Lupita Nyong’o & Melissa McCarthy cover Variety Magazine’s ‘Actors on Actor’ Issue

Hollywood actors Mellissa McCarthy and Lupita Nyong’o are on the cover of Variety Magazine‘s Actors on Actors issue, out now.

Read excerpts from their interview below:

Melissa, on being a woman in the industry: I feel like there’s forward motion when people are like, ‘What a difference, huh?’ I’m like, ‘Let’s not oversell it.’ But I do like seeing more women behind the camera and in front of it, and I like seeing more real women being portrayed.

Lupita, on female representation: I just did a film this summer, and the boom operator was female, and I’d never seen that. You realize how preprogrammed you are in those moments, that I’d never even considered that I’d never seen it. I feel like this conversation is really good that we’re having, that it is sustained and that we don’t congratulate ourselves too much, but we don’t berate ourselves either…it’s about the awareness and that it takes everybody to be aware that this is not just a battle for women. It’s one for men, as well, and that they have a very, very pivotal role to play to change those demographics. I’m excited about this.

Melissa, on the difference doing a dramatic role: There’s no difference. When it is a comedy I spend a lot of time thinking about how if they’re super happy and bubbly, it’s a defense mechanism. I guess I have a fascination with defense mechanisms and what people do and how they present themselves.

Lupita, on how women were portrayed in Black Panther: Because Ryan is a feminist himself, he wanted this film to show women like the women he grew up with, who are strong and multi-talented and multifaceted and involved. Then what I love about him is that he’s humble enough to hire artists whom he can trust to bring more to the table than he might have even imagined.

Read more on Variety.com