Amandla Stenberg nearly played a pivotal role in 'Black Panther' but she felt a darker-skinned a

Posted by Sherie Connelly on Sunday, July 14, 2024
2018-08-28T19:02:00Z

 

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. 

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