“I never knew, but I’m glad.”
For many LGBTQ fans ofMatilda,the kindly Miss Honey signaled a queer awakening.
She then turned to one of her friends for more information.
Dan Smith/Netflix
“One of my queer friends said to me after I got cast, ‘Oh my gosh.
She was like my gay icon when I was growing up,'” Lynch recounts.
“And I was like, ‘Tell me more.
Dan Smith/Netflix
What did you see?
Do I need to be aware of anything?'”
That’s really special.
That’s a secret weapon.
“It’s really special,” Lynch concludes.
“I never knew, but I’m glad.”
Have you always been a singer?
LASHANA LYNCH: I grew up singing and acting separately.
Musicals came later in life.
The appreciation came from watching musicals throughout school and drama school and learning more about it.
How did this come your way then?
I was confused as to how they’d thought of me and why.
I haven’t sung in a long time, even though I sang before I acted.
Not many people in the industry know that.
And then I went in and sang in a glass COVID-safe box.
Then he called me directly to offer me the role, which was wonderful.
It all happened really fast, but it was wonderful.
It caught me by surprise.
Had you grown up withMatildaorRoald Dahlat all?
Yes.Matildawas one of my favorite books.James And The Giant Peachwas also.
I loved the film as well.
I watched it back to back, andMatildawas one of the books that I reread as a child.
There’s specific books that you reread, and that was definitely one of them.
I was Matilda in my head.
Miss Honey was my queen in shining armor(laughs).
As she was for many people.
It rang true to me.
It’s like watching Disney princesses as a child and then becoming a Disney princess.
When would you ever imagine it?
It sounds like you were a true bookworm.
Well, Roald Dahl also doesn’t treat children with kid gloves.
People are genuinely terrible in his stories.
But what is it like playing the character that is the antithesis to that?
I’m of the belief that young minds are always more advanced than we think they are.
Just talk to us like a human being, and we can do normal human being things.
But at their tender age, they’re able to accomplish so much.
You’ve really been kicking butt on screen betweenCaptain MarvelandNo Time to Die.
Did this feel slower or challenging in a different way since it’s not stunt-driven?
Where a woman’s strength comes from, and where a Black woman’s strength comes from.
But it is perfect for what I had in mind.
To be able to go from roles that are so strong like Maria Rambeau or Nomi.
it’s possible for you to absolutely do that.
The casting makes Trunchbull’s abuse of Miss Honey more complex and insidious because you are a Black woman.
Was that something that you and Matthew andEmma Thompsondiscussed at all?
The good thing about remaking a film is that the story is going to always remain the story.
But one amazing thing that Matthew did was not discuss race.
That’s one beautifully subtle way of normalizing the humanization of Black women on screen.
You just put them on screen and tell the story.
Let the audience determine for themselves how and what they want to take from the character’s race.
But it doesn’t need to be a conversation.
I love that it wasn’t with her and with the students.
They were just seeing light and inspiration from this wonderful human being who saw them as human beings.
That’s exactly how we need to treat Black women in cinema.
What would you say was the most challenging aspect of this?
Was it the singing?
It’s between the singing and being in a heightened state of anxiety for months playing Miss Honey.
Her being in the mental state that she’s in for so long was a real challenge.
I always want to discuss mental health.
It’s really important to me to discuss that amongst young people as well.
It was a great opportunity to let that live comfortably in this story.
The singing I sang before I acted, so I was half comfortable.
But also we sang live.
We sang live every single note, on set every day.
Would you want to do another musical?
I would love to do another musical at some point in life.
I get itchy feet for new things really quickly.
Now I’ve done something vulnerable, a musical.
I want to slide into something else that’s going to challenge me.
But yes, at some point in life.
For now, a little bit more discomfort would be fab.
