Tessa Thompson, star of "Men In Black: International": NPR

Tessa Thompson is one of the fastest rising stars of Hollywood. With large parts in Thor: Ragnarok, Creed, and Westworldshe went from that actress you know somewhere to the genre where you stop in the street.

"It does not help for the moment that I am on the side of many buses," jokes Thompson.

And part of what brought her to this strange place is a science fiction movie released in 1997, when she was 14: Men in black. "I was – I still am – but I was then a big fan of Will Smith." I grew up watching The prince of Bel-Air, and it's easy to take for granted now, but what Will Smith did at the time, becoming in a way the global star of cinema, and bringing his identity, his black male identity to these spaces has an impact huge, "she says." I'm not sure if I had not grown up watching it on TV, I would have thought that it would even be possible to do what I'm doing now."

And what Thompson does now is starring in Men in black: International, the last installment of the franchise. She plays Agent M and, with Agent H – played by Chris Hemsworth -, she travels the world fighting against intergalactic invaders. The role brings her back with Hemsworth, her stage partner in Thor: Ragnarokand like Ragnarok, there are extraterrestrials, explosions and all the traps of a great Hollywood action movie.

But Thompson first broke through with more subtle movies, including racial satire Dear whites and the drama of civil rights Selma.

Interview highlights

On what attracted her to genre films

I really wanted to work in these spaces because they present real challenges as an actor, especially when working with a green screen and you are talking about things that do not exist – it's about pure imagination … then, for example. in ThorWhen I have these great scenes with Hulk, which is played by Mark Ruffalo, I can not watch Mark Ruffalo, I have to watch a tennis ball affixed to that kind of weird thing that is maybe, you know , four feet above his head. So, just the mechanics of doing it. There is a kind of steep learning curve with some of these stuff, or stunts. You know, I never did it because I came so from those tiny movies that I had almost paid to be in the movie, because they were made with such thinness. And then, too, you know, bless, but the team works so hard, sometimes you play those very emotional and intense scenes, and all those big fans are there to create wind, and you see people in the distance. eat sandwiches, and you really have to suspend our own disbelief.

By bringing calm and reality to the crazy scenes in which she finds herself

I guess I do not know how else to do it. I work in a way by simply trying to find the truth and trying to find something in which I can anchor and give myself meaning. In terms of Men in black: International and looking at the old Men in black the movies, I love the silence of Tommy Lee Jones – I mean, of course, it's fun to be wired Will Smith, and … people like that and are attracted by that, but I think Tommy Lee does in these movies is so brilliant, and there can be a Will Smith without Tommy in terms of tone. They have to stop, in a way, and I like to be a straight man.

Sharing the star with Chris Hemsworth and with men in general

I think that changes – I think it's unusual. But I think a lot of men are up for the challenge and just need to be interviewed. What we were able to do this year at TIME & # 39; S UP is the 4% challenge, which is due to the fact that over the last 10 years some of the best studio films made have been shot , women represent only 4% of filmmakers in this space and therefore ask people to commit to working with a director in the next 18 months. And I had on the phone some big Hollywood stars who are men, and some were a bit reluctant because they did not want to sign up if they were not working a little or they could not hire and others, like Armie Hammer, were, of course, like I can not believe that I only work with a director now that I've been working since as long as. But I think people have to make a concerted effort. I do not think inclusion occurs by mistake. It just does not happen.

On the obstacles to inclusion

Well, there is this idea, for example, that they do not exist in the pipeline. So, I say that only 4% of these movies are made by women, some people in Hollywood mistakenly think that it's a reservoir of talent. And you see that in independence, women represent perhaps 28% of the films made. This exists – people make the conscious decision not to hire these women and not hire them for projects. And then there's always that language that I really hate, with a movie in the studio, that we've "taken a risk" and I do not think that language is used – you look at someone like Taika Waititi Thor, brilliant filmmaker who directed all the independent films, then Marvel said: "It would be fantastic for this film", and they were right. And I think we just need to see more studios doing that with women … because it was not a risk, he had done so many brilliant films, and a lot of women did the same thing .

This story was produced for the radio by Mallory Yu and Connor Donevan, and adapted for the Web by Petra Mayer.