Letitia Wright, African Actress, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN

Letitia Wright on Her ‘Instinctual’ Approach to ‘Black Panther’ | WWD

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Letitia Wright on Her ‘Instinctual’ Approach to ‘Black Panther’ | WWD



[dropcap]Letitia[/dropcap] Wright was never a fan of comic books. A Guyana native turned Londoner, the “Humans” actress spent much of her childhood indoors, keeping to herself and surfing the Internet for movies to pass the time. She became hooked on the 2003 dance flick “Honey” — “I came home and did all the dance routines in all the scenes” — and “Like Mike” — “I asked my mom to buy the shoes because I wanted to be [Bow Wow]” — but it wasn’t until she watched Keke Palmer and Angela Bassett in “Akeelah and the Bee” that she realized just how much she wanted to act.

Fast forward 11 years and Wright, 23, is starring alongside Bassett in Marvel’s latest superhero film, “Black Panther,” due out February 2018. She plays Princess Shuri, the half-sister of T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and eventual Queen of Wakanda. Though she knew nothing of the character originally, Wright was knowledgeable enough about the film industry to recognize that the role could be her biggest yet.
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Letitia Wright, African Actress, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNPhoto | Joel Barhamand


Guyana is a sovereign state on the northern mainland of South America. It is, however, included in the Caribbean Region due to its strong cultural, historical, and political ties with other Anglo Caribbean countries and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Suriname to the east and Venezuela to the west. With 215,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the fourth-smallest country on mainland South America after Uruguay, Suriname and French Guiana (an overseas region of France).

The region known as “the Guianas” consists of the large shield landmass north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River known as the “land of many waters”. Originally inhabited by several indigenous groups, Guyana was settled by the Dutch before coming under British control in the late 18th century. It was governed as British Guiana, with mostly a plantation style economy until the 1950s. It gained independence in 1966, and officially became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. The legacy of British rule is reflected in the country’s political administration and diverse population, which includes Indian, African, Amerindian, and multiracial groups.

Guyana is the only South American nation in which English is the official language. The majority of the population, however, speak Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole language, as a first language. In addition to being part of the Anglophone Caribbean, Guyana is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island in the West Indies. CARICOM, of which Guyana is a member, is headquartered in Guyana’s capital and largest city, Georgetown. In 2008, the country joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member. (Wikipedia).