WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.840 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're focusing 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:04.259 on one of the most compelling actors of our time, 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:07.440 someone whose career is this amazing tapestry 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.380 of identity, performance, and activism. We are 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:13.419 talking about Melanie Sandy Wayne Newton, OBE. 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:17.000 Yes, and our goal here, well, it's pretty specific. 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:19.839 We want to trace how her very unique background, 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:23.260 her journey, feeds directly into these incredible 00:00:23.260 --> 00:00:25.460 award -winning performances we've seen across 00:00:26.250 --> 00:00:29.190 Film, TV, the stage. And her activism, too, which 00:00:29.190 --> 00:00:31.429 feels inseparable from her work now. Absolutely 00:00:31.429 --> 00:00:34.409 inseparable. And key for you listening is understanding 00:00:34.409 --> 00:00:37.049 how all these pieces, her cultural identity, 00:00:37.270 --> 00:00:39.710 that academic background she has, her resilience, 00:00:39.909 --> 00:00:42.229 how they all lead up to this really significant 00:00:42.229 --> 00:00:44.270 moment recently where she reclaimed her original 00:00:44.270 --> 00:00:46.729 name. That name reclamation is such a powerful 00:00:46.729 --> 00:00:48.969 lens, isn't it? Because for, what, nearly 30 00:00:48.969 --> 00:00:51.149 years, the world knew her as Thandie Newton, 00:00:51.329 --> 00:00:53.530 kind of a simplified version. Right. The industry 00:00:53.530 --> 00:00:55.490 standard, you could say. Right. Easier to pronounce. 00:00:55.630 --> 00:00:58.149 maybe probably but then starting officially in 00:00:58.149 --> 00:01:00.950 2021 she made the move back back to her birth 00:01:00.950 --> 00:01:04.150 name fendi way which i learned means beloved 00:01:04.150 --> 00:01:07.250 in the munguni language that's beautiful it really 00:01:07.250 --> 00:01:09.290 is yeah and it puts a whole new frame around 00:01:09.290 --> 00:01:10.930 everything that came before doesn't it it's this 00:01:10.930 --> 00:01:13.750 public declaration but also deeply personal definitely 00:01:13.750 --> 00:01:17.280 and the list of achievements it reframes is Well, 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:19.719 it's huge. Oh, immense. We're talking a primetime 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:23.019 Emmy, a BAFTA award, multiple Golden Globes and 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:26.480 SAG nominations. And beyond acting, she was appointed 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:28.239 an officer of the Order of the British Empire, 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:32.060 the OBE, back in 2019. That was for services 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:34.920 to film and charity, which is telling. Exactly. 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:37.420 It shows that duality. She's operating at this 00:01:37.420 --> 00:01:40.680 like absolute peak of cultural influence, both 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:43.640 artistically and socially. So the big takeaway 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:45.579 I want you to get from this deep dive isn't just 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:48.260 a list of movies. It's about exploring these. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:51.799 Almost like deep connections between her personal 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:54.859 story, feeling like an outsider, navigating these 00:01:54.859 --> 00:01:56.840 dual identities and how that consciously shaped 00:01:56.840 --> 00:01:59.099 the role she chose. Yeah, the iconic ones. Sometimes 00:01:59.099 --> 00:02:01.200 the really controversial ones, too. How does 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:02.959 someone go from feeling like, as she put it, 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:07.060 an anomaly in their own town to embodying these 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:09.979 incredibly complex global characters? That's 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:11.560 the journey we want to map, that resilience, 00:02:11.699 --> 00:02:14.460 that self -definition. And to really get it, 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:16.300 you have to start at the beginning. You have 00:02:16.300 --> 00:02:18.419 to look at the roots. Okay, let's unpack that 00:02:18.419 --> 00:02:22.520 origin story, which right away has layers. And 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:26.180 the name itself, the history there. Right. First 00:02:26.180 --> 00:02:28.080 thing, let's clear up that common misconception 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:30.919 about where she was born. Melanie Thandie Newton 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:34.620 was born November 6, 1972, but in Westminster, 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:37.979 London. Not in Africa, as some reports used to 00:02:37.979 --> 00:02:39.919 say. But the confusion makes sense, doesn't it? 00:02:39.939 --> 00:02:42.620 Because her parents' lives were very much centered 00:02:42.620 --> 00:02:46.419 there. Completely. Her mother... is Zimbabwean 00:02:46.419 --> 00:02:48.780 from a Shona chieftaincy family, which is, you 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:51.180 know, significant heritage. Her father is English. 00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:53.379 And at the time she was born, they were actually 00:02:53.379 --> 00:02:55.879 living in Zambia. Ah, so the London birth was 00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:58.319 during a visit. Exactly. She's confirmed it was 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:00.240 just a short, like, two -week trip back to England. 