Thandiwe Newton was very moved to receive the tribute reserved for her by the Deauville Festival and by listening to the vibrant speech reserved for her by Julie Gayet. “It was a highlight in my career, like the consecration of years of work,” says the star of the series Westworld at 20 minutes.
Thandiwe Newton believes that cinema “can change the world” (pronounced Tande-aie-vi “) has abandoned her first name of Thandie, which she adopted at the start of her career, to take up the one given to her by her mother from Zimbabwe. “It would have been unthinkable a few years ago, says the 49-year-old actress, but today, diversity is much more accepted. Hollywood is experiencing a peaceful revolution. »
She doesn’t let herself be walked on her boots
The actress is all the more delighted that she suffered sexual abuse on one of her first shoots when she was only 16 years old. “It took me a long time to admit that I had been assaulted, she specifies, but when I understood it, I knew that things had to change so that no young actress found herself again. exposed like this. Thandiwe Newton then committed herself to the protection of women and the visibility of blacks in cinema. “When I started, there was no one to assert my rights,” she recalls. Directors were seen as demi-gods and producers as deities in their own right. It was unimaginable not to obey them. »
In Deauville, the actress presented God’s Country by Julian Higgins where she plays a teacher who does not allow herself to be walked on in a small mountain town. “Creators like Jordan Peele have contributed a lot to promoting a change in mentalities, she insists. I would never have been able to play a first role of this type before he took over genre cinema to reveal to the general public a positive image of blacks. For Thandiwe, the struggle is over at least for now. “I think I’ve achieved what I wanted, but I practice Ubuntu, a concept of brotherhood and humanity that involves changing yourself to help others evolve. »
After the final season of Westworld, she will participate in another series still kept secret that she describes as a “big project” and continue her work as a producer. “Cinema is instructive because it allows for vicarious experiences and can help change the world. No doubt Thandiwe Newton is helping to make it better.