NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� To get a sense of Janelle Mon谩e鈥檚 powers of transformation, look no further than . Mon谩e doesn鈥檛 just throw something on. When she turns into the White Rabbit from 鈥淎lice in Wonderland鈥� or Diva Plavalaguna from 鈥淭he Fifth Element,鈥� Mon谩e looks legitimately ready to step onto a movie set.
鈥淚 am indeed a self-proclaimed transformer,鈥� Mon谩e says, smiling. 鈥淚 love going outside of what I think I know about me.鈥�
Mon谩e, who grew up in a working-class Baptist family in the Quindaro neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, first remade herself in music as a retro-styled dynamo. Performing in a tuxedo and a vintage pompadour, she fashioned herself as . Acting was probably inevitable for Mon谩e, who studied musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy before dedicating herself to music.
鈥淚t is that character building that I love,鈥� Mon谩e said in a recent interview. 鈥淚 love just getting my body into discovering a new way to talk and to breathe, and, hopefully, being a reflection for other folks. Go outside of who you think you are every day.鈥�
But as much as Mon谩e has been and 鈥� a self-evident movie star -- it has sometimes seemed since her two 2016 big-screen debuts and 鈥淢oonlight鈥� that Hollywood hasn鈥檛 known quite how to fully harness the wide-ranging talents of such a self-propelled, mold-breaking Black female artist.
But in which debuts Friday on Netflix, Mon谩e may have found a film to suit her proclivity for shape shifting. In Johnson鈥檚 puzzle box of a movie, Mon谩e鈥檚 character is the most mysterious and enigmatic of a colorful ensemble. If 鈥淜nives Out鈥� , 鈥淕lass Onion鈥� is a revelation of Mon谩e鈥檚 many layers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been an incredibly transformative experience for me as an actor,鈥� Mon谩e says. 鈥淚 got an opportunity to show range. This character goes from comedy to the deep emotional, heavy-lifting dramatic scenes all the way to action, where I found myself working with a stunt coordinator at five, six in the morning in Greece after eating baclava.鈥�
The less said about exactly how Mon谩e fits into 鈥淕lass Onion,鈥� the better. In Johnson鈥檚 film, which had , Edward Norton plays a tech billionaire, Miles Bron, who invites friends to his private Greek island. Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is on hand for a murder mystery that spins out of control and a plot that, in dredging up Bron鈥檚 past, skewers a social media mogul not so unlike some of today's real-world tech tycoons.
鈥淚 got an opportunity to honor those women who are the minority in the majority in those spaces, who have their ideas taken from them, who are not given credit for their work, who have to deal with these alligators, deal with these tech bros, deal with these geniuses who in fact haven鈥檛 done anything except for cause confusion,鈥� says Mon谩e.
Mon谩e is something of a futurist, herself. Earlier this year she published a collection of sci-fi stories titled adapted from elements in In it, Mon谩e depicts a future world where human desires are controlled by an organization called New Dawn and the identities of LGBTQ people can be wiped by a drug called Nevermind.
Mon谩e earlier this year said on 鈥淩ed Table Talk鈥� that . Her pronouns, she has said, are her/she, they/them and 鈥渇ree-ass motherf-----.鈥� The film industry, especially this time of year when awards are given to actors and actresses, can be more codified in its classifications. Mon谩e, herself, for her performance in 鈥淕lass Onion鈥� by the National Board of Review.
The multidimensional characters of 鈥淕lass Onion,鈥� Mon谩e says, has given her more hope that she can find films that authentically connect with her. 鈥淚 just want to tip my hat off to those writers and directors who are thinking about dynamism when they鈥檙e writing these characters,鈥� she says. That includes Johnson, who she鈥檚 been a fan of since seeing his 2012 science-fiction film 鈥淟ooper.鈥� Says Mon谩e: 鈥淚 was like: Who is this guy who likes time travel as much as me?鈥�
Johnson, for his part, felt he was working with 鈥渁 true artist.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like she has a tremendous artifice to her, but I鈥檝e never met her where she doesn鈥檛 look better than I will ever look in my life,鈥� he says, laughing. 鈥淪he鈥檚 an entertainer but she鈥檚 also an artist. It鈥檚 not a facade that she just puts on for attention. All the stuff that she does comes from a place that鈥檚 really close to her heart.鈥�
Through her Paisley Park-like in Atlanta, Mon谩e is trying, she says, to "tell radical, rebellious, smart stories.鈥� With A24, she鈥檚 developing a TV series on Josephine Baker, . She's eager for more.
鈥淎s timeless as I like to think I am, time waits for nobody,鈥� Mon谩e says.
But regardless of future roles, for Mon谩e metamorphosis is more of a habit. On a weekend during shooting, Johnson sent out hand-written invitations to the cast to gather for their own murder mystery. Mon谩e arrived decked out as Sherlock Holmes, complete with top hat, beard, mustache, cane and cape. Or as Mon谩e says, 鈥淩eady to play.鈥�
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
