RUTH NEGGA

Why Warcraft is The Beginning of the star’s breakout year.

“We’re all born with the same sense of joy and wonder, it’s only outside influences that make us fearful and scared and a bit damaged,” says Ruth Negga, the Ethiopian-Irish actress embracing her vulnerability for indie drama Iona. Negga is no stranger to the big screen, but with roles in Warcraft: The Beginning, the TV adap of Preacher and Jeff Nichols’ Loving, 2016 looks to be a breakout year… What is Iona about? Iona is about a mother and her son who return to the island of her youth by way of a traumatic event. It’s an isolated island with a religious community she was brought up amongst and it’s about her relationship with the people that she left behind. Was it daunting stepping into the world of Warcraft? Yeah, always. But you can’t let that paralyse you. Duncan [ Jones] is such a down-to-earth, kind guy that I never felt intimidated. I saw a cut of it a couple of months ago, and it’s awesome. I love those kind of films. Have you started shooting Preacher? I’m on the Preacher set at the moment, and it’s so much fun. Well, it’s quite a dizzying experience, really. It feels like [ Tulip] has no boundaries and therefore, as an actor, I have a lot of freedom to do anything, which is very exciting but it can be quite daunting. Was the opportunity to work with Jeff Nichols a big appeal on Loving? Oh, definitely. Mud and Take Shelter are two of the most intelligent pieces of filmmaking I’ve seen. This story was so important to him and to everybody. They didn’t want to make it into a saccharine Disney love story, it needed to be told as truthfully and faithfully as possible. JF

ETA | 25 March Iona opens this month.

‘Duncan Jones is so kind and down-to-earth’