A star is born

Known for her roles in Black-ish and Grown-ish, Yara Shahidi has now set her sights on the Big Apple in her new film The Sun Is also a Star. The star talks acting, Nicola Yoon and the magic of New York City.

Yara Shahidi talks acting and

the magic of NYC

Glamour: I hear that there was a strong connection between you and The Sun Is Also a Star even earlier than your audition?

Yara Shahidi: Yes, Nicola Yoon [author] had actually thought of me in the part of Natasha while the script was being written and developed. Knowing that I had the approval of the author to help reflect part of her story – it’s loosely based on her experiences meeting her now husband – really meant that I wanted to be as invested as possible. I feel many different connections to the material and the movie. Natasha and her family move to the US when she’s eight, and that’s the age my father was when he moved here. It’s so much more than a story to me, because it’s a part of my reality.

Glamour: And Nicola stayed involved throughout the process?

She came during filming?

YS: Yes, she came to set a few days. It was great to see her, her husband and daughter – it was pretty surreal to have the person who actually created this whole journey sitting there, watching it come to life in a whole other way. She’s an amazing human, and she’s been involved in absolutely every step of this. I think my favourite was when we’d get a script revision and then we’d get the thumbs up, like, yeah, Nicola approved!

Glamour: These themes, these characters, they can happen in big cities all over the world, it just so happens this story is set in New York City. How was it for you to shoot in the actual location that the movie takes place?

YS: That’s one of the things that I definitely felt when we were reading this, and why I feel so lucky that we actually got to shoot in New York, because there’s a kind of magic there. I feel like it brings life to everything that happens. Natasha and Daniel (Charles Melton) go through quite a lot

“At first, I didn’t fully understand why everyone freaks out over New York, but I get it now”