Both the Oxford-born actress and her director, Gina Prince-Bythewood, intend for Beyond the Lights to “change the conversation” about how the entertainment industry packages its female talent.
To research the heroine, who is manipulated by a toxic stage mom and greedy handlers, the 31-year-old nurse’s daughter studied superstars past and present: Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Beyoncé, Prince, Rihanna. Mbatha-Raw—the lead earlier this year in the period drama Belle—had to reject her Royal Academy of Dramatic Art training, practicing gyrations in front of mirrors and learning to stare directly at the camera. “It was cringe-worthy! It took me a very long time to look myself in the eye!” she says.
Her shoot kind of looks like Kerry Washington's VF shoot.source