Exclusive: DeWanda Wise Shares This Hilarious Behind the Scenes Moment With Chris Pratt

DeWanda Wise is no stranger to embodying powerful women on the big and small screen.

The American star, known for her magnificent performance as Nola Darling on Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It on Netflix, is exploring new frontiers as Air Force pilot Kayla Watts in Jurassic World: Dominion.

In an exclusive interview with People Chica, the 38-year-old actress dished on her favorite dinosaurs, the importance of BIPOC actors having "hero" moments in blockbuster films and her funny behind-the-scenes exchange with Chris Pratt.

Photo by Emma McIntyre/WireImage

You've played such strong and empowering roles before, and now you're making your Jurassic Park debut as Kayla Watts, a former Air Force pilot. What was it like to embody this character and face off some dinosaurs?

It was a real gift, you know, an honor. The first conversation that Colin [Trevorrow] and I had was about exactly that, what it takes to create a character of real impact. The beautiful thing about Kayla and the thing that was the most meaningful and the greatest gift that I, selfishly as a person and as an actor, got from her was also building in a degree of ease. She's strong, but she doesn't have to prove a single thing to a single person.

In Jurassic World: Dominion, you're exploring a storyline where dinosaurs are no longer kept in captivity. Could you imagine a world where humans and dinosaurs shared the earth together?

We wouldn't last long, would we? I mean, that's just the truth of it. Yes, I could imagine a world where humans and dinosaurs shared the earth together for exactly two months before dinosaurs would reclaim dominion.

There are these wonderful moments, both at the beginning and the end of the film and battle of Big Rock—the film that Colin made before this one to be the interstitial between the Fallen Kingdom and Dominion—where if I'm camping, you would be there, if I'm driving on the side of a cliff, you would be there and just knock me off. I don't think it would be very long.

Photo by Jaime Nogales/Medios y Media/Getty Images

You had the opportunity to work with some amazing actors on this film including Chris Pratt, Laura Dern and Sam Neill. What was one of the most memorable experiences you had on set filming?

This is my favorite thing and I have not talked about this. This did not happen when we were filming, but we were all kind of in a little safe place backstage when we were filming and I was playing Chris Stapleton because he's perfect and I love his music. I'm playing Chris Stapleton and Pratt comes by and he's like, "Who's playing Chris Stapleton?" And I was like, "Oh, listen, I'm playing Chris Stapleton."

And he just goes, real casual, it was my favorite, "He played at my rehearsal dinner." And I was like, "Of course he did. Of course, Chris Stapleton played at your rehearsal dinner." And I was like, "no, no, no, don't apologize, Chris Pratt, okay!" I can't wait, I can't wait for the day that I could be like, "Oh, Janelle Monae? Yeah, she played at this reception. Anyway, what are you having for lunch?" I can't wait. This is one of my favorite, most ridiculous, wonderful behind-the-scenes moments of filming.

If you could pick a favorite dinosaur, what do you think yours would be?

It's a cross between a Ty [T-Rex] and the Quetzalcoatlus. I just think they're really cool because they can fly. Leonard, the Lystrosaurus, because he is the dinosaur version of Kayla, unassuming, wouldn't expect a single thing, but will bite your head off if he needs to.

What was the most surprising thing about your character that going in you didn't expect but surprised you once you were filming?

When we were already in the thick of it there were a lot of conversations in the summer of 2020 about black actors and blockbusters. John Boyega [from the Star Wars franchise] was talking about it, Ray Fisher [from Justice League] was talking about it and what it really means to create a character who has impact and that requires hero moments.

When I first read the script, Kayla had more than enough to do obviously, how y'all going to get off the island without her? You can't, you know. So, she was already like, "you need me, I'm taking you everywhere, you need me."

But man, I would get to set, and Colin would just be like, "Oh, also now in this sequence, you're pulling this, bazooka from the wall and coming up" and I'm like, "Glad I've been lifting weights" that thing was heavy.  Every time I would show up to set, he would just be like, "All right, what else? What else can Kayla do?" It's very cool.