Zazie Beetz Covers ELLE Magazine's May Issue

In an exclusive interview for ELLE Magazine's May cover, our favorite kick ass actress, Zazie Beetz gives us a glimpse of her life as a working actress. 

Written by Morgan Jerkins.

Here are a few excerpts.

Every time Zazie Beetz steps onto a new set, it feels like the first day of school. “I’m inherently an introverted person, so going on set can be hard for me,” she says. “It takes me months to really feel comfortable. And by the time I do, it’s over.” Which is why she’s so happy to soon be back with her Atlanta castmates, after wrapping the second season three years ago.

In the past five years, Zazie Beetz has been called a “breakout star” and “scene-stealer,” and the spotlight on her has only continued to build. Now she is hitting her stride—feeling more creative than ever—and she has the work to prove it.

Beetz lists a dizzying array of upcoming projects, starting with a Jay-Z–produced western called The Harder They Fall. Beetz plays Stagecoach Mary, based on the first African American woman mail carrier in the U.S. Black people are an overlooked, yet significant, part of American Wild West culture. Beetz is proud to help correct the narrative and reverse the whitewashing of history.

Not to mention that the role gave her an opportunity to work with British writer and director Jeymes Samuel as well as acting heavyweights like Jonathan Majors, Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, and Regina King.

She’s also starring alongside Brad Pitt in Bullet Train, an action thriller about five assassins whose missions are interlinked. Then there’s the forthcoming Extinct, an animated movie about adorable, fictitious animals who time-travel in order to save themselves and their species from disappearing. “I’m so excited to be working again, and I feel really grateful,” Beetz says. “It’s just been so good for me to be able to stay busy.”