Lupita Nyong’o Opens Up About New Role in Jordan Peele’s “Us,” Says Watching “Get Out” Five Times In One Month Made Her Want To Work With Peele

On the heels of the overwhelming success of Jordan Peele’s Academy Award-winning film, “Get Out,” Lupita Nyong’o needed very little convincing to star in Peele’s next film, “Us.” In fact, in a recent interview with BuzzFeed News, Nyong’o explained how Peele’s record-breaking hit helped her work through the intensity of her role in Ryan Coogler’s record-breaking, Academy Award-winning hit, “Black Panther.” 

“‘Black Panther’ was intense and time-consuming and all-encompassing,” Nyong’o said. “But I found time to go to the cinema five times in one month while I was working on that film to watch ‘Get Out.’”

“He created a cinematic experience that we could grab and take with us,” she added, as she explained how the film consumed her free-time and personal conversations. “It became such a joy to just live in his mind.”

“I was like, I need to work with that guy right there,” she said. 

So, when the opportunity presented itself for ‘Us,’ Nyong’o was already onboard.

“He was like, ‘And if you do this film, and if…’ and I was just laughing, because of course, I’m going to do this film,” she said. “Of course I’m doing it! Whatever it is,” she added, as she revealed that she made sure she “had something to offer” for the complex role. 

 

“I read the script kind of with one eye, being like ‘Oh god, oh god, oh god,’ and my shoulders are going up up up up up,” she said. “And I finished, and was like, this is amazing. Also, what is it about? Like, what else is it about? Because I could tell, it was more than met the eye.”

“He’s so smart, and I could tell that this was more than just the surface,” she added. “And I wanted to make sure I had an instinct for the thing he wanted to say.”