Noma Dumezweni

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“Her name is Noma Dumezweni, and in all I’ve seen her in—she’s a player in “The Watcher,” now on Netflix—she takes the English language and rips it to shreds and then puts it back together again. She’s electric with words and thought while not overplaying either. Kudos for casting such a mind in a popular medium. She elevates the material by not talking down to it. She brings scripts up to her level. She’s a wonder on so many levels. Write for her. Make her parts bigger—if you dare. I know we can’t have too many of us on screen at one time, but compare [Dumezweni] to the acting-as-solipsism-snot-crying-carrying-on that passes as black excellence in Hollywood these days with ND, and get back to me. ND doesn’t ever play pity, or ask to be loved because-you-is-kind. ND beats that other mess and your expectations about black women performers by a mile. Because to paraphrase Morgan Freeman, Dumezweni doesn’t play black, she is black. And it’s just one of the many things she is. She’s a star, and you’ll see her, if you’re really ready to look up at the sky.”

 -Hilton Als












“Her name is Noma Dumezweni, and in all I’ve seen her in—she’s a player in “The Watcher,” now on Netflix—she takes the English language and rips it to shreds and then puts it back together again. She’s electric with words and thought while not overplaying either. Kudos for casting such a mind in a popular medium. She elevates the material by not talking down to it. She brings scripts up to her level. She’s a wonder on so many levels. Write for her. Make her parts bigger—if you dare. I know we can’t have too many of us on screen at one time, but compare [Dumezweni] to the acting-as-solipsism-snot-crying-carrying-on that passes as black excellence in Hollywood these days with ND, and get back to me. ND doesn’t ever play pity, or ask to be loved because-you-is-kind. ND beats that other mess and your expectations about black women performers by a mile. Because to paraphrase Morgan Freeman, Dumezweni doesn’t play black, she is black. And it’s just one of the many things she is. She’s a star, and you’ll see her, if you’re really ready to look up at the sky.”

 -Hilton Als

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