Lupita Nyong'o has responded to the racist online backlash over her casting as Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming epic The Odyssey, saying the film is a mythological story whose diverse cast reflects the world it seeks to portray. In The Odyssey, Nolan's follow-up to the 2023 blockbuster Oppenheimer, Nyong'o essays Helen of Troy, the legendary Greek figure famed for her beauty whose elopement with Paris, prince of Troy, is believed to have sparked the Trojan War. She is also portraying Clytemnestra, Helen's sister and the wife of Agamemnon, the powerful Mycenaean king and brother of Menelaus, Helen's husband. After Nolan confirmed that the Oscar winner has been cast as Helen, the director and the actor both faced a barrage of criticism with some commentators, including tech magnate Elon Musk, arguing the role should have gone to a white actor. Nyong'o, best known for her performances in movies 12 Years a Slave and Black Panther, dismissed the backlash in an interview with Elle Magazine.

 

"This is a mythological story. I'm very supportive of Chris' intention with it and with the version of this story that he is telling. Our cast is representative of the world. I'm not spending my time thinking of a defense. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not," she said. On the question of Helen's legendary beauty, Nyong'o said her approach to the character runs deeper than the surface. "You can't perform beauty. I want to know who a character is. What is beyond beauty? What is beyond looks? That's the thing about doing such a well-known text, which has been studied and interpreted and derived from. "The research could be endless. The good thing about working with a writer like Chris is that it's on the page. The investigation starts with the pages you're given," the 43-year-old added. Nyong’o is not alone in facing such criticism. Fellow cast members Travis Scott and Elliot Page, who play undisclosed roles in the film, have also been targeted with racist and transphobic remarks respectively. But the actor said the ensemble's diversity was central to the film's ambition. The film will be released in theatres worldwide on July 17.