Lupita Nyong'o has won an Oscar, been in the MCU, played an alien bar owner in Star Wars and even voiced a robot in a post-apocalyptic world, but The Odyssey could well mark her most notable role to date as Helen of Troy, aka "the face that launched a thousand ships".
The actor also takes on a dual role in Christopher Nolan's eagerly-awaited epic as Helen's sister Clytemnestra. Inevitably though, it's the role of Helen of Troy that will garner the most attention and sadly, also inevitably, there has been a racist backlash to her casting in the movie – even before it was announced she was playing Helen of Troy.
In a new interview with ELLE, Nyong'o gave an excellent response to the backlash and defended Nolan's approach to Homer's Greek epic. "Our cast is representative of the world. I'm not spending my time thinking of a defence. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not," she explained.
"It's quite something to be a part of The Odyssey, 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."
Related: Christopher Nolan responds to 'inaccurate' The Odyssey complaints
Nyong'o is also aware that the idea of playing "the face that launched a thousand ships" is a daunting prospect.
What to Read Next
With so many versions of Homer's Greek epic to draw from and various interpretations, the research could be "endless" and she was aware that "you can't perform beauty" and have to find the person behind it.
"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," she continued.
However Nyong'o approached it, Nolan was full of praise for her performance, saying that she "makes it look effortless".
Related: Lupita Nyong'o had "cat therapy" for A Quiet Place prequel
"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," he added.
At least we only have two months to wait to see for ourselves.
The Odyssey is released in cinemas on 17 July. The July/August issue of ELLE UK is on sale from 18 June.
Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.
The new edition of Living Legends, a collector's edition exploring the royal family, is here! Buy The Royals in newsagents or online.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
