Prior to a few months ago, you may have been hard-pressed to think of black female characters in superhero stories outside of X-Men’s Storm. Like plenty of other genres, action and superhero film categories haven’t historically been the most representative places for black women, and women of colour – let alone giving them much space to thrive as leading, important parts of the narrative.
However, recent releases have given us a boost of hope to see black women presented as just as, if not more, capable of saving the world from destruction as their male counterparts: Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie made her glittering debut in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, while Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright and a host of other black actresses made Black Panther a visual feast of strong, self-sufficient black women.
And now, Marvel has given us another example of the power of inclusion in the form of Deadpool 2‘s Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, best-known for her work on FX comedy series Atlanta. Bad-ass and effortlessly cool, Domino has the makings of a modern classic hero – with the potential to make the star of actress Beetz, shine even brighter than before.
We caught up with Zazie Beetz to find out her feelings toward the role, as well as the importance of others seeing her in prominent roles with her proudly natural hair…
Hi Zazie! So, what does it mean to you to be one of our only black female superheroes?
Zazie Beetz: It’s a huge, huge honour – originating a character. It’s also an honour to also very much shape the look of the character, as her comic book appearance is different from my look, so I really felt strongly about really wanting to do justice for the comic book fans, and the black female community. We too are strong and intelligent and can be viable for roles like this as well.
Seeing Black Panther was a huge shift in the media realising what is marketable. What they didn’t think was marketable before, it completely blew everything out of the water and it was also a fantastic film. As people realise that, hopefully there’ll be a change in what we’re given to watch?
We too are strong and intelligent and can be viable for roles like this as well.
Deadpool 2 looked like so much fun to film – what were some of your favourite on set moments?
ZB: I really loved developing the look for Domino – me and the makeup artist, Monica [Huppert, makeup department head] who I love so much – we spent weeks going back and forth, saying ‘should we do this, or that?’ It was a cool creative process. Also, playing with Ryan [Reynolds] – the scene that I get introduced is super fun, super easy. We had a great time bantering and riffing off of each other, and that was super fun to shoot.
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool
It’s so rare to see a natural haired black woman in films like this, as well as in mainstream TV. As far as the public have seen, you’re always rocking your natural hair; is this an intentional creative decision from you, or more of a coincidence?
ZB: It’s both – I think… first and foremost, it’s about the character. What would the character do? I don’t think my hair would work for every single character I play in the future – different people need different things. But, it is definitely something that is very important to me. It’s very personal, my personal relationship with my hair, but also there’s importance in being able to represent, or offer my look as another option of accepting yourself, liking yourself.
It’s remarkable that people have already, from the little influence and platform that I have right now, have personally come up to me and said that I have really changed how they wear their hair, and how they see themselves. It’s really cool to realise that those choices really do have an impact – even with Domino, even if younger children aren’t necessarily watching the movie, they’re seeing the posters, and seeing that having hair like mine and being in a role like this is an option. Myself as a child, I didn’t get to see that as an option. So it is important to me, but it’s important to honour the story and the character first.
Let’s talk Atlanta – you play Van, who is again, a strong, ‘take-no-mess’ kinda girl. Do you draw on your own life and personality to portray her?
ZB: Yes and no. I think that she is a little more of an amplified version of myself. I think she, in certain ways, her situation in life, has had a tougher go at it. She’s had to demand respect in a way that she otherwise wouldn’t have had to, in order to receive it. She’s had to be incredibly strong, in terms of defining and asking for respect from Earn [played by Donald Glover] in particular, but some of her peers as well. I’m generally non-contentious, but if someone is disrespecting me, I won’t accept it.
Zazie Beetz and Ents & Features Editor, Nicole
Deadpool 2 is going to be massive. Have you had moments of realisation that everything might get really massive for you from now on?
ZB: I’ve had that multiple times. I come into a little bit of a panic, and then I’ll come out of it – but n ow I think, I’m just going to have a good time with it. The choices have been made, so I might as well enjoy everything that I can about it and have this very unique experience. It’s something I never thought would really actualise in the way that it has.
My boyfriend and I talk a lot about what’s gonna change, and how our lives will change and how it’s not something we can go back on. Crossing this bridge that’s burning behind us – we can’t ever go back, y’know? And it’s terrifying, honestly. I’m very, very nervous about it, but I also think about, in a way, I entered this industry and I wanted to be successful in terms of I wanted to tell stories and I wanted to act. Success in entertainment comes with a certain amount of notoriety, and a certain amount of higher profile things. You go into it knowing that this version of life is a possibility, so you’re semi-prepared, but also you don’t know how things change until they start happening to you.
Deadpool 2 is in cinemas nationwide now
