Lupito Nyong’o broke her silence in an interview Thursday on the racist backlash surrounding her casting as Helen of Troy in “The Odyssey.”
While speaking with Elle for a profile timed to the Christopher Nolan epic, Nyong’o was asked about the online outcry following the news she was cast as Helen for the feature – a woman who is said in the myth to be the most beautiful woman in the world and had the “face that launched a thousand ships.”
The star explained that she trusted Nolan’s vision and wasn’t letting the backlash affect her or her experience. Dismissing fans’ concerns that a Black woman couldn’t play the role, she said, “This is a mythological story.”
“I’m very supportive of Chris’ intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling,” Nyong’o said. “Our cast is representative of the world. I’m not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not.
“It’s quite something to be a part of ‘The Odyssey,’” she added, “because it is so grand. It spans worlds. So that’s why the cast is what it is. We’re occupying the epic narrative of our time.”
Nolan was also asked in the profile about why he cast Nyong’o as Helen of Troy. Her talent and poise were the standouts for what he was looking for in the role and he explained that few reflected both as strongly as the Oscar winner, which made her a no-brainer for the part.
“The strength and the poise were so important to the character of Helen,” Nolan said. “And Lupita makes it look effortless. I’m sure there’s a tremendous amount of discipline and training that goes into projecting that kind of poise and feeling the emotion bubbling beneath the character, the layers of the character right there underneath. She’s just an incredible person to work with, and I was absolutely desperate for her to do the part.”
Asked what she thought of Helen being known for her beauty, Nyong’o said the label didn’t quite interest her.
“You can’t perform beauty,” she said. “I want to know who a character is. What is beyond beauty? What is beyond looks? That’s the thing about doing such a well-known text, which has been studied and interpreted and derived from. The research could be endless. The good thing about working with a writer like Chris is that it’s on the page. The investigation starts with the pages you’re given. That’s what I based it on.”
Nyong’o’s casting was a heatedly debated topic online, and was given renewed attention last week when Elon Musk engaged with right-wing figures like Matt Walsh, who proposed without evidence in a racially charged X post that “not one person on the planet actually thinks that Lupita Nyong’o is ‘the most beautiful woman in the world.’”
Musk added fire to the flame by responding to Walsh’s post, saying “True.” He then went on a tirade responding to other transphobic comments attacking Elliot Page’s casting, writing “Banger,” and then later touted the 2004 film “Troy” as the superior film.
Musk has a history of criticizing Nolan and “The Odyssey” over the film’s casting decisions. Back in January, the billionaire said that “Chris Nolan has lost his integrity” in response to a post that called his upcoming film “an insult to the author” because of Nyong’o’s casting.
