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Nicole Beharie Can’t Believe You’re Still Tweeting About Her Black Mirror Scene

The Breaking star on working with John Boyega, the late Michael K. Williams, and her now iconic Black Mirror scene. 
Nicole Beharie Cant Believe Youre Still Tweeting About Her Black Mirror Scene
By Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images.

Nicole Beharie has a soft spot for everyday heroes. “I’m one of those suckers for shows where someone who’s been taking care of kids and kittens or whatever [gets] a home renovation,” she says in a phone call from Los Angeles. “You know what I mean?”

That’s why she gravitated toward Breaking, a film bursting with everyday heroes—albeit ones in a much more dramatic and devastating scenario than you’d find on HGTV. The film tells the true story of Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega), a soft-spoken Marine veteran who holds a bank hostage after the government stops sending him disability checks. Beharie plays Estel Valerie, the bank manager who keeps Easley calm and sympathizes with him, refusing to leave even though she has ample opportunities to escape. “This is actually what happened,” Beharie says. “It’s not like, oh, what if this lady did that? This is what she did.”

It’s a knockout performance from Beharie, who navigates Estel’s desperation with unbelievable dignity and grace. But that’s par for the course for Beharie, who only needs a few seconds of screen time to leave an impression. See also Steve McQueen’s Shame, and a single 51-second scene from her turn as a scorned wife in Black Mirror that regularly goes viral on Twitter. It is, of course, better, for Beharie and for us, when she has more time to luxuriate, like in the three-season expanse of Sleepy Hollow—a star vehicle she departed due to illness and network callousness—or the critically acclaimed 2020 drama Miss Juneteenth.

After Breaking, she’ll next appear onscreen in The Morning Show, the Apple TV+ series starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston as warring anchors. Beharie will play Christina Hunter, a charismatic new anchor with a distinctly millennial point of view. “She’s coming in with a different energy and a different perspective,” Beharie says. “It’s good stuff. Great writing. All the characters are dynamic. Hopefully I’ll add my little funky thing to it.”

Vanity Fair: What element of the Breaking script or the character made you say, Yes, I want to do this?

Nicole Beharie: There’s so many exciting, aspirational war films in the Hollywood canon, but you never see the other side of that. You see all the big explosions and the medals and someone being a war hero, but I know for a fact—having family members who fought in different parts of the armed forces—all of them changed after having that experience. And I identified with Brian, in an experience I had with my uncle. I felt like it was an opportunity for me to have a part in bringing awareness to the other side of war, the part that we sweep under the rug.

Did you talk about this film with those family members?

No, no, no, no, no. Sometimes you do things and you hope that they’ll be pleased, you know? That I was thinking of you. That you were on my heart and that’s why I wanted to do this project. I’ve gotten responses from my cousins. They were like, We saw it! That was a good feeling. 

People have also asked me if I got to meet with the woman who is based on Estel Valerie. My understanding is this was pretty traumatic for her, you know? We had statements and CCTV footage and photographs and the recordings of the police calls and 911 calls and all those things, so I had a lot to work with. I was like, if this is going to trigger somebody in that way, I don’t think it’s necessary. And the same goes for my family. Because honestly, it’s John, who had to deal with that aspect of the storytelling. 

You mentioned having a lot of material to shape your character. Was the film trying to be 100 percent faithful to her, or were there things you had to create as an actor? 

What’s on the page—according to Kwame [Kwei-Armah], our co-writer, and Abi [Damaris Corbin], our director—was almost verbatim. Apparently the script was five times longer because they were taking things directly out of the factual evidence and statements. So I feel like we did stay really true to what happened, down to why she didn’t leave. I, Nicole, probably would’ve ran at the bank. But in the actual footage and the photographs, she’s there by the door with her arms folded, trying to get her other employee Rosa, played by Selenas [Leyva], to leave. Why doesn’t she go? She’s right there with the key. But this is actually what happened. Some people have that extra thing. It’s beautiful. 

I don’t know if this is a spoiler, but there’s a scene between you and John where you’re telling him, “Please let me give you what is owed to you.” It’s really powerful. 

Thank you. That was the heart of it for me. She was just working at a bank, doing protocol. Then you start to see someone’s spirit and you start to realize why he’s doing it and what is owed to him. It just changes the dynamic. It’s such a small thing that he’s after. 

It’s a gut punch. 

Right. He deserves it. It’s his due, after all that he sacrificed. 

Talk to me a bit about how you prepped for that scene.

Thank you. Child, I don’t know. [Laughs] I did all the acting things. [Laughs]. I don’t know!

