Zendaya Broke Down Her Fears In A Powerful Convo With Janelle Monáe And Others

HBO's Euphoria noticed Zendaya tapping into a much darker, grittier role than her Disney Channel beginnings on Shake It Up would have forecasted. Although as she revealed in a new roundtable interview for The Hollywood Reporter, that developments was only one segment of the other stress she felt in making her next acting move. "Being a young Disney actor, that's one level, being a young Black woman is one level, and then being very hard on myself is another level,"she said.


The roundtable, which noticed her in conversation with Janelle Monáe, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Rose Byrne, and Helena Bonham Carter, also allowed Zendaya to explain how those fears about making the so-called "right" decision can dissipate in time. "It's also just a personalized fear. I want to do a good job, and some days that can cause you to be fearful of things. Nevertheless I am going to mention that there's something that happens as soon as once a special character comes along, for me at least, and those fears melt away," she mentioned. "They don't come back up until it begins airing, which is Whenever I began to get a little bit scared again."


She also addressed that fear earlier in the discussion as soon as she said the sense of gnawing self-doubt that can accompany any work as a performer. "I think, like a lot of artists, I'm my biggest critic, so some of it was internal — not wanting to create a mistake or worrying that maybe I did not have the room to create a mistake and wanting to prepare the correct next move," Zendaya mentioned. Yet I also wanted to prove myself. As soon as Euphoria came along, I was very grateful because all those fears melted away and I felt like it was something that I had to be a piece of. So, the fear became just, like, push yourself. In case you go to work and you're scared, that's a good thing. You must be worried about whether you could do it."


Elsewhere in the piece, Monáe — who also tells Zendaya her Euphoria efficiency was perfect — addresses what she views because the significance of making artsy choices that can display how Black characters are not "monolithic."


"We can do the math that gets boys into space [the basis for Hidden Figures] and we can also be in the ghettos in Moonlight, also it was super key that those were the opening roles I took," she mentioned. "Even in music, I've tried my best to walk my truth as a queer Black woman growing up In the United States and what that insinuates. Representation is key. Our voices onscreen, our presence onscreen, it's all super crucial. I'm also at a point where I want the freedom like all of my main go to actors who get a possibility to do fantasy, sci-fi, drama, all these things. I'd like to be able to see more scripts where you're writing for the human, you're not pushing me to be a stereotype of what you think Blackness is."


Zendaya also talked about her choice to warn her fans and social-media followers about the mature content they were sure to be able to see on Euphoria, which is still a teen drama: "I have a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, however I'm appreciative for that because with that there is lots of good that I can do and I know who is watching." She linked that with the very weight of having a platform right now and what she views as key to communicate with it. Right now, more than ever, specifically with Black Lives Matter and everything, I feel an obligation to create ensure that I'm aware and putting out the correct things and in line with organizers and people who are on the ground."


Read the full discussion and watch their categorize Zoom call here.