British filmmaker Steve McQueen, says Lupita Nyong’o, was her “gate of destiny.” He cast the then unknown actress in his 2013 film “12 Years a Slave.” She played Patsey, who is defenseless at the mercy of a sadistic plantation owner (Michael Fassbender). Even Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), born a free man in the north of the USA and taken into slavery in the south, cannot help her. It was Lupita Nyong’o’s first film role, and it catapulted her straight to the top of Hollywood. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, the film won the main trophy at the time, and precisely because its depiction of cruelty is difficult to stomach, it is still considered one of the most important about slavery a decade later.
Lupita Nyong’o: An Oscar winner for the Berlinale jury – Culture
