- 2 days ago
Teyonah Parris on Being in WandaVision, Representation, and More
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00:00Wanda what's up? Who are you? I don't know.
00:08So congrats on this role, huge. I'm new to the to the Marvel Universe so I was trying to get on my
00:17backstory. I'm like, I'm like, Miles Maria, she has three aliases, WandaVision, like it's a lot.
00:23Oh, I appreciate that. How much did you know coming into this role in the Marvel world?
00:32I've been a Marvel Studios fan since the beginning, first Iron Man, so definitely been, I would say like
00:43a casual movie fan. It's been a dream of mine to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that's
00:52one of those things where you don't, like I knew it would happen deep in my heart, you know, but I
00:58didn't know it would happen, you know what I mean? So that's one of those things where you just put it
01:03on the list and let it go. So there was that and then as far as the character Monica Rambeau, I
01:12had actually heard of her because years prior, like five, six years ago when fans started fan casting me
01:20as her and so I didn't know who she was so I ended up going to look her up and I was like, wow, she's
01:28pretty cool. Yeah. She'll never see the light of day, you know, let's be honest. So that was sort of
01:36that five, six years ago. I could hope and wish but that wasn't where we were at that moment. So when she
01:44showed up as a little girl and Captain Marvel, I got really excited. But again, I didn't anticipate
01:52that it was gonna go further. And if it was, I definitely wasn't like, oh, let me call over there
02:00and tell them I'm interested. You know what I mean? So again, this one of those things where you, the
02:05desire, the, the manifestation is planted deep inside, but it wasn't anything immediately active
02:13that I had done to try to get there. How did you land the role? How did it come together?
02:20It, it, um, I, I got an audition and for a self tape and I put myself on tape, just me and the reader.
02:30And I didn't understand the audition because if you've seen the show, which I hope y'all have, um,
02:38we're paying homage to American sitcoms throughout the decades. And so the, the sides they gave me for
02:45the audition were from episode three, which is like the seventies. And so I'm like, I don't think
02:53I'll say this was for Marvel. What is happening here? I was like, you like, okay, Wanda vision.
02:59Okay. I'm not getting it. And I didn't even know Wanda and vision actually at that point,
03:04I didn't know what that was for. Um, so I just did it. And I was like, man, I, this is some bad
03:11acting, but they are telling me to go for it. They're saying, don't worry. It's stylized.
03:17And so I just went for it. And then, um, I let it go. Okay. That's also a part of my process. Once
03:25you do these self tapes, you can't get too attached because it can go any way, whatever way. And I
03:31didn't know what character it was for. I didn't understand it. So I just was like, okay. So it went
03:37away. And then a couple of weeks later, my agent called and was like, yeah, the, um, the Marvel
03:44tape you sent in, it's looking pretty good. And I was like, Marvel, what Marvel? Because again,
03:50that those sides did not say Marvel to me. And so she told me, you remember the odd thing you were
03:56talking about? I was like, Oh, wait, what you mean? Going pretty good. And so she was like, yeah,
04:02I think it's looking good. So I said, okay, leave me alone. Leave me alone. Don't let's not talk about
04:06this. Let's not talk about it. And then, so a few days later she called it. She said, you've got it.
04:11And I was like, Oh my goodness. This wasn't on my radar right now. What do you mean? She was like,
04:18you've got it. I was like, Oh my gosh. Yes. Who am I? Who is the character? Yeah. And then I just felt
04:26it. I was like, wait a minute. Don't tell me I'm the little girl from Captain Marvel. And she was like,
04:31let me find out. And she called and she was like, yup. I said, Oh my gosh. And so, yeah,
04:41it was really exciting. That's incredible. I am really happy. Yeah. Yeah. And people like
04:49your character has become a fan favorite, like immediately people are so excited. And I think,
04:55you know, for a lot of black people, they're so excited that your character doesn't fall into
04:59like that strong black woman coming in to fix, you know, everything. She's intelligent. We see so
05:05many sides to her. What do you love most about playing her? What I love most about the opportunity
05:13to play Monica Rambeau is that I know that I have the opportunity to be the representation that I wanted
05:20to see when I was growing up to be a dark skin, a brown skin woman, woman, and have the opportunity
05:30to be in this superhero space is I don't take that lightly. I'm honored. I'm grateful. And I look at
05:37my nieces and my next, my niece and my nephews, and I'm, I'm, I just see how their eyes light up when
05:44they read a book where there are characters that look like them. So I'm like, you're going to get to grow up
05:49with superheroes that look like you and that you can see elements of yourself in and be inspired and
05:57encouraged by, and what that does to a, a young psyche. I mean, I know what it did for me watching
06:03Black Panther and I'm super grown. You know what I mean? I love their feeling like I, I, all my dreams
06:11are possible. I can do anything I put my mind to. We are strong people. We're a resilient people. We're
06:17intelligent and soft and compassionate. And so I left the theater feeling all those things and I'm
06:25grown. So I, I just, I'm excited by the thought of what this means for young people, particularly
06:31young Black children. Yeah. Yeah. I was thinking, I'm like, I'm sure your comments are full with moms,
06:37just like, I'm so happy to see you. I love it. Yeah. It's been amazing. Just seeing like the,
06:45I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm active on Instagram. So just seeing like the posts, I saw one mom
06:51tagged her daughter where she had dressed like Monica touching the hex in her hair. And she was
06:59just like, I'm so happy that my child has the opportunity to see a Black woman with her natural
07:06hair. And so that she can be proud of her own. And it, and it seems like to some people, it just might
07:12seem like, why are they going on about hair? But we know what that has meant for us. You know, just
07:22the, the, the, the process of trying to fight our hair, the process of, and, and, and the hair is
07:29representative of the larger issue of just trying to fight and strip ourselves of who we naturally are
07:35to fit into a box that's not meant for us. And so having the opportunity and Marvel being
07:40extremely supportive and saying, okay, this means something. So, okay, how does the hair need to go?
