Letitia Wright on Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman, and 'Family Matters' | Screen Tests | W Magazine

In this Screen Tests interview, British-Guyanese actress Letitia Wright talks about how she got the role of Shuri in 'Black Panther', falling in love with Chadwick Boseman, the power of 'Wakanda Forever', her first big break as Chantelle in 'Top Boy' (which she compares to 'The Wire'), her favorite TV shows, her favorite toy, the struggle of leaving her friends and family behind in London for America, and her secret skill. On a rainy morning in May, Letitia Wright is sitting at the Odeon restaurant in downtown New York sipping whipped cream–topped hot chocolate and talking about Jesus. Narrow and wiry in sneakers and denim, her longer-in-the-front coif reminiscent of a ’90s skater dude (and, yes, she does actually skate), the 24-year-old actress could easily pass for 18. Wright—who is best known for her star-making turn as Princess Shuri in the Marvel movie cum cultural phenomenon Black Panther—radiates an almost preternatural serenity. In Guyana, where she was born and spent her early childhood surrounded by cousins, aunts, grannies, and a great granny, Hollywood wasn’t even on her radar. Wright’s mother was an accountant and teacher. Her father worked in agriculture and security. Wright wasted no time settling into Tottenham, diligently studying the working-class Londonese of her classmates (­muh-vah, bruh-vah) in an effort to fit in. “I would practice at home, to feel more accepted,” she says, “and that’s probably where the acting started.” At 12, she found accept