Lashana Lynch on Training for ‘The Woman King’ While Filming ‘Matilda the Musical’: ‘My Singing Voice Changed’

variety.com:

Angelique Jackson When “The Woman King” star Lashana Lynch began training to play Izogie, a warrior in the Agojie, an all-female fighting force that defended the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century, she was in the middle of filming “Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical,” where she stars as Matilda’s kindhearted teacher, Miss Honey. “It was such a juxtaposition,” Lynch says about embodying both characters simultaneously. “There were little conversations about Miss Honey becoming really muscly.” The preparation for “The Woman King” was some of the most intense work she’d ever done — she’s had roles in both the latest James Bond movie, “No Time to Die” (in which she played the first female 007), and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (“Captain Marvel”) — but her growing biceps ended up being the least of the “Matilda” production’s concerns. “My singing voice changed,” she recalls. “My teacher would be like, ‘We need to open your lungs and chest up; your throat needs relaxing.’ I’d say, ‘That’s because I’m toughening up everywhere.’ It was wild.” Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, TriStar’s “The Woman King” premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival before its theatrical release on Sept.

16. Read below for Lynch’s conversation with Variety about the feature. How did you first learn of this project and the Agojie warriors? I had a call with the incredible Gina Prince-Bythewood, who I was a fan of [because of] “Love & Basketball.” The script floated my way, and after reading it, I was immediately transfixed.

But Gina’s description — her plans, her vision, how she saw me in the character, that she wanted me to just take it and run with it and really collab on this experience — was enough to get me going, and the