07:47Let's get the right people in here to help bring that vision to life. I have a team, my glam squad
07:53that Marvel was so supportive of the wig. That is a wig. If people didn't know, was made by a Black woman,
08:00Cookie Jordan, my hair, the styling done by a Black woman, Nikki Wright, my makeup, Black woman,
08:06woman of color, Regina Little. So I have this amazing team that values the same things we value
08:15and says, and, and Marvel as well. It's like, we're going to give you all the tools you need
08:20to do this, how it needs to be done. And so I'm so, so grateful. So, so grateful.
08:25Yeah. And, and how rare of an experience is that to have this studio, if you can speak on that,
08:31you know, but to come behind and support and, and take care of you the way other actresses are.
08:36Oh, no, it's rare. I think we, we, you've heard myself and other, my fellow actresses
08:42go through the woes of, oh, I show up on set. They don't know how to do my hair. I have a lot of hair.
08:48Today is not a wig. Today, this is me.
08:51Yes.
08:52So, you know, but even to feel empowered to come and do press and say, oh, you know,
08:58I'll just do my hair. I don't have to have a wig. There was a time where I was like,
09:02oh my gosh, I don't have my wig. I don't have my sewing. What am I going to do this? And it's,
09:08it's like, this is the times are changing. And I'm so, so happy to be a part of it. And I'm again,
09:15having Marvel say, oh, we see the importance of what that means. And we want to do it right.
09:20And we value what you're telling us is important. How can we support? Here's the people you need.
09:27Here you go. Boom, boom, boom. So that, that's, that's very rare.
09:31Yeah. Unfortunately. And thinking part of that, because as we talked about going through the
09:38decades and we saw you like sixties, and then we see you with like the bell bottoms and all
09:42they're like, how fun is that for you? Is it fun? You know, kind of stepping into those
09:47different periods with the costumes.
09:49That was a lot of fun and, and my own costumes, but it was, I even have more fun watching Lizzie
09:56and Paul go through the decades. They would show up and Paul's got like blonde blowback and Lizzie's
10:04got this big teased out eighties look. So it was really fun to watch. And then the, the creative team,
10:14the hair makeup wardrobe has just done such a wonderful job with keeping the characters true
10:20to themselves, but also let making it fit into this style, these structures of each decade.
10:26So it was just fun to see the little things that might change that made a difference. And then the
10:32big glaring differences, but I had a good time. I was happy to not be in the stockings and the girdle
10:41pointy bra for too long. I will be honest about that. But other than that, it was, I mean, even
10:48considering that it was a lot of fun.
10:51And I saw you posted some workout videos, which I think you've always been on it, but
10:56did you have to do any special training or anything, you know, stepping it up, thinking about coming into
11:02this role?
11:04Coming into the role initially back in 19, I did not know, like I didn't do any fight training
11:11or anything like that. I didn't know what was required. I just started training, like in general,
11:18just trying to get in good health for stamina, going to be on camera. And well, I mean, I was,
11:24I've been on camera up until then, but just trying to, just trying to get in shape,
11:31just trying to get in shape in a very general way. But it wasn't like I took any specific classes.
11:37Okay. Okay. Got you. And then just thinking, you know, your career overall, I feel like you've
11:44had such a wide variety of characters, which is amazing to see. Can you speak to just how
11:50intentional you've been with the roles that you've taken and how you've crafted your career
11:56over the years? Thank you for saying that and even recognizing that I have taken great care to
12:05seek out roles that show obviously humanity, but more specifically, the humanity of Black people,
12:17more specifically, the humanity of Black females. And I've, it, we are so multifaceted. And so those
12:25roles look very different. And I love that about the work and what the opportunities I've been
12:31afforded. I love working with new creators, first time directors, first time writers, whatever that
12:39is. And, and also the, the OGs, the, those who are masters at what they do. So I, I have certainly
12:50been intentional as much as I can. Some of it is just, you know, it all works out for the better,
12:56the greater good. But for the most part I do try to be mindful about the roles I take on and what
13:03does it say? And what does it mean for young people to see this? What does it mean for people of color
13:10to see it? What does it mean for the world at large to see it? Because even more, there's the most
13:17important, which is, I want us to see ourselves reflected in the media. And also I want the world
13:23to see us. And so they can engage with our humanity and that they can understand that we're human and we
13:29feel and hurt and laugh just like everybody else. And so that, that's important to me.
13:36Yeah. And then, you know, lastly, just thinking, you know, you're a part of this franchise. I mean,
13:41people are already like, there'll probably be a spinoff over here with this storyline. There might be a
13:45movie here. There might, like, do you do like you do with your audition? Like, I can't think about
13:51all that right now. I'm focused on this or does it excite you? Both. It is very exciting. Like when
13:58they announced that, okay, Monica will be going on to Captain Marvel 2, that was really exciting. And
14:04then there's this level of, okay, well, I can't think about that right now. There's other things to
14:10worry about the matter at hand. Um, and I trust that if there was something I needed to think
14:16about for the future that they would flag it for me. Cause I mean, it's Marvel and they flag even the
14:23smallest things. I mean, they have it planned out. So I just trust in their, um, ideas and process.
14:32So yeah. Yeah. Well, nice. It's been amazing seeing you in this series. Amazing talking to you today.
14:38Um, I'm so excited to see more. Thank you so much. Thank you, Brandi. Bye. Bye.
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