'Black Panther' star Letitia Wright says she wants to be 'someone of inspiration' to girls
“Black Panther” has made over $1 billion at the global box office after only being in theaters less than one month. While members of the all-star cast each had stellar moments in the film, newcomer Letitia Wright steals every scene.
Wright, who plays the role of Shuri, sister to the Black Panther, talked to ABC News about the character, her thoughts on being considered a role model, and she even dished on her first meeting with co-star Chadwick Boseman.
“When I first met him, I fell in love with my brother. I knew that his soul and mine connected in that sense where we had each other’s backs,” Wright said in a recent appearance on "Popcorn with Peter Travers."
"So those scenes on set were so much fun. Even when the cameras were off, I would still be practicing how I’m going to pick on him. It’s just a natural connection that you guys can see.”
The 24-year-old went on to mention how she views Shuri as an "everyday girl" who is a princess but "also passionate about her country."
Then host Peter Travers asked Wright how it felt to know that many young girls, particularly African American girls, would now look to her as a role model after seeing her in the film depicted as this brilliant, tech guru.
“What I would love, instead of being a role model, is being someone of inspiration,” said Wright. “If I can be of inspiration to anyone to go after their goals and their dreams, then I feel like I’ll be satisfied with that.”
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Beyond the film, Wright said that she was inspired by another young black actress to pursue a career in acting.
“I stumbled upon 'Akeelah and the Bee' with Keke Palmer. I obsessed over it. I bought the DVD. And I still have it to this day,” she told Travers. “She represented a young black girl that I didn’t see before. She represented me, and I wanted to do that in terms of acting. Now for Shuri, it’s like a full 360 of that moment where someone else can look at Shuri -- they can look at her and say, ‘she’s playing a scientist, someone who is into engineering and math and I want to be like that.' So hopefully that’s another full 360 for someone else.”
Even though Wright has found some acting success after the blockbuster film, at one point she said that she decided to give up her career.
“I was in difficult place. I was in a place where I wasn’t really happy. I didn’t have true happiness within myself. And that was following me for years,” she said. “It was just nagging at me to really find out where I could find real joy, real happiness, real peace. And I decided to stop acting and find my way with God and my relationship with God.”
She added, “I kind of started all over. I thought acting would not be in alignment with being a Christian. I was praying and I felt peace within my spirit to go back to acting. Then everything else that followed is the result, such as Shuri.”
“Black Panther” is in theaters everywhere.
Be sure to watch the full interview with Peter Travers and Letitia Wright in the video above.
ABC News and Marvel are both owned by parent company Disney.
