At the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Film Awards ceremony, Letitia Wright gave an emotional speech about her path to stardom. She revealed how her struggles with depression almost convinced her to give up her acting career.
Last night, Wright won BAFTA’s Rising Star Award for her wonderful performances in various acting roles like Black Panther , Avengers: Infinity War , and Black Mirror according to BBC .
In a speech that no doubt surprised many of her fans, she revealed that a few years ago she nearly gave up on acting after having suffered “a deep state of depression”.
“The only thing that pulled me out of it was God, my belief, my faith and my family, and an email from BAFTA asking me to become part of the BAFTA Breakthrough Brits,” she reveals in her speech.
Wright’s inclusion in BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brits was in 2015 and from the sound of it was perfect timing to keep her motivated to keep trying. Since then, she’s gone on to build a solid career via the Marvel films and is attracting a loyal following for her acting skills and publicly demonstrating her faith in God.
According to Wright, the path back from her depression was a long one and it’s something she’s still struggling with.
“This wasn’t an overnight thing, this wasn’t a click of a finger success, and I’m still a work in progress, but I want to thank God, my family, my team… I want to thank everybody who said yes to me, that gave me a chance, and just saw my talent and saw what God placed in me, and said ‘yes’.”
During her heartfelt speech Wright told the audience that she wants to support other young people who may be struggling with their own problems with depression.
“..I want to encourage you – anyone going through a hard time… God made you and you’re important, there might be some of you here who might be going through a hard time. I just want to encourage you and God loves you. Just let your light shine.”
After the speech, she gave further details on her struggles with depression and commitment to acting, saying it took many “years of hard work and dedication and picking myself back up.”
It’s hard to think that Wright was so close to quitting her acting career just before she would land her iconic role as a brilliant young scientist in the Marvel film series. It’s impossible to imagine anyone else filling those shoes. Many fans are excited for her to reprise her role on the big screen again in the upcoming movie Avengers: Endgame set to release on April 26.