Welcome back to the show.
Thank you very much.
-It's good to be back. -And-and welcome
to the biggest movie in America.
This is, like, a run that you are having.
I mean, Black Panther and now Us.
-How does it feel? -(cheering, applause)
Uh, it feels... it feels really good.
-(laughter) -I won't lie.
As it should I mean, Us has really done amazing numbers.
You know, what's-what's been particularly impressive
about it as well is that it's not a reboot,
it's not... it's not a remake, it's not a re-anything.
It's a completely original film that has blown people away.
And I won't lie, I went to watch it
in the cinema with my friend, I was like,
-"We're gonna do this thing." -Yeah.
And I sat down with my friend Dave,
and we're like, "We're gonna watch this movie,"
-and both of us are terrified of horror movies, -Yeah.
and you are one of the scariest horror characters
-I have ever come across. -Aw. Thank you.
How-how sweet.
What was that like for you, though?
'Cause that's a character I've never seen you play before.
I know. It was a character that I've...
I've never seen myself play.
Uh, this film stretched me in such exciting ways.
-Right. -You know, doing both Adelaide and Red,
who are so different from each other,
and just accessing that really dark and, uh,
you know-- ooh!--
-uh, damaged, uh, -Right.
part of that character
and-and allowing myself to be freaky and...
and, um, creative, you know?
That's what that role gave me, a chance to really be creative
and go to places that I've just never been. Yeah.
Right. And I'm, uh, I'm not giving away any of the plot
that's not in, like, the trailer, but...
but basically, we see this family,
you know, with yourself and Winston Duke,
and you have your kids and you're on this vacation,
and then there's another version of you that shows up,
-Mm-hmm. -which is one of the most terrifying things,
-Mm-hmm. -is you looking at you,
like, the dark side of you. -Mm-hmm.
That's, like, a very powerful message
just in that moment in the film.
Yeah. It's about the duality of human nature.
You know, we all have a darkness inside of us
that we often suppress, and when it goes unattended to,
unacknowledged, it can sometimes, you know,
rear its ugly head and actually be quite destructive
-to us and in the world. -Right.
So, Adelaide, she's convinced
that something bad is about to happen,
and then she's proven right
when these doppelgängers show up and ruin her life.
I don't know that my destructive side
would want to kill me, though.
I feel like, like, like, if there was, like, an evil Trevor,
he'd come out and be like, "I'm ev-- Hey, Trev. Trev."
-(laughs) -"Trev."
I don't know. I-I feel like we'd get along.
Um...
The movie has you showcasing so many different talents,
because you're playing a completely different character.
-Mm-hmm. -When you're doing that,
y-you're not acting opposite yourself,
-'cause you're not there. -No.
You have to be there, and then, and then you--
Do you ever forget which version you are?
Well, no, because of the hair, you know.
-I-- The hair is so different. -Oh, so you change.
So you'd be like, this is evil hair, this is right.
-Evil hair's like, this-- -Uh-huh.
Well, not evil, I don't call her evil.
-Oh, th-that's interesting. -But, you know,
-Red hair is like this, -Right.
and Adelaide hair is like that.
Let's talk about-- No, no, no. But let's talk about this.
-Yeah. -Why don't you call her evil? 'Cause most people,
including myself, you watch the movie and you're like,
"Oh, she's the evil version."
Well, you know, because, actually, I find that, for me,
my process, as an actor, is to find the most human,
-the most real parts of anybody. -Right.
When we started, I was actually quite, um,
intimidated by the genre, "horror,"
you know, it means to frighten, you know.
And I had to work on being "frightening,"
and I was like, "I don't even know what that means."
So I had to, like, really research
what would make someone do the things
that this particular character does and then invest in that.
Because labeling the character with those judgmental words
like "creepy" or-or "righteous," or all that,
I think it-it's, um... (stammers)
it's a projection of qualities
that I don't think that person would feel.
I don't think Red would be like, "You know, I'm really evil."
-You know, she would never say that. -Yes. Yes.
So I try to avoid that kind
of judgment when I'm creating a character.
One of my favorite moments, I had, um, going to the movie,
was we're standing in the cinema,
and we're lining up to get our tickets,
and I overhear one of the people say, "What's the line for?"
And then one of the people in the cinema says,
-"Oh, that's for Us." -Yeah. (laughs)
And then, and then the guy replies, he's like,
"Is that like a black horror movie? Is that like...?"
And I was like, like a bla--
What do you mean, black horror movie?
But I understood, strangely enough, what he was saying.
Like, some people think the film is like-like "black scary,"
-Right. -or scary about black, but it's not.
-It's just a story with a black family, -Right.
-and it's scary. -Right. Yeah.
And we have black characters at the center
and they represent human beings.
They represent all-American qualities.
And, uh, it's a novelty to have a black family
at the center of a horror film,
but their blackness is not in question.
-It's actually just quite unremarkable. -Right.
What's remarkable is the circumstances
that they find themselves in.
And, you know, there's al-- there's the duality
even in the title of this film, it's Us,
so when that person said, "It's for Us,"
it's for-- it seems, in that moment,
-that that person who's asking is not included. -Yes. Right.
You know? And that's what this film is about.
It's about, if there's an "us," there's a "them."
And what happens
when we separate ourselves from each other.
It's a powerful film.
It's doing amazing numbers for a good reason.
It has people freaked out.
You have now done action and horror and drama,
which means next up is gonna be a musical.
I'm excited for you.
Lupita Nyong'o, everybody.
Us is in theaters right now.