Whether she’s riding her skateboard, playing video games, or indulging at the movies, Letitia Wright—who plays Shuri in the new Black Panther—likes to keep things interesting.
Age: 24.
Lives in: London.
You know her from: TV shows like Black Mirror (2017) and Doctor Who (2015).
What do you do in your downtime? Skateboarding! But I don’t do any tricks—except for an ollie [a move that involves leaping into the air, board and all, without using your hands]. When I’m not working, I skateboard, and when I’m working, I don’t. You sign a contract, so if you break your legs, that’s not good.
Teach us? The best place to practice skateboarding: not fully in public, so no one makes fun of you. If you can balance your weight on the board, and you know how to lean your weight from left to right, and you can turn and stop easily, you should be fine. And you need to have your kneepads on, and all that protective stuff, until you get confident enough. And if you break anything, I’m not responsible!
"The best place to practice skateboarding: not fully in public, so no one makes fun of you."
Snack time? Pick ’n’ mix. [That’s Brit speak for bulk candy.] You pick the sweets—chocolate, gummy bears, you name it—then you mix them up together. It’s the best thing in the world! And in London, we like sweet popcorn. Every time I ask for sweet popcorn at a movie theater in the U.S., they look at me like I’m crazy. I’m like, “What are you talking about? You just have butter?”
Game on? I haven’t played the video game Tekken in a long time, but that’s a game that I really, really like. When I was 12 or 13, my older cousins wouldn’t want me to play, because I’m a girl, but I’d win all the time. I picked any character who was a shirtless guy with muscles.
Follow her: @letitiawright.
