Teyonah Parris on Transforming Into a ‘Hood Superhero’ for Netflix’s ‘They Cloned Tyrone’
Angelique Jackson Teyonah Parris has stepped into plenty of shoes in her career — from “Dear White People” and “Mad Men” to “If Beale Street Could Talk” and, more recently, as Marvel superhero Monica Rambeau. But no shoes quite compare to the mustard yellow, thigh-high boots and chaps she wore as Yo-Yo in Netflix’s new pulpy conspiracy caper “They Cloned Tyrone.” “The minute I put on all those elements, I felt Yo-Yo,” Parris told Variety at a press junket for the film in late June. Parris laughed brightly as she recalls slipping into the role — a working girl who teams up with Fontaine (John Boyega), a local dope boy, and her pimp, Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), to expose a government conspiracy that touches every corner of their community, from the barbershop and the beauty salon to the local fried chicken joint.