Hello and welcome to another episode of the Scene 2 Seen Podcast!! I am your host Valerie Complex, associate editor and film writer at Deadline. On today’s episode is actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Her latest project Amazon series Surface (where she also serves as executive producer), Raw stars as Sohie, a woman who has suffered a traumatic head injury that has left her with extreme memory loss, believed to be a result of a suicide attempt. As Sophie embarks on a quest to put the pieces of her life back together with the help of her husband and friends, she begins to question whether or not the truth she is told is in fact the truth she has lived. Showrunner is Veronica West (High Fidelity). You can view the trailer here to get a taste.
Looking back into her career history, Raw is an award-winning actor of the stage and screen. Her stage performances include Hamlet (2009) alongside Jude Law in the West End, Elsinore in Denmark and Broadway, and Nell Gwynn (2015), for which she was nominated for ‘Best Actress’ at the 2015 Evening Standard Theatre awards.
In film, Gugu has starred in Larry Crowne (2011) alongside Tom Hanks, and period drama Belle (2013), for which she won Best Actress at the 2014 BIFA Awards. She has also starred in Concussion (2015) alongside Will Smith, In 2018, Raw starred in Ava Duvernay Disney film A Wrinkle In Time opposite Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon. In March 2019, the actress starred as ‘Ruth’ in supernatural thriller, Fast Color. The film follows Ruth as she is forced to go on the run when her superhuman abilities are discovered. In November 2019, she also started in starred in Motherless Brooklyn alongside Ed Norton, Bruce Willis and Willem Dafoe.
With regards to television, in 2016 Raw starred in San Junipero, the only episode of Netflix anthology series Black Mirror ever to offer a happy ending. It has been widely celebrated by both critics and the viewing public since its release as a socially important and otherwise enrapturing piece of art. In addition to several other accolades, San Junipero won two Primetime Emmy Awards.
She also featured in Apple TV’s award-winning drama series The Morning Show (2019), and stars as Ravonna Renslayeron Disney+ opposite Tom Hiddleston in Loki. The second season will return to Disney+ in 2023.
In today’s discussion, Raw talks about the intricacies of producing television content, the importances of being emotionally available for every performance, and why Surface is the best new show you aren’t watching!
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