Lupita Nyong'o offered 'very dark and dramatic' roles - Film News

Lupita Nyong’o is being offered roles with “a lot” of “darkness and drama.”

The 41-year-old’s breakthrough role was as Patsey, a raped, beaten and abused woman, in Sir Steve McQueen’s plantation-era “12 Years a Slave.” Since then, she says she’s been inundated with offers to play dark roles, although she wants to venture into comedy.

Lupita, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 12 Years in 2013, told People: “I never get offered comedic roles. Ever. I’m known for my dramatic roles, so I tend to get those kinds of roles. A lot of depth, darkness.”

“I like depth. I’m not saying I don’t want it. But darkness and drama, I get that a lot.”

“I always try to choose roles that I have never played before, roles that will allow me to flourish.

“I think humor is a very scary thing. It’s very difficult to do and I want to try it more.”

After winning her Oscar, Lupita’s next film role was a part in Liam Neeson’s action film “Non-Stop” in 2014, followed by a motion capture role in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and a voice performance in “The Jungle Book” in 2016.

Lupita added that the CGI role in “Star Wars” may have been “surprising” to some of her fans and industry colleagues.

But she said: “I was privileged to receive this award (the Oscar) – it means having some semblance of choice.

“I was in a financially stable enough situation to be able to choose. So I decided to exercise that privilege and choose.”

The actress added that her family also keeps her “grounded” amid her global fame, and says it’s one of the reasons she paid tribute to her partner on the night she won her Oscar – his younger brother Junior, who is now a DJ and actor.

She said: “We’re in a fantastic environment with all the bells and whistles, the lights, the glitz and glamour, and then there’s my brother whose nappy I changed.

“It’s so nice to have that reality. They remind me that this is a real experience and I can take it home, but I can also take it with me.

“There was never a time when my parents didn’t agree with me becoming an actor.

“My parents wanted me to be whatever I wanted to be. Their only requirement was that I do it to the best of my ability.

“I was very lucky with the parent lottery.”