Lashana Lynch

Lashana Lynch is a woman shaping the future. From becoming the first female 007 to leading the charge for Afro-feminist epics in The Woman King, she’s a genuine trailblazer. Yet her latest role, as Miss Honey in Matilda the Musical, sees the actor tackle a vulnerable, more nuanced character – and, as she tells Abigail Blackburn, challenging the ‘strong Black woman’ trope has proved her toughest test yet...

PHOTOGRAPHER: KYLE GALVIN. ART DIRECTION: CRAIG HEMMING

don’t believe anything just happens,” says Lashana Lynch effusively during the first moments of our interview. It’s a cool November morning when we connect on Zoom just a few days after her beautiful cover shoot wearing Chanel Beauty for Marie Claire.

She is the face of our latest Future Shapers 2022 issue, which celebrates inspiring pioneers making a positive impact, and I love that we go from zero to 100 in seconds after I ask whether luck or intention is the secret behind her wide-ranging roles.

“When I left drama school I remember saying, ‘I’m not gonna be typecast. I’m not gonna be the girl next door or expected to do something the industry considers ‘the standard’ for a Black woman. I decided to use my gut. Then I was able to stay aligned with the roles, projects and people that I’ve so far really enjoyed working with, whilst discovering different parts of me as a creative.”

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What about saying no to projects that don’t sit right with her? “There’s been many roles where l get a script and think, ‘This just isn’t for me’. I always get rewarded down the line when another project comes up, where I’m like, ‘Oh, I really wasn’t meant to be a part of that because then I wouldn’t have the chance to do this – and this thing here has changed my life’.” Lynch’s groundbreaking screen presence is changing more lives than her own though, thanks to her portrayal of characters who are frequently firsts for Black women in mainstream cinema, including warrior Izogie in this year’s landmark The Woman King – a worthy follow-up after playing the first Black female 007 in No Time To Die, which led to her first BAFTA win in March. So, who did she look up to, when she was on the viewer’s side of the screen? “I’ll start with the unfortunate thing, which is not feeling like I saw myself enough and steering towards animation. Disney was my go-to growing up because I felt more of a connection there than with even older Black performers who I liked. I didn’t see the kind of narratives that they were afforded were ones that I could connect to as a young, working-class Black girl from Shepherd’s Bush. I focused on escapism.” Indeed, the fantastical storytelling of Roald Dahl endures as one of the UK’s favourite forms of escapism. So it’s surprising to hear Lynch confess she initially held back from starring in the newly launched Matilda the Musical. “I didn’t think I was able to play Miss Honey, even though I’d been asking for a role like that for years. And I’m a very confident, bold person who manifests deeply. This role caught me by surprise. I loved the book as a child. I loved the film. The musical was incredible. I saw the cast shaping up. [But] for the first time in a little while, I got imposter syndrome. Even though I sang before I acted, and knew that’d come easy. “Then I remembered how much I’ve used manifestation over the years. I had to [remember that] this is actually what I’ve been asking for: delicacy, soft life for women on screen, emotion; to discuss mental health, and play something different and work with children. I’ve wanted all of that for a long time.”

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“When I was younger I didn’t want to take on the responsibility of the role model or the one speaking up because it’s terrifying standing alone”

A real-life Miss Honey was key to building Lynch’s solid sense of self, alongside her upbringing within a close-knit Jamaican-British family. “I had a head teacher/ life guider at primary school who was literally a guardian angel,” Lynch reveals. “I don’t really understand how a teacher can come into your life and have such an impact that, 30 years later, you’re still speaking of them and get to honour them through your work.” She visibly glows as she reflects. “My headmistress was a Black woman, which was rare in the 1990s. She taught me how to tap into who I am by nature and use that to the best of my ability, and how to sing and have stage presence. And she had really lovely conversations with my mum about who I was and how much light I have, and my voice and how to use it. I messaged her when I got [the role of] Miss Honey. She reminded me of my aunties and grandmother and women I met in the market who just love on you.” I can’t resist asking what she wishes more people knew about Jamaican women like those aunties – and us. “Gosh, that’s such a nice question,” she beams. “How loving and lovable we are. We have a bravado that was passed down to us that is uber-confident, opinionated and forthright. But alongside that, there’s this really gentle, maternal, loving spirit that runs through all of us.”

With the festive season on the horizon, Lynch’s Jamaican roots are key to why she loves this time of year. “I’ve got a family of cooks,” she laughs. “So I just eat, eat and eat, eat, eat – quite literally, three massive meals per day, the whole season. Despite changing my eating habits through work, that all goes truly out the window. And I really like that, to indulge after a hard year and remind myself I’ve earned it. It’s a real nice time to quiet your mind and be grateful.” After a year that’s made Lynch synonymous with changing perceptions, she’s embracing becoming a role model in her own right, too. “When I was younger I didn’t want to take on the responsibility of the role model or the one speaking up because it’s terrifying standing alone and having your voice echo around white spaces that don’t get it. But then I remember that women before me had to do it in even heavier spaces and all I really have to do is continue that work ’cause the foundation is there for me.” Lynch also remains unflinching about where the film industry needs to become more inclusive. “I look at young people coming up after or alongside me and I see it as imperative for us to just speak up together. If we deal with it as an individual circumstance, then we are not looking at the bigger picture. And I think the more that we integrate space across generations, then we have the ripple effect of people subconsciously learning – then a white male head of a studio is going to make a decision in favour of a brown person without even knowing, rather than doing something for us as a chore or tick box.

