this story
that really spoke to you?
What was the theme in it that made you know
you had to do this?
Yeah, I love the idea of these stories,
these epic majestic stories that kind of embed the idea
that anyone can be a hero
or that there's some kind of heroism inside of all of us.
So I've always been really attracted to superhero comics
for that reason.
But when Naomi,
this great comic by Brian Bendis and David F. Walker
came across my desk,
I fell in love with the image of this black teenager,
who is a Superman stan.
She is a fan of comic books.
She is a comic book character,
but she's a fan of comic books in the story.
She loves Superman so much.
And through her love of Superman,
she starts to understand why she's so attracted
to the idea of Superman,
because she's like him in more ways than she knows.
And so that's kind of what the premise of the story is.
And to do that,
you have to find a very special actor to play that.
And so I'm so blessed that we crossed paths with Casey.
And yet, when you called her to talk about
if the role was gonna happen or not,
did you do it in a straightforward manner,
or was there something to it?
I don't know, Kaci, how was it?
My mom walked into my room and said,
"Someone wants to talk to you."
So I answered the phone and it's Ms. Ava.
And she said,
"Kaci, I want to thank you so much
"for coming in and auditioning."
And it almost sounded like she wasn't going
to give me the role.
And then she said,
"I would love to invite you to the
"ARRAY family to play Naomi."
Oh, I love it, tension builder.
I'm a good actress,
am I a good actress Kaci?
Really, I believed you, I believed you.
Thank you, thank you so.
There's something very fun about that.
So I liked that story.
Now, before you guys go, I was wondering,
would you play a round of The Final Six with me?
Of course. I would love to.
It's The Final Six!
Okay, Ava, what's your latest food craving?
My latest food, sunflower seeds.
Oh! What a little birdy.
Yes.
Kaci, what song is going to represent 2022 for you?
"Everything Is Everything" by Lauren Hill.
Yes.
A classic.
Yes.
A classic.
Ava, if you could remake any movie, would there be one?
You know what I love? I love "Dirty Dancing."
Yes!
That might be fun.
It's a great movie.
And if you were to cast Baby,
does anyone spark to mind?
Yes, Kaci Walfall.
Oh! All right, start practicing Kaci.
Okay, Kaci, can you tell us an Instagram account
that we need to follow?
I would probably say Refinery 29.
They have really nice things up there,
really inspirational things and fun things too.
Ava, what would you want your super power to be
if you could have one?
Ooh that's fun to think about.
I'd probably say invisibility.
Okay, Kaci, describe Ava in one word.
She's a lot than one word.
But if I were to say one word for Ms. Ava,
I would just say nurturing, really nurturing.
And she's a powerhouse, but she's so kind to be around.
I knew it, I could sense it!
Thank you Ava DuVernay and Kaci Walfall!
You can watch "Naomi" Tuesday's on The CW!
(easygoing music)