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:02.520 They went back to Zambia pretty quickly, and 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:04.159 her younger brother was actually born there later. 00:03:04.300 --> 00:03:07.139 So she's British, holds that citizenship, but 00:03:07.139 --> 00:03:10.319 her very early years, her family context was 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:12.699 deeply Southern African. That duality again. 00:03:13.310 --> 00:03:15.870 British and African, right from the start. And 00:03:15.870 --> 00:03:18.530 that feeling, that sort of in -between -ness, 00:03:18.710 --> 00:03:21.110 must have become even stronger when the family 00:03:21.110 --> 00:03:23.310 moved back to England permanently. She was only 00:03:23.310 --> 00:03:25.449 three, I think. Yeah, about three. They settled 00:03:25.449 --> 00:03:28.530 in Penzance and Cornwall. Her dad ran the family 00:03:28.530 --> 00:03:31.629 antiques business there. And the picture painted 00:03:31.629 --> 00:03:34.789 of her childhood there is... It sounds quite 00:03:34.789 --> 00:03:36.930 isolating. It really does. She's spoken about 00:03:36.930 --> 00:03:38.590 it very directly. She said, from about the age 00:03:38.590 --> 00:03:41.370 of five, I was aware that I didn't fit. And then 00:03:41.370 --> 00:03:44.610 she specifies, I was the black atheist kid in 00:03:44.610 --> 00:03:47.150 the all -white Catholic school run by nuns. I 00:03:47.150 --> 00:03:50.969 was an anomaly. Anomaly. Wow, that's a powerful, 00:03:51.110 --> 00:03:53.150 quite brutal word to use about your childhood 00:03:53.150 --> 00:03:55.430 self. It is. And you can immediately see how 00:03:55.430 --> 00:03:58.409 that experience, that early... painful sense 00:03:58.409 --> 00:04:01.129 of being other could fuel an actor's empathy 00:04:01.129 --> 00:04:03.729 for characters who are also outsiders or navigating 00:04:03.729 --> 00:04:06.110 hostile systems. It's critical context. Absolutely 00:04:06.110 --> 00:04:09.389 foundational. And the name itself, Thandie, carries 00:04:09.389 --> 00:04:12.710 all that heritage. Nunguni origin, meaning beloved. 00:04:13.129 --> 00:04:15.789 Such a rich name. So how did it become Thandie? 00:04:16.009 --> 00:04:18.430 Well, as she started her career, socially and 00:04:18.430 --> 00:04:22.550 professionally, that W sound got dropped. Thandie 00:04:22.550 --> 00:04:25.680 is just... phonetically simpler for English speakers, 00:04:25.819 --> 00:04:28.600 I suppose. Easier to say, easier to spell, the 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.560 path of least resistance, maybe. Possibly. And 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:33.759 that's the name we all knew for decades. But 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:37.079 then 2021 hits. And she makes the announcement 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:40.160 she's going back to Thandie, starting with the 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.379 film Reminiscence. Yeah, and she even talked 00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:45.000 about wanting to correct her past credits where 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.720 possible, which tells you this isn't just like 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:50.410 a... casual preference no it feels like a statement 00:04:50.410 --> 00:04:53.209 or reclaiming of identity taking back control 00:04:53.209 --> 00:04:56.129 from maybe how the industry simplified her back 00:04:56.129 --> 00:04:58.949 to the name that means beloved it's profound 00:04:58.949 --> 00:05:02.050 a really powerful active agency before all the 00:05:02.050 --> 00:05:04.730 acting though she built this really solid academic 00:05:04.730 --> 00:05:07.709 base which looking back now seems almost like 00:05:07.709 --> 00:05:10.069 preparation right she studied dance initially 00:05:10.069 --> 00:05:12.209 at tring park school for the performing arts 00:05:12.209 --> 00:05:14.899 but then she went to cambridge Downing College. 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:17.560 And studied social anthropology, graduating in 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:21.939 1995. That social anthropology degree. Honestly, 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:23.579 I think that's one of the most revealing details 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:26.019 about her. It's not just trivia. It feels like 00:05:26.019 --> 00:05:28.540 it informs everything. How so? What's the connection 00:05:28.540 --> 00:05:30.740 you see? Well, think about what an anthropologist 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:34.040 does. They analyze culture, social structures, 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:37.720 power dynamics, how identity is constructed and 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:41.180 performed in different contexts. Ah, okay. That's 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:43.060 basically an actor's job description, too, isn't 00:05:43.060 --> 00:05:45.120 it? Pretty much. It's like the perfect theoretical 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:48.680 training. If you're trained to dissect the cultural 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:51.800 framework, the historical weight, the systemic 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:54.519 pressures surrounding a character, you're not 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:56.300 just learning lines. You're understanding the 00:05:56.300 --> 00:05:58.620 whole system they operate in. Exactly. You're 00:05:58.620 --> 00:06:01.360 equipped to embody not just a person, but their 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:04.259 entire context, especially for characters who 00:06:04.259 --> 00:06:07.620 are marginalized or complex or defined by the 00:06:07.620 --> 00:06:09.819 structures around them. It's uncanny preparation. 