KiKi Layne steals a lot of the show in Netflix’s brand new film, The Old Guard.
The actress portrays Nile, a young, Black soldier who discovers her abilities after being killed in action while serving in Afghanistan, and joins the group of immortal mercenaries tasked with protecting humanity.
KiKi opened up in a about her role in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, stressing just how important it was to portray a Black, powerful hero on screen.
“For whatever reason, Hollywood has had a very limited view of what life is and what certain people in certain roles, what they look like, and this film basically says, ‘No. There is so much more room, so many more people who can fill these roles and tell these stories,’” KiKi shared. “I’m just looking at a point where it’s not just a surprise, where it’s like this is the world and our films should reflect it.”
She adds that the first time she got the script, there was no way she’d say no to it.
“When I read the script and her character popped up, I was like, ‘I’m in,’” KiKi says. “The fact that I get to put a young, Black, female hero into the world in a movie like this? Obviously, we know how rare it is. And we need to see ourselves like that. The world needs to see ourselves as heroes, to be inspired by and aspire to be.”
KiKi also spoke with THR about walking away so sore after going through action choreography training for the part.
“Man, I’ve never done anything like that in my life,” she confessed. “It was crazy. I mean, [my trainer] would seriously spend hours a day training me. I would train more in one day than a lot of people train in an entire week because there were so many different aspects of it. We’re learning the choreography, then we’re learning how to do different stunts and how to work with all of these different weapons.”
KiKi adds, “I also learned a lot of boxing, a lot of military and tactical training and information. So, definitely a lot got thrown at me. (Laughs.) But it was necessary, just because the physicality is such an extension of these characters. And then, for the older Old Guard members, they’ve been alive for so long that they kind of need to look like experts with all of this stuff.”
“So, all of us had to be super committed to the training and super committed to walking away with a few bumps and bruises and soreness in places that you didn’t even know could be sore. (Laughs.) But we had to do it because this story’s told in the right way.”
You can watch Kiki alongside Charlize Theron, Luca Marinelli, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Marwan Kenzari in The Old Guard, streaming now on Netflix.
Spoilers ahead here!