That’s a great answer. [Laughs]

Just stuff. I don’t know! But John was amazing to work with. He came in so real and kept the stakes high. 

Had you met John before this film, or was this the first time? 

This was our first time connecting. And man, when I say master class... I’m sure John told you this, but Abi insisted that this thing was like theater. That we stay alive for everybody, even when the camera’s not on you. He was just giving so much when he was on camera, but also when he wasn’t on camera.

The late Michael K. Williams is in this film as well. You didn’t share scenes, but were you ever on set at the same time? 

He came to set a few times, and he was just radiant and joyful. The subject matter is heavy, so he just brought in a light to production. This man was just so generous and so loving. He’s an icon to me. He’s one of those people I grew up watching. I had so much respect for what he brought to the Hollywood canon, to film and television. Also, his transparency about his life. He didn’t have to do a small indie. He also came to set and did off-camera [dialogue] for the telephone call, on a day off. Look. That does not happen. I need people to understand that kind of spirit and level of generosity and professionalism. You don’t have to do that. First of all, you could just have called it in. Another actor could be doing it. I don’t know that I’ve experienced that before.

These last few days of talking about the film and going to the screening… It has been bittersweet. Bitter, bittersweet and very sad that he is not a part of this process. But his work and his legacy will live on forever. 

Is there any element of his craft that you feel like has influenced you? Like, “I want try that on the next movie or show that I’m in.”

Definitely his presence. He came in looking good. The minute you show up, you’re putting on your costume, so I wear sweats to set. I wear cozies. But he smelled nice, he looked nice. And I was like, Wow. You know how you see those memes that are like, “Every day is a celebration,” or “I’m not going to wait to wear my good clothes.” That spirit is something that really stayed with me. And that generosity to show up, sit in the corner and say lines while you’re not on camera—I don’t think people understand how beautiful that is and how generous that is.

I recently interviewed John, and he also talked about how Michael smelled amazing, and how he gave him the oil. 

Yeah, I’m mad I didn’t get any oils though! [Laughs] He smelled amazing. 

Speaking of John, when I spoke to him and mentioned you, he nerded out about your craft. And he used the word “nuance” a lot. He kept talking about the small choices you would make, from the way you glanced to the way you slowly turned. He was taking notes. 

Man, I was taking notes! All the tenderness and nuance. There were so many colors in Brian Brown-Easley and in the way that he created this character. I know people will feel that and walk away like, Wow, he did that. He really did leave everything on the floor.

When I asked him about you, he immediately also started talking about your past performance in Black Mirror. There’s a scene—

The dinner scene! 

Yes, the dinner scene! Are you aware that it frequently goes viral? 

I didn’t know that until this year! And then people were showing me memes from years before. I don’t understand. I’m blown away. Maybe there are a lot of people in relationships that feel unseen, or not fully loved. I don’t know. It’s really interesting. And that’s a crazy thing for an actor. To be in such a small part of that episode, which was so much fun. Working with Yahya [Abdul Mateen II] and Anthony [Mackie], oh my gosh. And we shot in Brazil. But yeah, I actually just found that out this year. I thought they were using it as a joke for something else, but it’s just people being like, “We like the scene,” I guess?

It’s literally just people stanning the acting.

I think sometimes people underestimate how smart audiences are and how they really do want to feel things. The audience is usually way ahead of us as well because they’ve seen a lot of things. I feel honored to be part of any kind of conversation like that, where audience members are like “Hey, I really like that. That was real. That stayed with me.” Why would you care about my little dinner scene? That’s crazy. But it’s kind of cool! It’s this very strange thing. It’s like a fandom for a scene. 

I don’t want to puncture the magic of that scene, but I am curious if you can remember anything about the process of shooting it. Was it top of day, end of day? Were there lots of takes? 

No, it was so long ago! It was one scene in this huge, epic episode. Honestly, I’m humbled. It’s a dinner scene! What I do remember is they had us shooting in Brazil for all the video game stuff. I had a fantastic month living in Brazil. [Laughs] I remember that! 

I also remember Anthony Mackie. He’s so cool. All his little glances. He’s saying so much while I’m gabbing. You feel that dynamic in relationships without saying that much. He’s really beautiful and powerful in that, too. 

Do you get asked about that scene a lot? 

One other person asked me about it. [Laughs]. I think that’s how I discovered it. Someone was like, “Are you aware…?” Because even my friends know I don’t really read reviews. I just want to do the work and have my experience. 

This interview has been edited and condensed.