LETITIA WRIGHT
The Black Panther star on swapping Holby City for the Hollywood Hills
VIEW FROM MY SOFA
What’s the view from your sofa? Right now I’m in a hotel, there’s a picture of Marilyn Monroe and a coffee set and views looking over the Hollywood Hills.
What have you been enjoying on telly? The Disney+ drama Snowfall [it’s also on iPlayer]. It’s about a kid, back in the day, who becomes a big drug dealer in his LA neighbourhood. Damson Idris is amazing in it. I like dramas – Killing Eve, Homeland, Breaking Bad… I like seeing a character that’s a bit of a mess.
Who — or what — made you want to act? As a kid I was fun, sometimes quiet, sometimes extroverted. I started acting at 12. My primary school teacher, who first taught me acting, came to my birthday celebration this year and I got to tell my friends and family that she was the reason I started acting. She still teaches at the same school. She saw something in me that has changed my life.
What did you do to get yourself noticed? I auditioned! I made a CV – I haven’t said that word in a long time – and sent it to casting directors. I put a lot of time into working out what steps I needed to take to make my dreams a reality. I was doing all sorts to get money for headshots – selling catalogues and… I have a book to write in the future so I’m not going to give away everything!
There are a lot of failed actors. Did your parents object? At first they were like, ‘Why are you doing this? How is this going to make you any money?’ But they were kind enough to see how much I loved it and supported me. After I had been on Holby City [in 2011], everybody left me to it.
How did you manage to go from Holby to Hollywood? It’s quite a jump... America is like the mecca of the entertainment industry. It was only a matter of time before I wanted to go and experience it. I focused on being the best
I could be in Britain and that allowed me to send audition tapes to America. If any of the tapes were of interest, the studios would fly you out. That’s what happened to me for Black Panther [playing Shuri in the 2018 film plus its offshoots].
What was it like becoming part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? It’s one of the films I’m most proud of. I’m not a person who is hugely invested in superhero movies – I’m more of an indie kid. I never thought I’d get an opportunity to be part of the franchise – these movies are so big and wide-reaching.
It’s a wonderful celebration of the power of sisterhood. It’s important. It’s time for women to feel included and have equality on screen.
You play June in The Silent Twins, based on the true story of twins June and Jennifer Gibbons who only spoke to each other and were sectioned to Broadmoor for 11 years. What responsibility did you feel towards playing a real person? You want them to feel represented and you don’t want to disappoint them in your portrayal of the story. I got to see the twins’ diaries, did research into Marjorie Wallace’s book and spoke to Marjorie who is close with June. I got to communicate, through Marjorie, to let June know we were making the film and that she was welcome to come and see it. Keeping it nice and private for her too because her experience was traumatic – and still is.
There is an argument that women, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds, are often failed by the health care system. What do you think we can learn from this film? It was important for us not to make a film that would point the finger and say this group of people or this institution is bad. There are people in health care services who are amazing and needed and do the job very well. We wanted to showcase this particular situation, which happens way too often, and the ways in which these girls were failed by the society and community they grew up in. These two young black girls going to Broadmoor for juvenile behaviour. We wanted to educate people so that in the present and the future, we’re not putting people away that don’t deserve to be treated like that. KELLY-ANNE TAYLOR
The Silent Twins is in cinemas from 9 December