00:06:10.459 --> 00:06:12.319 Let's see how that translates into those early 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:14.060 roles then, because you said there was a pattern. 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:16.500 Yeah, definitely a pattern. When you look at 00:06:16.500 --> 00:06:19.339 her first major Hollywood roles, she's often 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:21.860 cast in these historically heavy, culturally 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:25.019 fraught or really vulnerable parts. It echoes 00:06:25.019 --> 00:06:27.680 that anomaly experience in a way. So walk me 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:29.639 through it. Her debut was flirting, right? Yeah, 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.220 flirting in 91. An Australian film, actually, 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:34.000 with Nicole Kidman. They became friends way back 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:36.199 then. But very quickly after that, she jumps 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:38.680 into these intense, often controversial historical 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:41.170 pieces. Interview with the Vampire. Exactly. 00:06:41.189 --> 00:06:44.670 1994, playing the enslaved character Yvette opposite 00:06:44.670 --> 00:06:47.009 Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. I mean, huge names, 00:06:47.089 --> 00:06:49.250 huge production. And then just a year later, 00:06:49.310 --> 00:06:52.889 1995, she plays Sally Hemings in Merchant Ivory's 00:06:52.889 --> 00:06:57.170 Jefferson in Paris. Wow. Sally Hemings. Thomas 00:06:57.170 --> 00:06:59.410 Jefferson's enslaved mistress. That's incredibly 00:06:59.410 --> 00:07:02.569 complex territory for a young actress. Immense 00:07:02.569 --> 00:07:05.170 historical trauma in both roles. She wasn't easing 00:07:05.170 --> 00:07:07.149 in with light comedies. Right out of the gate, 00:07:07.170 --> 00:07:09.189 she's taking on characters representing the deep 00:07:09.189 --> 00:07:11.449 history of black women's oppression and exploitation. 00:07:11.970 --> 00:07:15.850 It demands enormous emotional depth and, well, 00:07:15.970 --> 00:07:18.290 that anthropological understanding of power and 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:20.670 subjugation. Which must have led directly to 00:07:20.670 --> 00:07:23.589 Beloved. Absolutely. That feels like the culmination 00:07:23.589 --> 00:07:27.339 of that early phase. 1998, Jonathan Demme directing 00:07:27.339 --> 00:07:29.720 the adaptation of Toni Morrison's masterpiece. 00:07:30.100 --> 00:07:32.300 And she's the title character beloved. Opposite 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:34.839 Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover. Playing the ghost 00:07:34.839 --> 00:07:37.040 of a child killed by her own mother to escape 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:39.040 slavery. I mean, the emotional weight of that 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:41.540 role is almost unimaginable. It's got to be one 00:07:41.540 --> 00:07:43.980 of the most demanding literary roles ever put 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:47.180 on film. Requires such vulnerability, such depth, 00:07:47.339 --> 00:07:50.360 conveying that... trauma and that kind of supernatural 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:53.100 presence. And holding her own opposite Oprah, 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:55.860 who was so invested in that project. You proved 00:07:55.860 --> 00:07:58.279 she could handle immense thematic weight, command 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:00.759 the screen. It really cemented her reputation 00:08:00.759 --> 00:08:03.959 for tackling these profoundly complex, often 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:06.300 heartbreaking characters. But then a complete 00:08:06.300 --> 00:08:09.199 swerve. Right. The classic actor moved to avoid 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:11.600 typecasting. After the intensity of Beloved, 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:13.600 she jumped straight into a massive blockbuster, 00:08:13.800 --> 00:08:18.139 Mission Impossible 2 in 2000. Opposite Tom Cruise 00:08:18.139 --> 00:08:20.639 again. From Toni Morrison to high octane action. 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:23.459 That's quite a leap. A calculated one, I think. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:27.680 Moving from that highbrow literary prestige world 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:31.649 to, you know, pure global. action spectacle. 00:08:31.889 --> 00:08:33.789 It wasn't just about showing physical range. 00:08:33.929 --> 00:08:36.029 It was a strategic statement. Showing she could 00:08:36.029 --> 00:08:40.350 anchor a massive budget film, be bankable. Exactly. 