When Marsai Martin got the call for G20, Amazon Prime’s newest action thriller, premiering on April 10, she knew Viola Davis would be in the film. She just didn’t know how closely they’d be working together.
“I read the script, and I saw the ending with just the two of us, going through trials and tribulations and fighting for our lives,” Martin tells Glamour. “I was like, Oh, this is me and her.”
And then? “I was scared in my boots working with Viola Davis,” Martin says, adding, “But only because I’ve watched Ms. Viola for so long.”
Like many of us, Martin has looked up to and been inspired by the EGOT and 2018 Glamour Woman of the Year ever since she saw The Help, one of her favorite movies as a child. “When someone has been in the game for a long time and knows a few things or two, I don’t know who wouldn’t be nervous to work with them,” she says.
In G20, Martin plays Serena Sutton, the daughter of US President Danielle Sutton (Davis). While on a family-vacation-slash-work-trip to South Africa for the G20 summit, international terrorists invade the conference and hold world leaders hostage to intimidate and threaten President Sutton to give in to their demands. But it’s Serena who ends up taking charge, using her smarts to help her family—and save the world.
Amazon Prime Video
Martin says it was her off-camera conversations with Davis that helped inform her performance the most. “She’s so down to earth and chill,” Martin says. “Seeing how grounded she is in talking about normal life conversations helped me feel comfortable within myself and what I bring to the table for my character.”
Even though working with Davis was new territory for Martin, acting alongside Anthony Anderson, who plays the first gentleman, Derek Sutton, in the movie and was her onscreen dad for eight seasons on Black-ish, felt like coming home. “It was amazing,” Martin says of their reunion on set. “He is forever my dad, so honestly, nothing changed at all.”
Off-screen, family is an omnipresent support system in Martin’s life too. While the actor and I spoke, her mom helped to take down her box braids. (Talk about a family who supports you in every way!) Read on for more with Martin about working with Anderson again, preparing for the role, and being a young girlboss.
Glamour: In G20, Anthony Anderson plays your dad, which is a very similar dynamic to Black–ish. What was it like working with him again?
Marsai Martin: After the show [Black–ish] ended, we kept in contact with each other. He reaches out to my family, and I reach out to his, and the feeling is mutual. We were both very excited to be working alongside each other again on this project, and we caught up on everything. It was lots of fun.
Michael Buckner/Getty Images
It always looks fun when you guys are onscreen together! Your character, Serena, uses her smarts and coding abilities to ultimately save the day. It reminded me of Shuri in Black Panther. How do you feel roles like this expand the narrative of Blackness and womanhood—girlhood—onscreen?
It’s really important, especially for young Black girls who want to be in these spaces one day, to see how many characters you can be and how versatile the world is. Letitia Wright’s character [Shuri] was the first one I saw that I was like, Wow, this is deep.”
Ilze Kitshoff
Serena is not just a rebel for obvious reasons, but she is striving to be strong in telling the world that she’s more than just the president’s daughter. Not to put herself in a box based on what people see as worthy or deserving to be in the spaces that Serena or the Sutton family are in. Playing Serena was mentally and physically challenging—but I wouldn’t trade it for the world, because I know the impact it will have on other young girls around the world to see Serena Sutton and to continue to build more Serenas.
Speaking of perception and representation, her hair was in locs for the entirety of the film. What conversations were had with the hairstylist about what was realistic but also appropriate for the first daughter, who is multifaceted, multilayered, and becoming an adult?
I knew that I didn’t want my hair out. When I was reading the script, I immediately wanted locs. That was my whole thing. At first, we talked about hair color. If you look at her locs, it’s a deep brown with highlights in it, but it doesn’t fully distract you from what Serena is doing and the challenges that she has to face. Ultimately, it came together super well. That was my first time having locs, so I did not feel like myself, which is a good thing. I felt really in character.
Ilze Kitshoff
Switching gears, I did my research on you. You are a young boss in the industry. When you’re in spaces where you have to advocate for yourself and the stories you want to tell, what is that experience like for you?
I’ll never work with somebody who I know doesn’t have the best interest at heart for me and my team, or doesn’t have passion behind the project that we are building and trying to come to fruition. There have been times when I’ve gotten a lot of back talk from wanting to cast Black girls looking a certain way, or the writing. Sometimes it’s an immediate, ‘Yes, yes, yes, let’s do it, bring it, boom, done.’ But it’s really rare when that happens. I’ve learned to give myself, and other people, grace. We’re all human.
Tell me more about Sai Summer Cookout.
I love festivals. I love community. I entertain a lot of my family members, my aunts, and my uncles. We do family reunions and cookouts all the time. So for me to make that and build it into a festival catered to HBCU students—that’s something that I always wanted to do. That’s my baby.
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
I know the vision that I want, and I’m going to put the people at hand to make it happen. Bring in real professionals who have done festivals before. Talk to the people who have had successful ventures like that and understand that world. And I think that’s the fun part about it. I will continue to do that because I’m not in a box. I don’t want to be in a box. I’m not just an actor. I call myself an entertainer. I like to make people smile and change the world one business at a time.
How do you manage your schedule and practice self-care?
My parents, my parents, my parents, my parents. They do everything and more to help me take three loads off of my brain and from my schedule to help me focus on one thing at a time. It reminds me that I’m not alone. I’m not alone in this. I don’t have to do everything. I shouldn’t do everything.
Rich Polk/Getty Images
I couldn’t help but notice the controversy that came when you appeared in the Savage X Fenty show two years ago—a lot of people had a lot of thoughts and opinions. How have you grown up in the public eye from such a young age while embracing your body and your sexuality, whatever that means for you?
Honestly, I didn’t hear it in my own house. I didn’t hear it when I was on set. I didn’t hear it from my friends who saw it after, or my grandparents who saw it after. When it comes to the internet, I really didn’t care. I was just happy to be there.
I love Rihanna, and I’ve always wanted to be in the show, but I didn’t know that was going to be the time I’d be on the show. I was all in my head too. I’m like, Dang, they don’t want me to be a little older? I was newly 18, and that year was really fun for me. That was one of the peak moments where I felt like I was coming into my own, not because I had some tight clothes on, but because I was embracing who I am and what I have.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
I know, that’s right! You’re turning 21 this year. Do you have anything fun planned with your friends?
I had a Shrek-theme birthday party for my 18th birthday. I love the movie, and this year I’m going to be doing it for my favorite video game, GTA [Grand Theft Auto]. I’ve loved the game ever since I was allowed to play it. I played it with my uncle, and he was the only person that allowed me to play the game. And all I did was drive.
I finally was able to get the game when I was 13, and that’s when I finished it. I finished the game probably about five or six times. I love that game. That’s my favorite. I know the ups and downs, the cheat codes, all the things. So it only makes sense for me to do it for my 21st.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
