While the smells of the Uganda locations of “Queen of Katwe” will not waft their way into movie theaters, star and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o says that the ambient scents of Kampala helped her get into character.
“The smells provide you with so much stimulation. You see what you’re contending with in real time,” Miss Nyong’o told The Washington Times of appearing in the new film. “There’s open sewers running. You really feel the collision of life happening, and it was easier to find and stay in character in that environment.”
Miss Nyong’o stars as Nakku Harriet, a real-life widow who hawks produce in order to feed her starving children. At the same time, her teenage daughter Night (Taryn Kyaze) begins hanging around with a boy she disapproves of. But her other daughter, Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) finds a new hobby in a local chess club called the Pioneers, where she is one of the only girls.
Miss Nyong’o spent time with both Nakku and Phiona, learning their stories and their lives while preparing for “Queen of Katwe,” which is directed by the Indian-born filmmaker Mira Nair, who has lived in Uganda for decades.
“She knows Uganda so well … her knowledge of this place is really from the inside out,” Miss Nyong’o said of her director, also known for “Mississippi Masala,” “Kama Sutra” and “Monsoon Wedding.” “I knew she would bring authenticity and nuance to this piece, and she did not disappoint.”
Miss Nyong’o was a onetime production intern for Ms. Nair, and then worked her way up to production coordinator on Ms. Nair’s 2006 film, “The Namesake.”
“And 10 years later I’m working in front of the camera for her,” Miss Nyong’o said with a smile. “I love Mira’s sensibility; I deeply respect her eye. I trust her.”
The optimistic coach of the Pioneers, Robert Katende, is portrayed by British actor David Oyelowo, who drew rave reviews for his performance as Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma.” Miss Nyong’o says that her co-star bonded so well with Ms. Nalwanga and the other young actors portraying the members of the chess club that the youngsters would entreat him to entertain them off-camera.
“When you’re working with children, that’s a lot of energy. He was working with 15 at all times,” Miss Nyong’o said of Mr. Oyelowo. “During set changes, the kids would all go to him and go, ’Do that dance, do that dance!’ and he’d do his silly dance and make stupid faces. He’d have them all tickled by how silly he could be.”
Additionally, Mr. Katende coached Mr. Oyelowo on the chessboard. There is a scene in the film where Phiona and Robert are playing, and Phiona shows Robert how she can win the game in less than 10 moves. No filmic tricks were used, Miss Nyong’o said; those were indeed Mr. Oyelowo’s and Miss Nalwanga’s hands doing the actual moves around the chessboard.
“I remember [Mr. Oyelowo] sitting there studying those boards, and I did not envy him at all,” Miss Nyong’o said with a laugh. (Her character plays no chess in the film.)
Despite the on-set levity, the subject matter of “Queen of Katwe” is often difficult to behold. While young Phiona’s chess skills are briskly increasing, her family faces eviction from their home, constant hunger, violence, floods and extreme poverty.
Miss Nyong’o said the rains make Uganda uniquely prosperous for growing crops, which only increased the misery for the woman she portrays on screen.
“That’s why this particular story is so incredible, because Harriet cannot make enough money to buy fresh food, and it was very telling being there and seeing how much food there is because the land is so fertile,” she said.
Miss Nyong’o picked up her Oscar for 2013 best picture winner “12 Years a Slave,” in which she portrayed Patsey, a slave who is raped by owner Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) in a particularly horrifying scene.
“I trusted [Mr. Fassbender] and I trusted” director Steve McQueen, “so I felt that it was a place that I was wiling to go,” the actress said. “We have to truthfully believe in the imaginary circumstances. But knowing that we were on the same page and wanted the same thing made” the scene effective, she said.
Two years after Mr. Nyong’o picked up her Oscar statuette, many black actors and filmmakers boycotted the 2016 ceremony amid the dearth of nominees of color — with hashtag #OscarsSoWhite even being a talking point in host Chris Rock’s opening monologue.
Miss Nyong’o points out that “12 Years a Slave” director Mr. McQueen was conscious to hire not only black actors, but also professionals of color to work behind the camera as well.
“It takes deliverable action to bring about change to such a point that it becomes the norm,” Miss Nyong’o said. “That way you no longer need to make a point of doing it, it just happens automatically. But that doesn’t happen until everybody is conscious of the deficit and is focusing on changing that.”
“And you need those champions, those people who will deliberately request a more diverse working environment.”
In addition to her own parents, Miss Nyong’o points to Oprah Winfrey as one of her heroes. She was once privileged to meet the billionaire talk show maven at a roundtable sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter.
“She gave me a hug and said, ’This is your time,’” the actress recalls. “And I had very little to say except ’hello.’”
Acting is a difficult profession filled with rejection. As a young woman, Miss Nyong’o went up to Ralph Fiennes for advice on pursuing the stage and screen as a career.
“He said, ’Only act if you feel your life depends on it. Only act if you feel there’s nothing else you can do,’” she said, which is now the same counsel she gives to other aspiring thespians. “You have to endure a lot of rejection. It’s not always pretty or comfortable. So you have to be clear about why you want to do this, because there’s no one path. My path is no one else’s, and no one else’s is mine.”
However, her path has taken her to some extraordinary places, including providing the voice and motion capture for the sage Maz Kanata in the new “Star Wars” films. Although replaced in post-production by the CGI creation, Miss Nyong’o was on set for both “The Force Awakens” and the yet-unnamed “Episode VIII,” due for release next December — and about which Miss Nyong’o is extraordinarily tight-lipped. (“It’s a futile question,” she said of any prying.)
“It was such a super challenge because you’re really inhabiting a [character] that you don’t even really know what it looks like,” she said of building Maz on the set of “The Force Awakens.” “You don’t even have the costume you’re going to be wearing. All the tools you’d usually use when you’re acting are not there except for your performance. Andy Serkis advised me to do it like you would any other character.”
Castmate Mr. Serkis, who portrayed the evil Supreme Leader Snoke, was also replaced by ones and zeroes for “The Force Awakens.” Mr. Serkis has created something of a cottage industry in Hollywood, creating motion capture performances for such beasties as Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” and Caesar in the revamped “Planet of the Apes” films.
“He loves what he does, and he’s so good at it,” Miss Nyong’o said of Mr. Serkis. “He’s able to humanize these creatures and make them so realistic. To work with him and be mentored by him, and then to do something like what he does, my respect for him is even more profound. That is not easy [acting] without your face.”
Of “Queen of Katwe,” which opens Friday in the District, Miss Nyong’o said there was no time “to be a diva; it was all about getting down and dirty.”
And after so many heavy dramas to her resume, the Mexico City-born actress who was raised in Kenya is aching to do a funny film.
“I think I’ve had a good run with some drama [but] I’m on a sole mission to work on a comedy,” she said. “’Queen of Katwe’ was so great and my heart expanded. To play a mother was so fulfilling in so many ways, but I just want a little levity now,” she said with a spirited laugh.
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