She may not be the new 007, but she sure knows how to pack a punch. Whether belting out an emotional ballad or pushing physical limits doing her own stunts, Lashana Lynch can do it all.
You may know Lashana Lynch from her action-packed roles in No Time To Die, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness or The Marvels, wielding enough muscle power and stamina to give even The Hulk a run for his money.
She dominated the screen as Izogie in 2022’s The Woman King, playing an elite African warrior, a role in which she performed her own stunts and trained like she never had before. But while the British-Jamaican actor’s athleticism and physical roles may dominate her CV, she is also proving to be a versatile actor.
No time for scraped knees
Her role as Nomi, the new 007 agent in the final Daniel Craig instalment of the James Bond franchise, was the first in which she pushed personal and physical boundaries as an actor.
Many believed, based on that performance, that she would become the first female 007 (taking the reins from Craig) but she quickly laid any rumours to rest. In an interview with The Guardian, she explained the purpose of Nomi: to create a perception that anyone could be James Bond… even if it wasn’t her.
“With Bond, it could be a man or woman. They could be white, black, Asian, mixed race. They could be young or old. At the end of the day, even if a two-year-old was playing Bond, everyone would flock to the cinema to see what this two-year-old’s gonna do, no?” Playing Nomi and working on the character’s dialogue with Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge opened Lashana to the possibility of playing characters that were filled with as much soul as grit.
“I said I want her to be a real woman, I don’t want her work to make her masculine. She’s not too slick. She has it together, she’s highly competent and very skilled, but she’s a real human being and sometimes she’s awkward.”
In real life, Lashana is far from awkward. She’s an animated talker with a voice as big as her stature (1.74 metres tall), which made her a top choice to play a skilled African warrior. The female Dora Milaje warriors of Wakanda in Black Panther were inspired by the real-life Agojie warriors of Dahomey in West Africa, which are depicted in The Woman King. Rarely before had black women been portrayed on screen quite like this, and the two films represented a turning point in popular culture.
Lashana’s performance as Igozie was critically acclaimed, especially her ability to bring oral tradition to speaking soliloquies with elegance and ease, delivering each line with profound connection to the film’s story and African history.
“There was a different level of dedication that was required to really throw ourselves in, to the point where we don’t recognise ourselves. And it was really incredible to look around the set and see this group of women whose bodies were capable of something we couldn’t quite understand,” she told the LA Times.
Lashana posted behind-the-scenes footage of her practising her fight scenes and peak machete skills on dummies – and still posts gym inspiration to never skip leg day… or arm, back and chest day either.
A softer side
Laying down her shield, handgun and warrior face-paint to play one of the most beloved, down-to-earth characters may seem near impossible. But playing Miss Honey in the Netflix adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda (a role most famously portrayed by SA-born Embeth Davidtz in 1996) was a testament to Lashana’s versatility.
Here, we saw her belt out sweet songs with a voice as captivating as any one of her stunts. She told Entertainment Weekly that it was only when a queer friend gushed about how much they loved Miss Honey that she realised how popular the character was.
“When there’s a character that is beloved, that represents everything to you and can speak to all people, all races, all sexes, all walks of life, then that is the perfect character.”
Although it may seem a little leftfield for the seemingly Amazonian actor, Lashana grew up loving music, singing and acting in musicals when she was younger. So, for her to receive the call to play Rita Marley in the new Bob Marley biopic was a huge honour, especially being the child of Jamaican parents.
“I’m always so charged after a role, but this, as an artist, as an emotional being, as a melanated woman and as a Jamaican… to use the word ‘changed’ would be an understatement,” she said in an Instagram caption when she announced the role.
It took some persuading to get everyone on board with the casting choice of herself and Kingsley Ben-Adir playing Bob Marley (a big leap from playing a version of Ken in Barbie!), but they won the votes of the Marley family, including Rita herself.
Although Bob Marley is most known for his music, his and Rita’s love story is timeless and essential to his life story, so it was not easy for the film’s executives to cast the lead roles. It took several screen tests and chemistry reads between Lashana and Kingsley.
Given Lashana’s rolling success over the past few years, and with the history of awards success we see from biopics, we’re expecting to see her name on the nominees’ list at the Golden Globes and Oscars very soon.
Words by: Saadiqah Schroeder
Photography: Gallo/Getty Images
