- Amandla Stenberg spoke to Variety and revealed that she auditioned for the role of Shuri (which eventually went to Letitia Wright) in "Black Panther," but dropped out because she felt that she wasn't the right fit.
- Stenberg, who is biracial, said: "It was so exhilarating to see it fulfilled by people who should have been a part of it and who deserved it and who were right for it. I just wasn't."
- In the past, the 19-year-old explained that she thought the role deserved to be played by a dark-skinned actor.
Letitia Wright became a breakout star following her role as Shuri in "Black Panther," but actress Amandla Stenberg also auditioned for the role.
Speaking to Variety, Stenberg opened up about her experience as a biracial star (her mother is African American and her father is Danish). The 19-year-old, who rose to fame playing Rue in "The Hunger Games," has often been outspoken about topics like diversity, race, and sexuality.
During her interview, Stenberg revealed that she auditioned to play T'Challa's tech-savvy younger sister in the 2018 Marvel movie. At some point in the process, she walked away from the potential job because she felt the role would be best played by a dark-skinned actress.
"That was not a space that I should have taken up," Stenberg said. "And it was so exhilarating to see it fulfilled by people who should have been a part of it and who deserved it and who were right for it. I just wasn't."
Previously, the "Hate U Give" star spoke about her choice, calling it one of the most "challenging things" she's ever done.
"One of the most challenging things for me to do was to walk away from 'Black Panther,'" she said while at a Toronto festival. "I got really, really close and they were like, 'Do you want to continue fighting for this?' And I was like, this isn't right."
Stenberg elaborated, saying: "These are all dark skin actors playing Africans and I feel like it would have just been off to see me as a biracial American with a Nigerian accent just pretending that I'm the same color as everyone else in the movie."
"I should not take up and when I do take up a space it's because I've thought really, really critically about it and I've consulted people I really trust and it feels right," she added.
Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.
Read the original article on INSIDER. Copyright 2018.Follow INSIDER on Facebook.
Follow INSIDER on Twitter.Watch: The cast of "Black Panther" spent months learning how to fight
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyiucCnm6WZXajBprrBnqmgZZGqsarAyKilnpxdm7yzecGlmJyjXaWur8DHnqlmq5iqv6p5kWlocWVo