Lupita Nyong’o says she had to go to some "dark places" while filming ‘Us’.
The 36-year-old actress plays a dual role of Adelaide Wilson and her terrifying doppelgänger Red in Jordan Peele’s new psychological horror – which follows a family on vacation who are terrorised with monsters who look exactly like them – and admitted that it was so draining she would have to take naps in between filming.
Speaking on the ‘Ellen DeGeneres Show’ on Wednesday (13.03.19) she said: "They’re very different, they’re diametrically opposed to each other but they’re also connected, so I had to go to some dark places within myself to find the doppelgänger, Red.
"[I had to] do a crazy voice that was a lot fun to create and I enjoyed the experience. I spent a lot of time between takes sleeping just trying to catch up with myself."
The ’12 Years a Slave’ star explained that playing two roles was even more challenging as a lot of the time she was acting alone in scenes.
She added: "You never meet your scene partner which is a challenge of its own, someone who’s just an eye line or sometimes a green cross on the wall."
Lupita has also admitted to being "panicked" playing two characters in the film and felt "freaked out" by her own expectations.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, she said: "I was playing not one, but two characters in the same movie and I was panicked, because usually I have the time it takes to prepare for one film and [even then], the critic in my head is powerful, and she knows how to freak me out."
"It took having people I love around me who could remind me of the things I wasn’t able to see for myself, and to build that confidence."
The thriller also stars Lupita’s ‘Black Panther’ co-star Winston Duke as her husband Gabe and Elizabeth Moss as a family friend and will be released on March 22.
Lupita Nyong’o went to some ‘dark places’ filming Us
