Lupita Nyong’o On Her Mystery ‘Star Wars’ Character: ‘Her Eyes Are The Means To Her Magic’

Lupita Nyong’o captured everyone’s hearts in her performance in 12 Years a Slave, for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

12 YEARS A SLAVE | rel 8 Nov 2013 | dir. Steve McQueen | with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o & Michael Fassbender pic.twitter.com/YQXpok3teU

— On This Day In Film (@onthisdayinfilm) November 8, 2015

Prior to that, Lupita Nyong’o was a virtual unknown with hardly any acting credits to her name, but now that her rise to fame has been swift, she is in high demand. Her next big role is in none other than the new, eagerly awaited Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie, which is due out in theaters December 18. See the trailer here.

Entertainment Weekly took the time to talk about the new character, Maz Kanata, played by Lupita Nyong’o through the use of motion capture. It turns out the mystery character has been on the official movie poster the entire time, a little yellow creature wearing big goggles. According to J.J. Abrams, Maz wears goggles to hide her very special eyes.

“I had some specific ideas about how she would work and what she would do. I had this pitch about these goggles that she wore. Her eyes are an important aspect of her character, and you’ll see how it plays out.”

Entertainment Weekly also asked Lupita Nyong’o about her character. She wasn’t able to give any major details, but she did say the character has compelling traits.

“As an actor for films, your eyes are a lot of the way you communicate anyway. So it was definitely a gift to have that be the means to her magic as a motion-capture character.”

So, Lupita Nyong’o’s Star Wars character is a mysterious being with powerful eyes. But what else has Lupita been up to when she isn’t playing the part of a little yellow mystery? Deadline reports that the shining star will continue her work with Eclipsed, once it shifts to Broadway in February. Eclipsed was written by Danai Gurira, whom many may know as Michonne on The Walking Dead. It turns out Gurira is also a talented playwright and the co-author of In The Continuum.

As for Lupita Nyong’o, she plays the part of a young woman who becomes one of many “wives” that turn out to be sex slaves for the leader of a rebel band in the Liberian civil war. Currently, and through November 29, Eclipsed is running at the Public Theater.

There is no doubt that Lupita Nyong’o is a talented actor. She is also stunning in her beauty. According to the Hollywood Reporter, she is at the top of THR‘s list of Hollywood’s 25 Best Beauty Moments of 2015. Her beauty team consists of hairstylist Vernon Francois and makeup artist Nick Barose, and they get nervous for her – yes, she gets nervous, too, even though she looks confident – whenever she has to step out onto the red carpet. Photos of the star and her beauty team taken by the Hollywood Reporter were posted on Lupita’s Instagram account.

https://instagram.com/p/98-quZnuYw/

Hairstylist Francois talked about how close they are as a team.

“I get nervous for you every time. I’m like shaking and nervous and sweating out. We have a good connection between all of us, so when one person feels nervous we feel it through all of us.”

There is no doubt we will see Lupita Nyong’o on the red carpet and the Academy Awards stage many more times over the coming years. She is a rising star that has so very much to contribute to the movie industry. It’s exciting to see what type of role she will portray next and fans simply can’t get enough of her!

[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images]