This week we’re joined by actor and producer Tessa Thompson! To begin, we talk about Thompson’s entry point into her new film Passing (7:56), a pivotal scene starring Bill Camp (11:08), the groundbreaking work of writers Nella Larsen (13:05) and Zora Neale Hurston (15:33), and how moviemaking keeps Tessa connected to something greater (19:37). 

On the back half, she shares her earliest inclinations toward acting (22:20) and activism (26:43), growing up in Los Angeles to creative parents (24:17), reckoning with her own ambition (30:19), how she learned to take up space in Hollywood (31:10), why she recently launched her own production company, Viva Maude (33:31), and what her success would’ve meant to her late grandmother (38:58).

To submit a question, comment, or reflection for our upcoming mailbag episode, write us at [email protected].

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.