"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" Actor Janeshia Adams-Ginyard Breaks Down The Loss Of Chadwick Boseman And Working In The MCU
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has finally hit theaters, following a four-year break between the first film and the sequel. The highly anticipated Marvel movie was put on hold when our king and leader Chadwick Boseman died after silently battling colon cancer. Fans around the world were left heartbroken and in a daze, confused about how Marvel would proceed following his death.
Before Wakanda Forever shook up the world and the MCU, I was blessed with an opportunity to sit down with Janeshia Adams-Ginyard, who plays Nomble in the new film. Janeshia started in the MCU by playing a Dora Milaje warrior and Okoye's stunt double in the first Black Panther. She went on to do both stunt and acting work in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Pretty much, if you saw Okoye kicking ass on screen doing stunts, it was probably Janeshia. After watching Wakanda Forever, we're pretty excited to see where her warrior goes next in the MCU. Here’s everything I learned from Janeshia:
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
1.You got your start in the MCU doing stunt work — was that always a passion?
"So my first job with Marvel was through the stunt side, which is crazy! I actually started in this industry as an actress first, and then transitioned into doing stunts."
2.What was the audition like for Black Panther?
"My first audition was through acting by Sarah Finn, who is the casting director. And the role stated that you [need to] have some athletic martial arts background. So in the audition, I did some taekwondo kicks, my side kicks, my roundhouses. And then maybe after that first audition, it was probably about two weeks later, I was contacted through the stunt side. And that's basically how that happened. Then, there was another audition that took place a couple of weeks later. I went to Atlanta, where I had to audition in front of Ryan [Coogler], Nate Moore, all the Marvel execs were there. ... I didn't know they were going to be there, though! [laughs]."
BuzzFeed: That must have been pretty intense. What is auditioning for that like?
"They had different stations set up. They had a punching station, a roll station, and a station where we did reactions. They had like 14 of us there. And at the same time, I still didn't know what the product was."
3.You mentioned how you didn’t know much going into your audition. Is that because Marvel is super secretive?
"That audition I had with Sarah Finn said 'Untitled Marvel Project.' And at that time, you're like, the only thing that's happening is Black Panther. That was kind of the buzz in the streets. And so I show up in Atlanta, I saw only Black people there, and I was like this is definitely for Black Panther [laughs]. After that audition, there was a little bit of a delay and a waiting period, you were getting emails that had NDAs or you got an NDA before you even got the offer to work."
4.Is it true the Marvel NDAs are pretty serious? Kevin Feige is on top of it like that?
"Yeah, he is not to be played with. I had an NDA. I was like 'how are they gonna send me an NDA before I'm even offered a role?' [laughs]."
5.What was your first thought when you met Okoye actor Danai Gurira?
"That's the girl from The Walking Dead!"
6.So you've been in the BIG movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, not to mention Black Panther, Wakanda Forever, and the series Falcon and the Winter Soldier. What were some of the hardest stunts you had to pull off?
"So I will say Infinity War and Endgame because that's where I did solely doubling for Okoye's character. She had a lot more action over there on Avengers. A lot of wire work, being blasted, triple twist, getting thrown in the air as Thanos is snapping his fingers [laughs]. One of the hardest stunts was when Okoye is in the dirt mound fighting Proxima with Black Widow. That was pretty intense. Because Proxima hits her and when she flies she does a twist and lands on the dirt. That was a little bit of a challenge the way I was wrapping the wire."
7.What were the biggest differences for you between filming the first Black Panther and Wakanda Forever?
"The absence of Chadwick. ... He was such an energy, such a spirit. Because on the first one, he was the nucleus. I mean, he took on that role of being the leader. I mean, he's a king in the movie, but he literally was like the leader on that set. He wanted to make sure that there was a family, that there was this environment and culture of, like, we are here together working on this life-changing project, because I think he knew there was going to be a movement. He knew the importance of the representation, that he was a Black superhero. And no one thought that a movie with a leading Black actor as a superhero, and an all-Black cast, was going to make it."