00:08:40.830 --> 00:08:43.330 Handle the demands of a $100 million plus movie, 00:08:43.490 --> 00:08:46.250 become an international star. It broadened her 00:08:46.250 --> 00:08:48.250 scope massively. But interestingly, around the 00:08:48.250 --> 00:08:50.129 same time, she also did a much smaller film. 00:08:50.210 --> 00:08:52.389 Yeah, that's right. It was an accident also in 00:08:52.389 --> 00:08:55.169 2000. A low budget British film written by old 00:08:55.169 --> 00:08:57.490 Parker, who she was married to then. And the 00:08:57.490 --> 00:09:00.429 story is she chose that over a role in Charlie's 00:09:00.429 --> 00:09:03.429 Angels, the Lucy Liu role. That's what the sources 00:09:03.429 --> 00:09:06.409 confirm. And that decision, I think, really shows 00:09:06.409 --> 00:09:08.769 her core philosophy. She's willing to balance 00:09:08.769 --> 00:09:11.490 the huge commercial projects with smaller, maybe 00:09:11.490 --> 00:09:13.730 more personal or artistically driven independent 00:09:13.730 --> 00:09:16.549 films. Loyalty, artistic preference. It shows 00:09:16.549 --> 00:09:18.710 she's making deliberate choices, not just chasing 00:09:18.710 --> 00:09:21.110 the biggest paycheck. Definitely. It reveals 00:09:21.110 --> 00:09:22.830 an actor who's constantly thinking about her 00:09:22.830 --> 00:09:25.070 path, her visibility, the kind of work she wants 00:09:25.070 --> 00:09:27.419 to do. Okay, so that brings us into what you 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:30.259 called the BAFTA era. This is where it gets really 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:32.179 interesting, you said, where she tackles basically 00:09:32.179 --> 00:09:35.320 every genre. Yeah, this period, roughly the early 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:38.559 2000s to the mid -2010s, is where he just explodes 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:41.600 across the board. Ensemble dramas, biopics, sci 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:44.480 -fi. She's everywhere and getting major recognition. 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:47.059 An absolute cornerstone of this has to be Crash, 00:09:47.299 --> 00:09:50.759 right? 2004. Oh, without a doubt, Crash. Her 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:53.299 role as Christine Thayer is pivotal in that ensemble 00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:55.720 piece about race and class in L .A. That film 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:58.580 is such a phenomenon. Divisive, maybe, but huge. 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:00.860 Huge. And her performance got her the BAFTA for 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:03.080 Best Supporting Actress. A massive win. Plus 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:06.360 SAG nominations. Her character, Christine. She's 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:09.019 this affluent black woman married to the DA trying 00:10:09.019 --> 00:10:11.559 to navigate these complex social codes. And then 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:13.860 comes that absolutely brutal scene with Matt 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:16.279 Dillon's character, the racist cop. Incredibly 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:18.759 uncomfortable, powerful scene. And what's brilliant 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:20.720 about her performance, even within the film's 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:23.720 controversial politics, is the subtlety. She's 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:25.919 not just playing victimhood. She's playing someone 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:28.620 who's carefully constructed identity, her wealth, 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:32.299 her status is just ripped away by raw prejudice 00:10:32.299 --> 00:10:34.879 and systemic violence. That anthropological lens 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:37.879 again, seeing the identity shattered by the system. 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.100 I think so. It's a performance of identity under 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:43.240 duress, not just pain. perfectly suited to her 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:45.100 skills. And she kept showing that versatility. 00:10:45.340 --> 00:10:47.259 She was in the pursuit of happiness with Will 00:10:47.259 --> 00:10:50.559 Smith in 2006. Yep. And then she took on probably 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:52.960 one of her most high stakes roles, Condoleezza 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:56.100 Rice. And Oliver Stone's W, the George W. Bush 00:10:56.100 --> 00:10:59.940 biopic from 2008. Wow. Playing a living, incredibly 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:02.220 powerful and controversial political figure. 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:04.519 Talk about pressure, especially in an Oliver 00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:06.539 Stone film, which you know is going to be political, 00:11:06.700 --> 00:11:08.960 probably critical. How do you even approach that? 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:11.139 Especially someone like Rice, who had such a 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:14.320 specific, controlled public persona. Well, this 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:16.039 is where I think that Cambridge training comes 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:18.240 in again. You're not just doing an impersonation. 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.240 You have to analyze the role Rice played within 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:23.440 that administration's power structure. Understand 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:25.879 the context, the performance of power itself. 00:11:26.139 --> 00:11:29.019 Exactly. The neutrality she had to project, the 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:31.919 historical weight. of being the first black female 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:35.179 secretary of state, the constraints. It's about 00:11:35.179 --> 00:11:38.539 embodying the figure within their specific high 00:11:38.539 --> 00:11:41.580 -pressure system. It speaks volumes about her 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:43.980 intellectual approach to acting. And while doing 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:46.340 these intense dramas and biopics, she's still 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:48.820 in huge sci -fi and action films. Yep, keeping 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:52.120 that blockbuster presence alive. Dane Vocko in 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:54.639 The Chronicles of Riddick in 2004. And she played 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:56.919 the U .S. president's daughter in the disaster 00:11:56.919 --> 00:12:00.269 movie... 