“We as Black women absolutely need to see the many versions of ourselves that we are in cinema, on TV, in the media. It’s also really important that we subconsciously teach people outside of the Black community what we are without having to break it down. So one great thing that we do in Matilda is show Miss Honey's delicate side, her traumas, her inexperience in speaking up for herself, her questioning of herself without touching on being a Black woman; she just is. So, subconsciously, the audience is getting a reimagining or re-education – or a first-time education – on what Black women can go through day to day.” Deconstructing the stereotypical ‘strong Black woman’ trope remains essential in Lynch’s work. “The reason why that dismantlement is important is because the spectrum of strength for Black women is so wide and our entry into strength is so complicated that it’s really hard to explain. But when you explain it by taking the word Black out of it, we then get a human experience and then we have Black women being humanised very naturally and organically in cinema.” Lynch says playing Miss Honey was also special because she could “really show what sadness means in a character. All of my characters in the past few years have been so in charge of themselves. They’re ballsy, opinionated, have agency and are physically strong, yet Miss Honey is finding that. And I found that a really lovely, delicate process to go through – because we don’t have enough of those, especially as Black women, to be able to just be soft and gentle.”

“I remember saying, ‘I’m not gonna be typecast. I’m not gonna be the girl next door or expected to do something the industry considers ‘the standard’ for a Black woman”

Being kinder to ourselves is common ground for many of us post-pandemic, and Lynch says 2022 has taught her two key things: “I’ve become healthier in my home space and protecting what that means to me, so I’m literally blocking out outdoor energy, which is so exciting. Whether it be through charging your crystals or burning incense or playing music at a certain hertz, all of these things contribute to a really balanced life that has given me peace. “The other big thing that has finally landed for me this year is how important it is to stand on your square. I’ve tried my best to do that for years and not really known what it meant until I’ve been confronted with moments or people or spaces that force me to stand by what I believe in. I’ve gained more experience, so I’m now able to have more courage in speaking up and having agency for myself and others.” Working with Viola Davis in The Woman King also sparked a new level of inspiration in Lynch. “Viola is One. Of. A. Kind. Initially, I thought, ‘OK, I’m gonna work with the GOAT [greatest of all time]. I’m gonna have to really show up. I was able to get a masterclass in how to run the field in the most graceful way, with the least amount of cockiness and bravado, just being your authentic self whilst giving everything and also asking questions.”

“This role caught me by surprise. I loved the book as a child. I loved the film. [But] for the first time in a little while, I got imposter syndrome”

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Given Davis’s production company proved a linchpin for the film’s success, will Lynch eventually pursue a similar path beyond acting? “Oh yeah, absolutely. And if I didn’t want to before, I’ve realised that I absolutely have to – we don’t have a choice. We have to create for ourselves, create for other people, be the one at the head of the table so that you can give people a seat at the table, which I’ve been wanting to do for years and years. “I like to think that, in a few years from now, there’ll be a string of projects I’m a part of where I have more of a voice as a producer and also create visions on screen from my mind as a director or writer or someone who’s cast young people. It’s profound to see something in someone and know they can do it – like I’ve had done for me.”

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I suspect we’ll see Lynch in more groundbreaking roles first, as her star continues to ascend. In the meantime though, what helps her look ahead to the new year? “I like to think of, in the lightest way, what my legacy’s gonna be. And how my choice today contributes to it. I’ve found it really exciting to take every decision as a really important decision, even if it’s the smallest thing, like having a cup of hot water every morning to wake your digestive system. “When acting, I try to disappear as much as possible, but thenevery so often I become conscious of how young people are gonna respond to this or will my mum’s generation even watch this? What will it mean to the industry? Will it contribute anything? Will it be something that I’m proud of?” I think we all know the answer to that by now.

“All of my characters in the past few years have been so in charge of themselves.They’re ballsy, opinionated, have agency and are physically strong, yet Miss Honey is finding that”

CREDITS: PHOTOGRAPHER: KYLE GALVIN STYLING AND CASTING: SARAH-ROSE HARRISON ART DIRECTION: CRAIG HEMMING EDITOR IN CHIEF: ANDREA THOMPSON EDITOR: SUNIL MAKAN VIDEOGRAPHER: RODNEY RICO MAKEUP ARTIST: ALEX BABSKY USING CHANEL BEAUTY AT PREMIER HAIR AND MAKEUP HAIR STYLIST: NICOLA HORROWELL USING KEVIN MURPHY AT PREMIER HAIR AND MAKEUP NAIL ARTIST: SABRINA GAYLE USING CHANEL BEAUTY AT ARCH AGENCY SET DESIGN: CAROLINA MIZRAHI ALTERATIONS: ROSIE TIPLER PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: DIONNE BRIGHTON STYLING ASSISTANT: LUCY JAYNE DIGI TECH: MARSY HILD THORSDOTTIR LIGHTING TECH: CLEO LIM LOCATION: GAS STUDIOS WITH THANKS TO NARRATIVE

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