Being biracial gives Gugu Mbatha-Raw “an interesting perspective.”
The 36-year-old actress’s father is a Black South African doctor, while her mother is a White British nurse and Gugu believes her heritage helps her “bring people together.”
“Being biracial is an interesting perspective because you can see every side of that conversation. I definitely relate to the idea of bringing people together.
“My first trip to South Africa [in December 2013] to see my family there, they jokingly called me ‘The Unifier’; that’s what they called Nelson Mandela at one point. But I feel like it’s my responsibility to unite the different parts of my life. And I think that it’s my responsibility to do that in my work.”
Mbatha-Raw also revealed she is a Time’s Up activist and has been heavily involved in the movement since its inception.
“I went to the first meeting in LA about it before the 2018 Golden Globes. I’ve been to several meetings and been part of both the British and the American gestation of the movement. Gathering together and strategizing.”
The Motherless Brooklyn actress is passionate about using her platform to encourage change and she says it helps to keep her “soul nourished.”
“It’s an actor’s responsibility to work on things that help the culture to evolve, and provoke conversations,” Mbatha-Raw explained.
“It’s about keeping your soul nourished. About being able to hold your head up and have a conversation about your work. I don’t want to be a product. I’d rather feel free to express myself than feel like I was doing something for the money, than feel like I’d sold out and my soul had withered in the process.”