2012 and 2009. Plus a major recurring 00:12:00.269 --> 00:12:03.669 role on TV. Right. Don't forget ER. From 2003 00:12:03.669 --> 00:12:07.549 to 2009, she played Makemba Kemligasu, John Carter's 00:12:07.549 --> 00:12:09.850 love interest. It's a long run on a master show. 00:12:09.990 --> 00:12:11.850 Giving her space to develop a character over 00:12:11.850 --> 00:12:14.330 years, not just a couple of hours. She even came 00:12:14.330 --> 00:12:16.570 back for the finale. That consistency across 00:12:16.570 --> 00:12:18.889 different formats is pretty rare. Now, we should 00:12:18.889 --> 00:12:21.500 touch on her stage work, too. Because that wasn't 00:12:21.500 --> 00:12:23.779 all smooth sailing, was it? Her West End debut 00:12:23.779 --> 00:12:26.879 in 2012. No, that got some pointed criticism. 00:12:27.139 --> 00:12:29.759 She played Paulina Salas in Death and the Maiden, 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:33.200 Ariel Dorfman's play. Very intense stuff. And 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:35.460 the reviews. Well, the sources mentioned one 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:38.379 specific review from The Guardian that called 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:41.360 her miscast, since she looked and sounded too 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:44.090 immaculate. That's interesting. Too immaculate. 00:12:44.389 --> 00:12:46.250 Do you think that's about the transition from 00:12:46.250 --> 00:12:49.149 film to the rawness of stage? Like her film polish 00:12:49.149 --> 00:12:51.230 didn't quite fit the grit of the play. That could 00:12:51.230 --> 00:12:53.149 definitely be part of it. Film acting requires 00:12:53.149 --> 00:12:56.299 such precision, such control. Sometimes that 00:12:56.299 --> 00:12:58.759 can read as too polished, maybe less raw or immediate 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:01.159 on stage, especially for a play that demands 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:03.779 that kind of visceral intensity. It highlights 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:05.820 the different skill sets and maybe the weight 00:13:05.820 --> 00:13:09.120 of expectation on a big film star moving to theater. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:11.259 She followed that stage role with another TV 00:13:11.259 --> 00:13:13.860 lead, didn't she? Yeah, Rogue, from 2013 to 2015. 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:16.460 That was the first original drama series for 00:13:16.460 --> 00:13:19.039 DirecTV's audience network. She played the lead, 00:13:19.179 --> 00:13:20.980 Grace Travis, though she left partway through 00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:23.929 the third season. This whole period, this incredible 00:13:23.929 --> 00:13:26.210 range, it feels like it all comes together in 00:13:26.210 --> 00:13:29.470 her 2011 TED Talk. Oh, absolutely. The talk titled, 00:13:29.610 --> 00:13:33.509 Embracing Otherness, Embracing Myself. It's like 00:13:33.509 --> 00:13:35.350 she's giving us the key to understanding her 00:13:35.350 --> 00:13:37.820 whole approach. She talks directly about feeling 00:13:37.820 --> 00:13:40.200 like an other as a kid, growing up between cultures. 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:43.580 And connects it explicitly to her acting, how 00:13:43.580 --> 00:13:45.500 playing all these different roles allowed her 00:13:45.500 --> 00:13:47.879 to explore different parts of herself, different 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:49.960 identities. It's almost like she's saying her 00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:52.779 career is a form of applied anthropology. Performing 00:13:52.779 --> 00:13:55.940 identity, exploring fragmented selves, it makes 00:13:55.940 --> 00:13:58.279 perfect sense with her background. And it really 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:00.480 sets the stage philosophically for what comes 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:03.360 next. The period of her biggest acclaim, but 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:05.960 also her most outspoken activism. Right. Connecting 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:08.139 it all to the bigger picture now. This later 00:14:08.139 --> 00:14:10.600 phase of her career seems defined by two things. 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:14.779 Massive global success, especially on TV. And 00:14:14.779 --> 00:14:17.480 this real refusal to stay silent about big issues. 00:14:18.299 --> 00:14:20.759 Representation, trauma, safety in the industry. 00:14:20.940 --> 00:14:23.500 Exactly. And the absolute peak of that success, 00:14:23.620 --> 00:14:27.360 the anchor of this era, is Westworld. HBO's Westworld, 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:33.259 2016 to 2022. Her role as Maeve Malay, just phenomenal. 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:35.940 Phenomenal is the word. The accolades poured 00:14:35.940 --> 00:14:38.700 in. The Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting 00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:40.799 Actress in 2018, she'd been nominated three times 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:43.480 for it, plus two Critics' Choice Awards. Maeve 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:46.440 is just such a perfect fit for her talents. A 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:49.580 sentient robot, a host, fighting for consciousness 00:14:49.580 --> 00:14:52.179 and freedom within this exploitative system. 