Letitia Wright has discussed finding love online and how she hopes her catalogue of work will help further the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Guyanese-British actress, 27, appeared on the cover of Dazed and spoke inside about her latest project Mangrove, the first of BBC’s Small Axe anthology series, as well as struggling to use dating apps due to her profile.
The star stated that she hopes her work on a number of powerful projects will help contribute to BLM, in the wake of protests earlier this year after the death of black man George Floyd who was killed by white police officer Derek Chauvin.
As well as her activism, Letitia gave a glimpse into her private life as she revealed her friends urge her to get onto dating apps, yet she revealed potential suitors will say ‘Wakanda Forever’, in a nod to her role as Shuri in 2018’s Black Panther.
Candid: Letitia Wright has discussed finding love online and how she hopes her catalogue of work will help further the Black Lives Matter movement
In Steve McQueen’s Mangrove, Letitia portrays real-life Black Panther Altheia Jones-LeCointe, who was part of The Mangrove Nine.
In 1971, a group of protesters including British Black Panther leader Altheia were accused of inciting riots and were put on trial at The Old Bailey.
The group made history when all nine defendants were acquitted and the judge admitted the police had been motivated by racial hatred.
Small Axe is an anthology of five films set from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s with each telling a story involving London’s West Indian community, whose lives have been shaped by their own force of will, despite rampant racism and discrimination.
Hard work: The Guyanese-British actress, 27, appeared on the cover of Dazed and spoke inside about her latest project Mangrove, the first of BBC’s Small Axe anthology series, as well as struggling to use dating apps due to her profile (pictured in Mangrove)
Alarming: The star stated that she hopes her work on a number of powerful projects will help contribute to BLM, in the wake of protests earlier this year after the death of black man George Floyd who was killed by white police officer Derek Chauvin
Starring role: As well as her activism, Letitia gave a glimpse into her private life as she revealed her friends urge her to get onto dating apps, yet she revealed potential suitors will say ‘Wakanda Forever’, in a nod to her role as Shuri in 2018’s Black Panther
As the Black Lives Matter protests raged on, Letitia revealed Steve called her and said: ‘It feels like life imitating art and art imitating life.’
She admits this deeply saddened her, as she went on: ‘I’m just tired really, tired of constantly having to say the same things…
‘We said it beforehand for years, and then you say it again, and then you say it again, and then you say it again, and then you’re in Mangrove, and then you’re in the street demonstrating….
Heartbreak: As the Black Lives Matter protests raged on, Letitia revealed Steve called her and said: ‘It feels like life imitating art and art imitating life’
Moving forward: On the hopes of her work making an impact, she said: ‘I hope it moves us forward to that place where you don’t have to wake up and see a police officer put his foot on someone’s throat. To never have to go back there again. That would be the hope’
Working hard: On the aspirations of her legacy, she said: ‘“I don’t want to leave Earth like, ‘She did a cool a little film” Like, no – (I’d like people to say that) what she did and who she played, who she represented and what she said – it changed my life
‘You say it again, you say it again, and then you have Stephen Lawrence, and then you’re saying it again. I don’t know what else to say. Around the world, we really have to get it together. It’s too much to bear.’
On the hopes of her work making an impact, she said: ‘I hope it moves us forward to that place where you don’t have to wake up and see a police officer put his foot on someone’s throat. To never have to go back there again. That would be the hope’.
On the aspirations of her legacy, she said: ‘“I don’t want to leave Earth like, ‘She did a cool a little film” Like, no – (I’d like people to say that) what she did and who she played, who she represented and what she said – it changed my life.
Hard work: The actress has set up her own company called Three/Sixteen Productions so that she can get stories which are meaningful to her
Read the full interview in the new issue of Dazed – ON SALE THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER
The actress has set up her own company called Three/Sixteen Productions so that she can get stories which are meaningful to her.
Letitia also touched on her personal life, as she revealed that her friends urge her to use dating apps but her appearance online is thwarted by her profile.
When asked if she things often about finding love, she said: ‘Of course, I’m going to be 27!…
‘I just need to meet the one person that’s for me and that’s it. Done. I don’t need to do all that website stuff.’
She explained why her friend could go on apps but she couldn’t, as she said: ‘She has the benefit of exploring without somebody going, ‘Oh my God! Wakanda Forever!’ She doesn’t have that problem.’
Read the full interview in the new issue of Dazed – ON SALE THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER
Powerful: She plays real life Black Panther Altheia Jones-LeCointe, who was part of the Mangrove Nine, a group who were accused of inciting riots in 1971