Danielle Brooks Threw a “Marvels” Party for Teyonah Parris During Strike: 'We're Going to Celebrate You' (Exclusive)

"It's going to make me tear up," Teyonah Parris said while recalling the event, which Danielle Brooks hosted at her home theater

With the release of The Marvels, Teyonah Parris was unable to celebrate her “dream role” for a second time — but Danielle Brooks made sure she got her flowers.

Parris, 36, starred as Captain Monica Rambeau (a character first introduced in 2021’s WandaVision) in The Marvels, which hit theaters on Nov. 10 — the day after the actors' strike ended. The movie had a star-less press tour and premiere given the strike's outlines.

In Parris’s words, her entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe “just hasn't happened in the way that I thought it would.”

“For WandaVision, we were in a pandemic. And then with The Marvels, we were in a strike. So I haven't actually done a full press run where I get to engage one-on-one, in person, face-to-face with fans,” she tells PEOPLE. “I wanted to be a part of that and feel that.”

Related: The Marvels Gag Reel! Watch Brie Larson, Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris Goof Around on Set (Exclusive)

Enter Brooks. The Orange Is the New Black star, 34, “became family” to Parris when they were up-and-coming actresses at The Juilliard School over a decade ago. And she was not going to let this career milestone go un-celebrated.

Brooks' solution? Host a private screening of The Marvels at her home theater. "She was like, ‘No, girl, we're going to celebrate you,’ ” Parris tells PEOPLE, adding, "It's going to make me tear up.”

The Marvels star recalls Brooks saying, “I know you feel like all of your work and things aren't happening how you thought. But it doesn't matter — you did it. We are so proud of you. We know what you put into it. Come to the house, we gonna celebrate.”

“She got food, had friends, and we just went into her theater, and we got to watch the movie together and just be excited,” she recalls, adding, “I love that gal.”

Related: Danielle Brooks Looks Angelic with Halo Headpiece at ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards

Parris told PEOPLE the story of the at-home premiere on March 7, just before heading to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures to introduce Brooks at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards.

“This is actually a very special moment for my sister, who is Oscar-nominated and really just being and living her dreams and in her moment,” she says, adding that she was “really excited” to return the favor and “celebrate her" at the event.

The Marvel star first learned of The Color Purple actress's Oscar nomination while in New Zealand. She and Brooks’ Juilliard friends, including actors Corey Hawkins and Joaquina Kalukango, wasted no time hopping on a FaceTime call, she recalls.

“We were all drool on our mouth, crust in the eyes from just waking up and calling her like, ‘Answer the phone, answer the phone,’ ” she remembers. “We were so excited.”

"I've seen her grow and we've both grown together and just gone through the struggle and what it's like to want to be in this space and tell these stories,” she says. “To see her in this moment, this special, beautiful moment, I am bursting with excitement for her.”

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Parris and Brooks’ support for each other has "just gotten deeper” over the years, she says.

“I think when you're two teenagers coming out of an institution and the world is so big and your dreams feel so close but they're so far away, the support looks different,” she says, “because you're just in a different place in your life.”

"It's been rough, and it's also been beautiful. And just what makes that beautiful is knowing that you have that family and those friends there with you to help you through and encourage you,” she adds, “and also just celebrate and be silly and crazy with.”

"So it just has grown as we've grown, and I think it's grown deeper,” she adds.

Related: Danielle Brooks Has 'Full-Circle' Moment on Oscars 2024 Carpet Running Into Former Costars Laverne Cox and Cynthia Erivo

And one day — hopefully sooner rather than later — the pair hopes to take their friendship to the screen. According to Parris, a collaboration has been on the table before.

“I would do anything with my sis. She just needs to let me know,” Parris says, adding that Brooks is “such light, such joy.”

“We'll figure something out,” she says. “We'll find something."

The Marvels is now available to stream on Disney+ and available to purchase on DVD and Blu-ray.

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