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:55.220 Yes. The character's journey from being seemingly 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:57.940 programmed, trapped in these loops, to becoming 00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:01.110 this incredibly aware... powerful, manipulative, 00:15:01.129 --> 00:15:04.629 also deeply feeling leader. It let her use every 00:15:04.629 --> 00:15:06.870 single acting muscle she has. Critics certainly 00:15:06.870 --> 00:15:09.269 notice. Oh, they loved her. James White at Empire 00:15:09.269 --> 00:15:11.149 said she was killing these emotional moments, 00:15:11.289 --> 00:15:13.690 giving Maeve this twitchy panicked air without 00:15:13.690 --> 00:15:16.169 ever overplaying it. And Complex basically called 00:15:16.169 --> 00:15:18.509 it the Thandie Newton show. Say her performance 00:15:18.509 --> 00:15:21.519 elevated everyone. Consistently electric. But 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:23.740 the intensity of that role, playing a character 00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:26.639 dealing with control, violation, consciousness, 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:29.080 it connects back to her own life in a really 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:31.820 difficult way, doesn't it? It does. The sources 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:34.740 bring up this direct, painful link she made herself. 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:38.000 She'd spoken out before about a truly awful experience 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:40.559 as a teenager. The audition tape. Yeah. where 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:42.419 a director filmed a sexually graphic audition 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:44.679 and then repeatedly showed it to his friends. 00:15:44.860 --> 00:15:48.220 A horrific violation of trust and privacy. Control 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:51.200 over her image, her body, just taken away. And 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:53.100 that connects to choosing the Westworld role. 00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:56.639 How? The suggestion is, she chose to play Maeve. 00:15:56.990 --> 00:15:59.649 a character subjected to immense control, manipulation, 00:15:59.809 --> 00:16:01.970 and sexual violence within the park's narratives, 00:16:02.169 --> 00:16:05.029 partly as a way to process and reflect the experiences 00:16:05.029 --> 00:16:08.269 of survivors, to explore those deep moral questions 00:16:08.269 --> 00:16:11.230 about humanity, agency, and violation through 00:16:11.230 --> 00:16:13.909 her art. Wow. So taking on a role with significant 00:16:13.909 --> 00:16:16.710 nudity and themes of abuse wasn't just a job. 00:16:16.730 --> 00:16:19.470 It was a conscious act of reclaiming that narrative. 00:16:19.730 --> 00:16:21.950 That's how it reads. Transforming personal trauma 00:16:21.950 --> 00:16:24.389 into powerful art, exploring consciousness and 00:16:24.389 --> 00:16:26.740 agency after violation. It's this incredible 00:16:26.740 --> 00:16:29.440 synthesis of her activism, her personal history, 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:32.820 and her craft. Deeply intentional. While Westworld 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:35.500 was bringing all this acclaim, her next big movie 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:39.059 role stirred up quite a bit of controversy. Solo. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:45.100 A Star Wars story in 2018. Ah, yes. Val. This 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:47.259 was meant to be a landmark moment. She was the 00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:50.440 first black woman cast in a major non -alien 00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:54.059 role in a Star Wars film. Huge symbolic importance. 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:56.379 But it didn't quite land that way, did it? No. 00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:58.080 She was very public about her disappointment 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:01.080 afterwards because her character, Val, was killed 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:03.580 off quite abruptly. And apparently that wasn't 00:17:03.580 --> 00:17:05.940 the original plan. Her fate was changed during 00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:08.079 filming. And she called that out. She did. Called 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:10.380 a big mistake for the franchise, specifically 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:12.519 concerning the representation of black women. 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:15.039 The feeling, echoed by critics, was that killing 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.119 off this groundbreaking character so quickly 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.640 felt dismissive, like a missed opportunity for 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:22.579 meaningful, sustained representation. Underutilized 00:17:22.579 --> 00:17:25.839 was the word some critics used. Exactly. David 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:28.559 Adelstein at Vulture wrote, The only thing wrong 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:30.299 with Thandie Newton's performance is that there's 00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:33.019 not enough of it. It wasn't about her acting. 00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:35.819 It was about the storytelling choice. Discarding 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:37.960 a character who represented a potential shift 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:42.079 for the franchise. Her speaking out. really underlined 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:43.599 her commitment to making sure representation 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:46.359 isn't just tokenistic. She also continued to 00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:48.339 make waves on UK television around this time. 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:53.059 Oh yeah, Line of Duty. 2017. She joined for the 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:56.799 fourth season as DCI Roseanne Roz Huntley. Another 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:59.559 incredibly intense, complex role in a hugely 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.039 popular show. And got another BAFTA TV nomination 00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:04.720 for it. Deservedly so. Playing that high -pressure 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:06.960 police role, navigating another complex system 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:09.220 with hidden rules and intense psychological stakes, 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:11.380 she excels at that. And then, of course, this 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:13.420 period leads up to the official name change in 00:18:13.420 --> 00:18:15.799 2021, with Reminiscence being the first credit 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:18.180 as Thandie. And her work continues at that high 00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:21.480 level. God's Country in 2022 got her a Gotham 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:23.640 Award nomination. Yeah, for outstanding lead 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:26.259 performance. She's not slowing down. And branching 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:28.779 out into voice work, too. Right. Mona the Hormone 00:18:28.779 --> 00:18:31.319 Monstress in Big Mouth and Human Resources. Yeah. 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:33.519 Which is a very different vibe. Shows incredible 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:36.079 range again. Yeah. And she's voicing Ginger in 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:38.299 the upcoming Chicken Run sequel, Dawn of the 00:18:38.299 --> 00:18:41.279 Nugget, taking over from Julia Sawala. She really 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:43.380 does seem to operate without any genre limits 00:18:43.380 --> 00:18:46.059 now. So when you pull back and look at the whole 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:49.099 picture, beyond the incredible acting career, 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:51.940 what does it all add up to? Her personal commitments, 00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:56.019 her activism. It all seems so integrated. It 00:18:56.019 --> 00:18:58.059 really does. It feels like her choices, both 00:18:58.059 --> 00:19:00.500 on and off screen, are guided by this powerful 00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:03.039 sense of social responsibility. We mentioned 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:06.019 the OBE in 2019, and she was on the power list 00:19:06.019 --> 00:19:08.640 of the 100 most influential Black Britons in 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:12.279 2018. Plus, recognized for fashion by Netta Porter. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:14.859 She's a cultural force in multiple arenas. Definitely. 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:17.339 And her personal life choices often reflect those 00:19:17.339 --> 00:19:19.579 core beliefs, too. She's married to filmmaker 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:22.339 Ole Parker from 1998, though they separated in 00:19:22.339 --> 00:19:25.960 2022. They have three children, Ripley, Nico, 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:28.539 who's also an actress now, and Booker. And there 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:30.680 was that detail about all three kids being born 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:33.380 via home birth. Yes. Which speaks to a certain 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:35.759 commitment to naturalism, maybe personal control 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:38.319 over that experience. She's now in a relationship 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:41.799 with the musician Lawner, Elijah Dias. And that 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:43.839 long friendship with Nicole Kidman since way 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:46.599 back in 1989 is a nice personal thread, too. 00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:49.200 But the activism is where you really see her 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:51.440 values in action. The veganism, for instance. 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:55.319 Dedicated vegan. PETA named her the UK's sexiest 00:19:55.319 --> 00:19:58.539 vegan back in 2014. But the environmentalism 00:19:58.539 --> 00:20:00.680 story is even more telling, I think. The BMW 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:04.140 story. Yeah. Apparently, she'd recently bought 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:08.000 a BMW X5 back in 2007. Greenpeace activists put 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.740 a sticker on it calling it a gas -guzzling 4x4. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:13.980 Ouch. How did she react? That's the key part. 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:16.440 She didn't get defensive. She didn't ignore it. 00:20:16.460 --> 00:20:18.539 She sold the car and bought a Toyota Prius instead. 00:20:18.619 --> 00:20:21.519 That's a very direct, pragmatic response to an 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:23.420 ethical critique. Putting your money where your 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:25.180 mouth is. That's impressive. And her activism 00:20:25.180 --> 00:20:26.960 goes beyond environmentalism. Oh, absolutely. 