British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw is receiving excellent notices for her work as the titular character in Fox Searchlight’s just released period drama Belle. Mbatha-Raw will also be featured later this summer in Jupiter Ascending, a science fiction adventure tale from Lana and Andy Wachowski.
During the Belle interviews, the actress talked about her role in Jupiter Ascending, in which she plays a hybrid between a human and a deer! The part required the actress to wear a headpiece and prosthetics to achieve her character’s look. It’s all part of the Wachowskis’ grand design, and with such features as Cloud Atlas and the Matrix films under their belt, it’s safe to assume Jupiter Ascending will contain its share of eye-popping visuals.
“I have to impress upon you that my role in Jupiter Ascending is very much a supporting role,” said Mbatha-Raw, who plays a character named Famulus in the epic. “It’s a very different scale to Belle and in fact it was fascinating for me to go from a large cog in a small wheel like Belle in an independent film to go directly and do a massive studio film but be a relatively small piece of the puzzle. It made me appreciate our intimate journey of Belle because the scale of (Jupiter Ascending).”
To hear Mbatha-Raw elaborate on playing Famulus in Jupiter Ascending, click on the media bar below (Belle co-star Sam Reid can be heard in the clip).
Jupiter Ascending, starring Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum, opens July 18. Belle, co-starring Emily Watson and Matthew Goode, is now playing in select theaters.