8.Were those conversations, about a superhero movie potentially not being successful due to an all-Black cast, really prevalent behind the scenes?
"I think in my circle, we were all confident we knew we were making something good. It was Marvel, right? I mean, Marvel stamp of approval, bam! I knew it was gonna be good. But the end product surpassed my expectations by leaps and bounds. I never had any doubt in my mind that it wasn't a good product. I was happy and very much ecstatic to be a part of it. However, we saw the write-ups. People did not think that a successful superhero movie could be done with an all-Black cast. So I think Chad, with knowing that, he just wanted to make sure that the environment on set was like, 'We're making something that is going to be historical.'"
9.What was Chadwick like on set?
"He wanted to make sure everybody knew each other. He created a family and a culture and an environment where it was like a community. He didn't care if you worked grips, lights, makeup, hair, if you were number two on the call sheet or number 10. He invited you to the house. 'Come on, come over party, we got a party. Let's get together.' Everybody's dancing. He was not an elitist."
10.What would you want the world to know about him?
"Chadwick was the nucleus of the first movie. I have been on a few sets where some actors won't even look in your direction. You ain't in their same financial tax bracket. But he wasn't like that. The cast and crew, especially the people who worked with him on the first film, we rallied up, we cried out, we shared stories, and we just lifted each other up. We knew that we had to be fully present and commit to honoring Chad. Every day that I stepped on set, I had a silent prayer for him. I kept thinking, I'm here because of Chad."
11.I feel like the overall theme of Wakanda Forever is that grief is the most powerful weapon in the world. I want to know your perspective on grief and the message you hope audiences take away from the film.
"I hope the takeaway for the audience is that through grief, you can still be successful. You can still make change through grief. And, quite honestly, you can make grief your driving force. I think so many people might get caught up in their grief and then stay there. What Wakanda Forever shows is how not to allow grief to stagnate you. Allow it to drive you and move you. Through that, you can develop things that you didn't even know you could do. You can bring out the greatness in you that you didn't know that you had bottled up; down in the bottom at the crevices of your soul and your heart."
12.Where is the most exotic location filming has taken you?
"Puerto Rico! I love Puerto Rico, I'm an honorary Puerto Rican [laughs]."
13.Which Avenger would you be most afraid to fight?
"Wanda or The Hulk."
14.Who is the best MCU villain?
"Killmonger."
15.Jonathan Majors (Kang) or Michael B. Jordan (Killmonger)?
"I love them both, I worked with both of them! But I gotta go MBJ."
16.Have you ever been injured while performing a stunt on set?
"Yes! I broke my hand while filming Wakanda Forever."
17.Which Wakanda Forever character would you say you are most like?
"I'm very outspoken like Queen Ramonda. In this movie, we see such leadership from the queen, being able to call things out as she sees them."
18.Who would you want to play in the MCU other than your character Nomble?
"Storm or Mystique!"
19.Who was your favorite superhero growing up?
"Oooh, that has to be Storm."
20.Hulk versus Namor, who wins?
"Namor."
21.What's a movie you would have liked to be cast in?
"The Woman King. I had a callback for that audition [but didn't get it]."
22.What's the longest it's taken to film a scene from one of the many MCU projects you've been in?
"One week!"
23.Who would you like to star in a movie with next?
"Morgan Freeman!"
24.Do you think your character will get even more screen time in the future? Maybe Black Panther 3 or Secret Wars? Or possibly in the Thunderbolts movie, since it looks like that's when we'll see more of Wakanda next?
"I'm open to speaking that into existence!"
25.What is your favorite on-set snack?
"Nutella or Milano cookies! Anyone who knows me is gonna laugh cause they KNOW! [laughs]."
26.Sweet or savory?
"Sweet!"
27.Lastly, what's your favorite superhero TV show of all time?
"The classic Power Rangers!"
Thanks for chatting with us, Janeisha. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in theaters now!
