Tessa Thompson

It's sort of like an eat, sleep, breathe.

It is your world and music is not necessarily, but it has such a huge...

place in my world.

And I think in terms of formative early experiences, a lot of those films that I would make with my dad or that time of creation was also at a time when he lived in his studio.

So when I would be spending, because my parents weren't together, I would spend time with my father.

And when I was spending time with my father, I was in Hollywood in this

So there were so many people coming in and out and creation and I would be playing or watching a movie while my dad would be recording.

And so there was this sense of constant music around and constant kind of creation.

And I still work in a very similar way when I'm working on something.

Music is a huge part.

part of how I'm beginning process and character and understanding characters.

There's so much that happens with sort of connecting kind of a sonic landscape with an emotional landscape.

And so I think that had a huge influence on me, for sure.

Yeah.

Firstly, I think she really recognized, because I was doing plays in school and one of my early productions, I remember she came and I had never seen her look at me that way.

was going to occupy really so much of my heart and life.

And then separately, I think, as someone that grew up, you know, I remember – and I think her father was just trying –

to give her the best odds.

But for example, suggesting that maybe she changed her name on a resume to sound less ethnic because it might help her get jobs.

And in fact, it did.