Lupita Nyong’o Admits Adjusting In America Was Difficult In The Beginning

 

Lupita Nyong’o was raised in Kenya with her five siblings, she was used to the backlash that actresses like Maheeda and Afrocandy get with their ‘special’ lifestyle in Africa because a lot of things are still not taken for granted, however, coming to America, Lupita was shocked to see freedom in every aspect of life that it was difficult for her to adjust in the beginning as a student of film and theatre studies, there was this restriction that she had over the years in America because the culture of Africa were still holding her bonds until she was able to get used to the American life.

She said “I thrive on structure. I find my freedom in structure. It was very hard to adjust to an individualistic and very liberal system. I mean, my upbringing, I would iron my clothes every night. I would plan what I wore the night before, and then I would iron it. That’s just the way my mom raised us. Then I got to Hampshire, where clothing is sometimes optional and all this kind of thing. I was mortified.”

How did this Kenyan girl land a role in 12 Years A Slave? After graduation, Ralph Fiennes gave her an advice :”[Ralph] asked me what I wanted to do with my life, and I very timidly admitted that I was interested in being an actor,” she explained.
“He sighed and said, ‘If there’s something else that you want to do, do that. Only act if you feel you can’t live without it.’ It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but it was the thing I needed to hear.”She followed this advice and got the role. It was crazy when she got the role… I wanted to bask in the sun and take in the last 24 hours, wrap my head around what had just happened,” she mused. “I sat on the pavement, immediately terrified and intimidated by the entire thing.”