'I don't care if it's a two-second commercial': Janelle Monae would do anything for Rian Johnson
Janelle Monáe landed her dream role and dream cast, including Daniel Craig, Kate Hudson and Edward Norton, in the 'Knives Out' sequel.
Janelle Monáe says she would have accepted any role Rian Johnson offered her.
The 36-year-old actress portrays tech entrepreneur Cassandra ‘Andi’ Brand in the director’s whodunnit 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery', and she has admitted she has so much admiration for the filmmaker that she would have featured in a two-second commercial for him.
Speaking to Collider, she said: “You know what? Yes, indeed. In my mind, I had always said, ‘If Rian reaches out to me, I don't care if it's a two-second commercial, it's a yes.’ And I read the script. I was already a fan of his taste and everything, and after reading it, dream role, dream cast. We got to go to Greece. I mean, it was so terrible going to Greece, and the baklava, and all those things. No, it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. You just say yes to these special murder mysteries that he's making and innovating in. And my character is a dream, because I got an opportunity to really, really show range, and go to different places as an actor, that I hadn't necessarily gone to.”
Janelle recently said she wants to emulate Johnny Depp's movie career.
The 36-year-old singer-and-actress admires 59-year-old Johnny's career path and she would love to follow in his footsteps.
She said: "When I think about careers, this person as an actor, his life as an actor only, it’s Johnny Depp.
“The amount of roles, from 'Willy Wonka', to 'Sweeney Todd', to all of the dramatic roles, [I want to do] whatever is the Janelle Monáe version of that, with those transformative characters that people are dressing up as on Halloween. I’m thinking that level. I’m ready to go there. Something grounded, but embedded in the hearts and minds of children."
And she also admires the late David Bowie.
She said: "I’ve always had like a world-building mind, and I never saw my music career as something that shouldn’t limit anything. It was like, ‘No, we can go far'. I mean, David Bowie did these things, so why can’t I do these things? What’s the difference?”
Janelle made her movie debut in Barry Jenkins’ 2016 Oscar winner 'Moonlight', but admitted she actually had different plans for her first film role.
She said: "I actually wanted my first film to be science-fiction. “But I was so happy it was 'Moonlight', because it meant a lot to a lot of people.”
