From an LGBTQ+ romance in
Black Mirror to the first woman of colour to win Miss World, the star is breaking down cultural barriers with her roles
The hotel drawing room where Gugu Mbatha-Raw sits is stately but casual. We are on a plump sofa and behind us a man fills the space with a loud video call, unaware that earphones have been invented. He is, obviously, irritating, but Mbatha-Raw’s only concern is that he will drown out the Dictaphone. She is somewhat stately and casual herself, laughing whenever she says something that she thinks might sound pretentious. Earnestness is spiked with self-awareness. “I’d never want to assume that I have some greater wisdom,” she says with a grin.
There is an alertness about Mbatha-Raw, just as there is on screen: almost all of her characters are on some sort of mission. As the real-life biracial girl born into slavery but raised by the aristocracy in 2013’s Belle – the actor’s big-screen breakthrough – her combination of innocence and steeliness charmed many.
Oprah Winfrey was a huge supporter of the film, while Prince – actual Prince – performed at an afterparty he arranged for the premiere.