The
“Everything, Everything” Interview
with
Kam Williams
Stunning
Stenberg!
Amandla
Stenberg first gained recognition for her role as Rue in The Hunger
Games, alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh
Hutcherson. After the success of that film, Amandla earned the 2012
Teen Choice Award with Jennifer for Best Film Chemistry. She was also
nominated for NAACP Image and Black Reel Awards for that performance.
Amandla
made her big screen debut in the breakout role of young Cataleya
Restrepo in Colombiana. In January 2016, she appeared in As You Are
which premiered at Sundance. The independent film won the Special
Jury Prize at that year's festival.
She
recently finished shooting Where Hands Touch, a romantic drama set in
the Forties, directed by Amma Asante. The story focuses on the
relationship between a mixed-race German girl and an SS officer in
Berlin.
She
is currently filming The Darkest Minds, based on the best-selling
series of young adult novels by Alexandra Bracken. The dystopian
trilogy takes place in the wake of a mysterious plague which killed
most of America’s youth population. Amandla stars as Ruby, a
teenager with telekinetic powers who joins a group of kids on the run
from the government.
She
is also attached to The Hate U Give, adapted from Angela Thomas'
debut novel of the same name, inspired by the Black Lives Matter
movement. The story revolves around a suburban, prep school student
coping with the fallout from witnessing a police officer shoot her
unarmed best friend.
Besides
acting, Amandla has been globally lauded for her crusade to improve
society via thoughtful conversation, using social media as a platform
to spread social awareness and knowledge. She has shared personal
essays on such topics as cultural appropriation, inter-sectional
feminism, biracial identity and beauty standards.
Wise
beyond her years, at 16 Amandla was named one of Time
Magazine’s
Most Influential Teens as well as the Ms. Foundation for Women's
Feminist Celebrity of the Year. Furthermore, Dazed Magazine
proclaimed her one of the most incendiary voices of her generation in
its Autumn 2015 cover story.
In
February 2016, Amandla was presented the Young, Gifted & Black
Award at the annual Black Girls Rock! ceremony televised on BET.
Later that year, she became one of the faces of Stella McCartney’s
new fragrance, "POP."
A
versatile talent, Amandla also plays violin and sings in the
folk-rock duo Honeywater, along with Zander Hawley. Here, she talks
about her new movie, Everything, Everything, where she co-stars
opposite Nick Robinson.
Kam
Williams: Hi
Amandla, thanks for the interview.
Amandla
Stenberg:
Thank
you for having me.
KW:
You
have a unique name. How did you come by it?
AS:
It
means "power" in Zulu. That's pretty much the main reason
why my mom picked it for me. It was also the rallying cry of the
South African freedom movement. To them, it meant "Power to the
people!" Amandla's the title of a Miles Davis album, too.
KW:
Have
you seen the movie Amandla about the pivotal role music played in
inspiring the people of South Africa to summon up the courage to
topple the repressive, Apartheid regime?
AS:
The
documentary, right? Yes, I have. My mom put a poster from the film up
on my wall when I was little.
KW:
What interested you in Everything, Everything?
AS:
First
of all, that they were considering casting someone like me as Maddy
grabbed my attention because most movie romances aren't very diverse.
Usually, adaptations of young adult romance novels feature white
leads. So, when they reached out to me with the script, I was struck
by the fact that it was based on a book written by a black woman
[Nicola Yoon] who specifically created a biracial protagonist. That
was something I hadn't seen before. It felt fresh to me that they
were making a fairly corporate movie with a black female as the lead
that would be widely marketed and distributed And I also thought it
was important when I considered how many people would get to see this
girl with natural hair carry the film.
KW:
Do you
feel under any pressure for this film to succeed, so that this sort
of colorblind casting continues?
AS:
I don't
feel any pressure. I'm confident the film will do well. And whether
or not it succeeds isn't necessarily dependent on me. That's not my
responsibility. But I do feel proud to be a part of it, regardless. Besides, I don't really think of a film's success in monetary terms
but by how it moves people. And I can already tell that black teenage
girls are really excited to see themselves in a movie like this.
KW:
Had you
read the novel, before learning about this project?
AS:
No, I
hadn't read the book when I got the script. But as soon as I learned
what it was about, I checked it out.
KW:
What
was it like working with a black, female director in Stella Meghie?
AS:
It was
really cool. Very special. I think we had a kind of unspoken, and
sometimes spoken, mutual understanding of what it meant for us to be
creating in that large, corporate environment together. It was sort
of like, "We tricked them. Don't they realize what we're
making?" We joked around that we were scamming them with our
diverse content.
KW:
And how
was it working opposite your co-star, Nick Robinson?
AS:
He's a
fantastic guy. Very grounded and real. We were both kind of relieved
when we first met each other that were on the same page not only in
terms of acting but as people.
KW:
How
would you describe the movie's message?
AS:
I think
the movie's fantastical, not really based in reality. It's more of a
fable or a large metaphor about breaking free of limitations that you
place on yourself or that others may place on you. And it's about
conquering your fears and not letting anything get in the way of
living your life more fully.
KW:
And
what was it like working with Anika Noni Rose, who played your
mother?
AS:
Anika's
fantastic as an actress and as an individual. She has so much
conviction, heart and elegance. She's such a a cool person and a
strong lady. Yeah.
KW:
Your
breakout role came as Rue in The Hunger Games. How did you like
making that movie?
AS:
I was
just 12 years-old, so it was a while ago. [Chuckles] But I had a
helluva time!
KW:
Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: With so many classic films being redone,
is there a remake you'd like to star in?
AS:
I don't
know. I'm not huge on remakes, unless they do it in a new way. I
think of Everything, Everything not as a remake, but as a fresh take
on something we've seen before, and I like that.
KW:
Ling-Ju Yen asks: What
is your earliest childhood memory?
AS:
Looking
at trees while my mom pushed me around the park in a stroller as a
baby.
KW:
When
you look in the mirror, what do you see?
AS:
I see a
lot of different things. [Giggles] I see a person who is trying to
make some change in the world.
KW:
What is your favorite dish to cook?
AS:
I like
cooking with my mom at Thanksgiving and Christmastime because we make
turkey, and mac and cheese, yams, collard greens and all the other
black staples, pretty much.
KW:
Larry
Greenberg asks: Do you have a favorite movie monster?
AS:
A favorite movie monster? I think the monsters in Ghostbusters are
pretty iconic.
KW:
Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone
would? And please answer the question.
AS:
I don't
think so. I've been asked a lot of questions, and they've all been
pretty fantastic.
KW:
The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?
AS:
I don't
know that I have just one, exclusively. I look at a lot of different
designers. Right now, I'm really feeling this brand called Self
Portrait.
KW:
Finally,
what’s in your wallet?
AS:
[LOL]
In my wallet, you'd find my high school ID, my credit card, no cash,
because I'm so terrible at ever retrieving it, a picture of the dog I
had as a kid, and a tiny greeting card I found in Denmark when I
visited there with my dad.
KW:
Thanks
so much for the time, Amandla. I expect big things from you, and i
look forward to interviewing you again down the line. .
AS:
`Thank
you, Kam. Appreciate it.
To
see a trailer for Everything, Everything, visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42KNwQ6u42U
