Lupita Nyong'o won her first Oscar in 2014, for the film "12 Years A Slave." The role marked her feature film debut and made her an overnight star. Despite changing her life overnight, the win didn't produce as many opportunities as she thought, with her having to turn down roles due to one specific reason.
In an appearance on CNN Inside Africa, Nyong'o and Grammy-winning musician Angélique Kidjo spoke about their career and experiences in entertainment. “It really did set the paces for everything I’ve done since,” said Nyong'o of her Oscar win.
“But you know what’s interesting is that, after I won that Academy Award, you’d think, ‘Oh, I’m gonna get lead roles here and there.’ [Instead, it was], ‘Oh, Lupita, we’d like you to play another movie where you’re a slave, but this time you’re on a slave ship.’ Those are the kind of offers I was getting in the months after winning my Academy Award.”
Nyong'o shared that she had to tune out the headlines that were being written about her career at the time. “There were thinkpieces about: ‘Is this the beginning and end of this dark-skinned Black African woman’s career?’ " she said.
"I had to deafen myself to all those pontificators because, at the end of the day, I’m not a theory; I’m an actual person.”
What Nyong'o wants to do with her career
In her interview, Nyong'o shed some light on the types of projects she wants to make and the inspiration she wants to provide to other black actors and members of her community.
“I like to be a joyful warrior for changing the paradigms of what it means to be African,” she said. “And if that means that I work one job less a year to ensure that I’m not perpetuating the stereotypes that are expected of people from my continent, then let me do that.”
Following her Oscar win, Nyong'o has been involved with all sorts of films and franchises, showcasing her desire to work across genres and filmmaking styles, including "Star Wars," the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the live-action version of "The Jungle Book," and more. Nyong'o has also done voice work for films like "The Wild Robot" and was the lead of the horror movie "Us," directed by Jordan Peele.
Recently, she starred in "A Quiet Place: Day One" and is scheduled to appear in Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey."