Shahadi Wright Joseph, Marsai Martin, & Saniyya Sidney are among the group bringing the youth to the forefront on screen
With Amandla Stenberg leading the pack in 2018 with lead roles in three films (The Darkest Minds, The Hate U Give, When Hands Touch), along with Storm Reid in A Wrinkle In Time, and Yara Shahadi in the upcoming The Sun Is Also a Star, we are seeing a new wave of actresses bringing Black girl joy to the big screen.
Unless it’s a YA film, teens are barely at the forefront of major studio films, especially young Black females. Even with animated films, whose primary target are for kids and families, the voices usually go to adults. With the exception of Quvenzhané Wallis, who was 6 years old when she was Oscar nominated for Best Actress for her performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild, there are hardly major roles for young Black girls on the big screen…until recently. Black Girl Magic is certainly rising in Hollywood and coming in strong.
This year alone so far and in the upcoming weeks we’ve seen and will be seeing a handful of Black actresses, ages 10 to 15, take bigger roles in theatrical releases. At a time when Black actresses are being heavily looked for lead roles, as it was last year when a vast amount were leads in over 30 films whether independent or studio financed, it’s great to see that producers and screenwriters are writing more for Black female characters; especially for the youth and given them more to do than just play ‘the kid in the film.’
Here’s a look at some 2019 actresses we’ve seen recently and will see in the coming weeks.
Akira Akbar (Captain Marvel) – In Theaters Now
In Marvel’s Captain Marvel, Akbar plays Monica Rambeau, the 11-year-old daughter of Maria Lambeau (played by Lashana Lynch). Maria is an Air Force Pilot and the best friend of Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel.
Fans of the comic book are well aware that Monica ends being Captain Marvel. While it’s not known at this time whether the MCU will go in the route with Oscar Brie Larson in the role now, at least they brought on the possibility that it could happen. More recently, Akbar also appeared on NBC’s acclaimed series, This Is Us as Young Beth in the episode “Our Little Island Girl,” which focused on Beth Pearson’s (Susan Kelechi Watson) backstory. In speaking with Shadow and Act, Akbar talked about getting the role in Captain Marvel.
“The audition process is very top secret, so I didn’t really know it was Captain Marvel until later,” Akbar explained about the project. “After school, my mom picked me up and told me that I got Captain Marvel and I was screaming so loud, but I didn’t know it was Monica until I got my script.”
Akbar will later be seen opposite Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Loretta Devine on Netflix’s upcoming sitcom, Family Reunion.
Shahadi Wright Joseph (Us) – In Theaters Now
As Zora AND Umbrae, the daughter to Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke’s characters in Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed horror thriller, Joseph more than held her own in this polarizing film. In playing two roles, she was bratty as well as creepy.
Blackfilm.com recently spoke with Wright in getting the role and working with Jordan Peele.
“Basically, I sent in a self tape and a few weeks later my agent called me and said that Jordan wanted to meet me in LA. They flew me out and that’s actually where I met Evan (Alex) and we had a little chemistry read. We just bonded as soon as we met. It was really great. It was so nice to meet Jordan. When asked if she knew this would be a horror, the 14 year-old replied, “I did because the sides were really eerie and sort of gory. I knew that this was definitely out of my comfort zone but it’s actually a lot of fun. It was groundbreaking to work with Jordan just for that short amount of time.”
Last seen playing Inez Stubbs in NBC’s Hairspray Live! in 2016, the 13 year-old will also be voicing the character of young Nala in director Jon Favreau’s live action version of The Lion King. Ironically, she played the role on Broadway when she was 9.
Nico Parker (Dumbo) – In Theaters Now
For Parker, this is the big screen debut for the 14 year-old. As the daughter of actress Thandie Newton and writer, director, and producer Ol Parker, the London native has trained at Ballet Black Dance Academy in London, and was a keen gymnast before working on “Dumbo.” In the film, she plays Milly Farrier, the science-minded daughter toColin Farrell’s character who, with her brother, bonds with Dumbo and becomes his closest human friend.
In speaking with Blackfilm.com about her role, Parker stated, “My mom got an email from her agent that they were making a new Dumbo film and they wanted her daughter to audition. I had done one thing before and so I was thrown into it. I did the audition and I didn’t think it was a big thing. I did something embarrassing on my kitchen with my dad and we sent in a self tape. So I did the audition and then there were four auditions after that and then I met Tim (Burton). Then I met Fin (Hobbins) and there were three auditions with just Fin and the casting director. Then we went to meet Tim again, which was like the scariest. It was Tim and his people, which is even more scary, but here we are.”
Faithe Herman (Shazam!) – In Theaters Now
In Shazam! Herman plays Darla Dudley, one the foster kids in the home where Billy Batson is placed at. As the youngest in the group and curious one, she’s one of the few who knows Billy’s other identity and helps him keep the secret. Herman is also best known as Annie Pearson, the youngest daughter of Randall and Beth in NBC’s This Is Us.
In speaking with BSCKids, Herman discussed getting the role of Darla.
“I auditioned for the role of Darla Dudley in October 2017, and maybe a week or so later I received a call back to meet with Mr. David for a second audition. It wasn’t much longer after that before my team called to congratulate me because I was going to be Darla Dudley. I was nervous for a few weeks because I was still working on This Is Us. Everyone had to make sure my schedule would allow me time to go to Toronto. Eventually everything worked out in the end and it was an amazing experience.”
Marsai Martin (Little) – In Theaters Now
Of all the teens mentioned in this group, Martin is the one with the biggest profile as her film, ‘Little,’ is literally her film. Best known for role on ABC’s Black-ish, it was Martin’s concept that got the ball rolling and made her the youngest executive producer on a feature film.
Co-starring Regina Hall and Issa Rae, Little follows an overbearing boss (Hall) who is transformed into the child version of herself.
When asked if she faced obstacles in getting the film made, the 14 year old stated, “To be honest, I didn’t face a lot of obstacles.
I started this entire process at ten years old when I pitched LITTLE. I’ve been able to take things at a comfortable pace, which made it easier. Pitching the idea, developing the script and just trying to figure out the overall direction was a collective effort between Will Packard, Tina Gordon and my parents. They were the greatest support system and ultimately, made sure I didn’t fall on anything. It was such an easy road to get to the point where I am now. Well, easy and hard at the same time because a lot of people didn’t believe in me. The easy part is working with people that trust you and believe in your story is the best thing.”
Nádej K Bailey (The Best of Enemies)
In The Best of Enemies, which stars Taraji P. Henson and Oscar winner Sam Rockwell, the film tells of the relationship between Civil Rights activist Ann Atwater and C.P. Ellis, Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1971 Durham, North Carolina when they had to work together over the issue of school integration. Bailey plays Ann’s daughter in the film.
After making her film debut in Ava DuVernay’s Selma, Bailey has appeared in a number of TV films and series and was last seen on the big screen in David E. Talbert’s Almost Christmas.
In an interview with theknockturnal, Bailey talked about doing this film, stating, “It’s all about empathy and stepping into someone else’s shoes and knowing that I’m helping to tell someone else’s story. I have to be as real as possible. I just have to make it my all. This is my first role of something so deep and so serious and it was just really great to tell the story about something that actually happened in the world. I’ve done movies like this before but this one was more personal to me and it was just great.”
Saniyya Sidney (Fast Color) – In Theaters April 19
Having appeared in notable films including Fences, Hidden Figures and as “Young Kizzy” in the History Channel remake of the Alex Haley classic, Roots., 12 year-old Sidney is also the star of the Fox sci-fi series “The Passage” and recently appeared in Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History for Netflix.
Hunted by mysterious forces, a young woman (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) with supernatural abilities must go on the run when her powers are discovered. With nowhere else to go, she flees back to her family and the farmhouse she abandoned long ago. There, while being pursued by the local Sheriff (David Strathairn), she begins to mend the broken relationships with her mother (Lorraine Toussaint) and daughter (Saniyya Sidney) and learns that the power she needed was inside her all along.
In describing her character Sidney says, “Lila is very wise. She’s very strong. I believe that she is what draws her mother and grandmother back together again. They don’t have the best relationship and she tries to fix it.”