The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Danai Gurira - “Wakanda Forever”

Episode Date: November 20, 2022

“I gave everything.” Actor Danai Gurira shares how her line in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” spoke to the theme of the film in honoring Chadwick Boseman, discusses the power of being in the first Black women-led superhero film released by Marvel Studios, and how training and doing her own fight scenes was central to becoming the warrior Okoye.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Danai Guerrero, welcome back to the Daily Show. Thank you. It's amazing to be back. It is amazing to have you here, especially on the heels of yet again, one of the most successful films to come out. The last I checked, Black Panther had grossed, I think it was like 330 or 40 million. Everybody is loving the movie. People are loving you in the movie. I just watched it a few days ago

and I know I'm biased because you're sitting here with me, but I think you had some of the funniest, like amazing fight scenes and choreography. How does it feel? Because this was such a long project. There was so many ups and downs. There was a pandemic, there was the unfortunate loss of Chadwick. Everything th th th th th th th th thi everything everything everything everything everything everything everything everything everything everything everything everything everything everything to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to toe, toeck. toe, tooom, the to, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. toe. th pandemic. There was the unfortunate loss of Chadwick. Everything came together to create this moment.

Have you taken a moment to process at all? Thank you. Not yet. Not yet. I'm getting there. But it has been an amazing journey. And the tremendous one and a painful one and an intense one, you know, starting from the beginning when we, you know, tragically lost our brother and our king, our leader with Chadwick.

So really coming back was all about honoring him. So really it was like, as Ryan always mentions, a line my character says, which is, you know, I gave everything. Like, that basically we came back with that, like, it was just about giving all we had to this and honoring him. And so to have it come to a place where people are enjoying it this much and responding to it this well, I mean, it just feels, it feels very full circle in the sense that the goal was to honor him and the way Ryan beautifully arced it to be something that honor him,

which involves, I think, something that I think he would love which is that it is a full experience as well as as we walk through our grief with it. It really is. I noticed people crying in the cinema. Obviously people were cheering, people were laughing, but it reminded you of what you want movies to be, you know, an experience. And it was an authentic experience. I enjoyed seeing how both the audience, and then I felt like the cast had an experience of catharsis-that. It, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was an to, it was an authentic, it was an authentic, it was, it was, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was to, it was to, it was to, it was to, it was to, it was to be to be, it was to be, to be, to be to be, to to to to to to the the the the, the. thean, the thean, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the audience, and then I felt like the cast had an experience of catharsis, that everyone got to say goodbye in a different way, everyone got to go through that.

You know, when you look at this journey and where it's come, look at how Black Panther has reshaped how we see superheroes. People have talked about how diversity has never been the same on screen. This is the first woman black- film that Marvel has ever put out and it's crushing it, people are loving it. It's huge, it's momentous. Yeah, I mean, that just means so much to hear because I mean it is really something that I grew

up, you know, the other big thing is that it's also African. And like I grew up next door to you in Zimbabwe and I hope it's not too painful to the ER, our COSA, but you know, we're try, we're working on it. No, I appreciate, I think I always love with Ryan Kugler as the director, I say like, you chose one of the hardest languages to just like, cause I it's like, first of all, it's an African language, but it's like, what've got some, like, you could take Mayan in the movie. And that's what makes it.

I'm not gonna spoil the plot for anyone. So if there's gaps, I'm doing that on purpose. But you have a movie that now isn't just talking about the African diaspora around the world. You're also, you're also in this conversation about where we've come from as peoples in South America and Central America and it's all coming together in a really gripping way. Well the beauty of it is like that aspect of that shared conversation that Africa could have with that part of the world which is we

were both we both went through a lot of imperialism we both went through colonization we both lost, indigenous cultures lost a lot through that very, you know wretched process. And so it's actually this reclaiming that we're getting to see these two cultures mirror each other as they do that. And Wakanda has kept it and protected it. And then, and so has the, so I have the telkameel. So it's this beautiful kind of reflection on each other,

which I just think is kind of unprecedented and really, really exciting. It truly is. Your character shines. Some of my favorite lines, genuinely in the movie, are yours. Because here's the thing, we met you as this badass on screen. Kicking ass, running, you know, I always said, do you know how bad ass you have to be, to be the bodyguards for the Black Panther? Do you know what I mean? That scene, we, that scene, in the casino, that first fight scene where everyone was just like, who are you and what are you doing? And your character comes back, the fight scenes are even more intense, you know, there's parts where you're fighting in the water and then you're not, were you actually doing that by the way? Yes, I have a little bit of a torn muscle in my shoulder to prove it,

but it's all good now. It's healed. So you don't for it's like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the doing the like okay like water fight scenes and yeah and the scene well my character Yeah, this the key thing that you know this the stuff on the bridge all that stuff yeah I had to because there's no way I could it to me it's like how do I do the role if I'm not doing The role she's a warrior right and like I was coming from from walking dead as well I was used to And walking dead it that was just like to get out and walking and walking and walking dead and walking and walking and the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th I was just th I was just th was just th was just th was just th was just just just just the the just just th. th. I was just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just just. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. I was just. I was just. I was just like like th. I was like th. I was. I was like. I was. I was. I was just like. I was just. I was just. I was just. I was just. I was just. Go out there and be somebody. You know, it was like, get it done. So like, I was used to just getting out there and just getting it done. Like, I, and that's, and really cointing myself with the weapon. And we did that so hard in the first one. So in the second one, there was no exception.

I had to do my fights. I had to it it it it it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, th................. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, to me, that's actually how you become the character. You can't become Okie outside of how she knows how to fight. And you have to keep doing the reverse. It's all a part of who she is, so it needs to be a part of who you are. Like, I had to win. I had to win. That was my thing. Like, I could not win. See this general O'coyeia. This is you. Oh crap, this. Ccrn. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.................................. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the it, but what we see is on your character's journey is her grappling with the idea that she's not in control, her grappling with the idea of failure, which is such a personal experience for anybody to share, but it's also vulnerable to have. It's to go, yeah, I am not what everybody needed me to be. And you felt that pain in your character. Oh, yeah, that's what I loved about how Ryan like bifurcated the grief process in different characters.

And my character, she just doesn't really take care of herself that way. So to actually, to have to get confronted with it that way, was the only way she was really the way she she she she she she she she she she she was really, like, like, like, like, like, like, she was, like, she was, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, and, like, like, like, and, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, thi, thi, and, and, and, and, and, that, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, that, that, and, that, and, that, that, that, and, and, th...................... that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's what, that's what, that's what, that's what, that's what, that's what, that's she is so I have to take care of everybody else I have to make sure this you know she's got the country on her shoulders I've got to keep it protected and secure I got to keep this family protected and secure that she feels she's a part of. Yes. So the lines are all blurred between you know her job and her personal experiences of losing her brother and taking care of his family so yeah it is definitely that sort of aspect of not being able to to hold everything down and not being able to process her pain and her grief for herself. Can I just say on behalf of everybody who was a massive fan of the first film, thank you for what you put into the second one, thank you for making it the film that it is, for not cutting corners, for enjoying it, for representing everybody on and off

the screen I appreciate you so much Thank you for joining me on the show. Thank you. Such a pleasure having you. Good night to be right, everybody. Watch the Daily Show, Week Nights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus.