There was a lot of fear from the executives, Nyongo told the crowd in London.
We told a good story and the world responded.
Elsewhere during the session Nyongo discussed her performance in Steve McQueens seminal feature12 Years a Slave.
Lupita Nyong’oLia Toby/Getty Images for BFI.
The film was Nyongo first onscreen performance and it won her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
But Nyongo told the audience that the Oscars was never really a goal of hers.
Before I went to drama school Id honestly never watched the Oscars, she joked.
So I didnt grow up with that as a destination.
Learning about that history of Hattie McDaniel and how she had to sneak through the back.
Its hard to wrap my head around what that meant, she said.
This was a new reality I had to get used to.
Theyre [the Oscars] are not the ultimate marker but they are an important one, she said.
So to be part of that history as a Black woman and immigrant is deeply meaningful.
Nyongo is in London to promote her latest featureThe Wild Robot.
She stars in the animated feature alongside Pedro Pascal, Catherine OHara, Stephanie Hsu, and Bill Nighy.
Over the weekend,we confirmedthat a sequel to the animated flick is in the works atDreamWorks Animation.
The London Film Festival ends on Sunday.
