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What Now? With Trevor NoahWhat’s In An Accent with Lupita Nyong’o | What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast
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At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Lupita Nyong'o on Accents, African Stories, Belonging, and Self-Worth
- Nyong'o describes the grief of training in an American accent at drama school, then being asked to return to her own, and how her mother's reminder that her voice reflects her life experience helped her accept a malleable way of speaking.
- She explains that she made the podcast to challenge African reticence about private matters, humanize overlooked experiences, and popularize African perspectives, perhaps paving the way for future films.
- She credits her parents' support and her upbringing in a majority-Black society for her confidence and sense of belonging, contrasting it with the way America can grant and revoke belonging.
- Noah and Nyong'o swap behind-the-scenes stories, including Noah assembling Xhosa speakers to help her get her lines right in Black Panther, and trade jokes about rivalry among Africans.
- Nyong'o recounts turning down a stereotypical maid role while on a student visa, after her mother reminded her she was already accepted at home.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasAn accent can reflect a life rather than betray a home.
Nyong'o's mother told her that the way she sounds is a product of her life experience, which helped her accept her mixed accent after painful years of switching.
Technical accent training widens range.
Nyong'o says her Yale training taught her to pick apart accents, which let her play a Ugandan and attempt Xhosa, so she encourages African actors to learn other accents even as barriers fall.
Personal vulnerability can serve others.
Nyong'o shares only what she thinks may be useful to someone else, such as speaking openly about heartbreak to counter the perfect image people show on social media.
Telling African stories builds mutual understanding.
She wants Africans to hear one another's varied experiences, challenge the idea of what is 'un-African,' and be present on a global platform.
Her default is to seek welcome, not expect rejection.
Nyong'o says she experiences rejection but doesn't internalize it, and she credits parents who never limited her for gender, ethnicity, or nationality.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesMy default is not to feel unwelcome. My default is to seek welcome.
— Lupita Nyong’o
Like I'm not trying to be Kenyan, I just am.
— Lupita Nyong’o
we are robbing ourselves of an opportunity to understand ourselves one story at a time.
— Lupita Nyong’o
my value doesn't come in what I've achieved. It comes from who I am
— Lupita Nyong’o
Who taught us that Black is not suave?
— Trevor Noah
High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.