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:29.460 She has an affinity for Buddhism. She led the 00:20:29.460 --> 00:20:32.000 one billion rising flash mob in London in 2013. 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:35.220 That global movement focused on ending violence 00:20:35.220 --> 00:20:37.359 against women, demanding justice and equality. 00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:40.819 And she engages globally, too. Yes. She visited 00:20:40.819 --> 00:20:43.559 a village called Nampaso in Mali back in 2013. 00:20:43.589 --> 00:20:46.990 described it as humbling. And she gets involved 00:20:46.990 --> 00:20:49.990 in UK political issues, too, like signing that 00:20:49.990 --> 00:20:53.410 letter in 2020 opposing the deportation of offenders 00:20:53.410 --> 00:20:56.369 to Jamaica. It feels like she's consistently 00:20:56.369 --> 00:20:59.289 using her platform, but perhaps the most revealing 00:20:59.289 --> 00:21:01.349 thing connects back to her own experiences with 00:21:01.349 --> 00:21:04.109 abuse in the industry. Right. Her comments about 00:21:04.109 --> 00:21:06.789 the Time's Up movement in 2018. She said she 00:21:06.789 --> 00:21:09.289 felt ostracized. Why? Because she had already 00:21:09.289 --> 00:21:11.490 spoken out about the alleged sexual abuse she 00:21:11.490 --> 00:21:14.880 suffered from a director. years before hashtag 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:17.759 MeToo and Time's Up became this huge industry 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:20.779 backed movement. So she felt like the movement, 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:22.960 once it became mainstream, didn't necessarily 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:25.339 embrace or center the people who'd taken the 00:21:25.339 --> 00:21:28.210 risk to speak out earlier. when it was much harder 00:21:28.210 --> 00:21:30.529 and lonelier. That seems to be the nuance, yeah, 00:21:30.650 --> 00:21:32.569 that maybe the official corporate embrace of 00:21:32.569 --> 00:21:34.470 the movement didn't fully acknowledge or support 00:21:34.470 --> 00:21:37.269 the anomalies, the early whistleblowers who faced 00:21:37.269 --> 00:21:40.309 the backlash alone. It suggests she values real 00:21:40.309 --> 00:21:43.069 grassroots authenticity and activism, not just 00:21:43.069 --> 00:21:45.430 performative solidarity. It paints a picture 00:21:45.430 --> 00:21:47.690 of someone incredibly principled, someone who 00:21:47.690 --> 00:21:50.390 leads by example, even when it comes at a personal 00:21:50.390 --> 00:21:53.029 cost. Which brings us to a really important question, 00:21:53.069 --> 00:21:55.980 I think. about what all this means, the identity, 00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:58.380 the power she's built, the resilience she's shown, 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:02.000 the honesty across such a long and public career. 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:05.099 Yeah, her journey is extraordinary. We've traced 00:22:05.099 --> 00:22:07.960 it from Westminster via Zambia, feeling like 00:22:07.960 --> 00:22:10.539 that anomaly in Cornwall, all the way to becoming 00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:13.539 an OBE. And that social anthropology degree just 00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:15.680 seems to illuminate everything. You see it in 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:18.240 how she analyzes power structures, whether playing 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:21.200 Condoleezza Rice or embodying Maeve's struggle 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:24.039 for consciousness in Westworld. Her career really 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:27.059 is this masterclass in blending vulnerability, 00:22:27.339 --> 00:22:29.880 those early roles, her openness about trauma 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:32.240 with incredible professional strength and strategic 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:35.259 choices. Navigating blockbusters, indie films, 00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:39.599 acclaimed TV, controversial biopics, always with 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:41.859 this focus on the human element within the larger 00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:45.099 system. and doing it all under a name that wasn't 00:22:45.099 --> 00:22:48.900 quite hers. Until she reclaimed it. Fundy! Which 00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:50.720 leads to that final thought for you, the listener. 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:53.319 We've seen her grapple with representation, with 00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:55.579 industry abuse, with feeling sidelined even by 00:22:55.579 --> 00:22:58.339 movements for change, all while operating under 00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:01.359 immense scrutiny. So what does it really mean, 00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:04.299 or perhaps what does it take, for a public figure 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:07.799 to finally publicly reclaim their full identity, 00:23:07.900 --> 00:23:10.130 their own voice, like she did? Does it require 00:23:10.130 --> 00:23:12.390 reaching a certain level of power first before 00:23:12.390 --> 00:23:14.230 the system allows you that self -definition? 00:23:14.329 --> 00:23:17.349 It's a fascinating question. Her reclaiming Fanday 00:23:17.349 --> 00:23:19.809 feels like the ultimate act of self -authorship, 00:23:19.990 --> 00:23:22.289 insisting on the whole story, the complete identity. 00:23:22.529 --> 00:23:25.109 Fanday Newton, beloved and absolutely unforgettable.