Lupita Nyong’o Once Got in Trouble When Rachel Weisz Went to the Bathroom

Lupita Nyong’o Once Got in Trouble When Rachel Weisz Went to the Bathroom

-We’re back with Lupita Nyong’o, everybody. Is it true that your first job on a fill set — film set — excuse me — was a P.A. on the movie "The Constant Gardener"? -That is 100% true. -And that was in Kenya. -It wasn’t Kenya. I had gone home for the summer holidays. I was in undergrad at Hampshire College at the time, and I happened to have dinner with a friend of mine. I saw a film crew in my neighborhood, and I happened to have dinner that night with a friend who had a small part in the movie, and I was like, "Oh, man, you’ve got to introduce me to someone. I really want to work on that film. I want to do anything." So he was dropping me home. We drove to the set, I introduced myself to the second A.D., and I said, "Can you please hire me to do anything?" He was like, "Do you have any experience?" I was like, "No." And he was like, "Well, okay. I’m gonna put you on probation. We’ll give you a two-week trial and see how you do." And so I was doing all sorts of, um, managing extras and all of this. And in two weeks I was promoted to first team production assistant. -Wow. [ Cheers and applause ] Tell us a little bit — What does a first team production assistant do? -A first team production assistant takes care of the main cast. -Okay. -So it was Ralph Fiennes, it was Rachel Weisz, Donald Sumpter, and stuff like that. And so I would get them tea and coffee and escort them to set when they needed to go there and escort them back, things like that. -Were you good at getting people to and from set? Did you lose anybody? [ Laughter ] -Well, actually, one time, Rachel Weisz went to the toilet and she didn’t tell me, and I got in a lot of trouble. [ Laughter ] But you had to, like — you have to follow them without them knowing that you’re following them, you know? -Right. Oh, interesting. -So that’s hard. And I wanted — I was very friendly, and they were very friendly, but I made the mistake of, like, sometimes chatting out of turn. So I would pick them up at their tents. We didn’t have trailers, we had tents. And one time, I was taking Ralph to set, and I was like, "So, what’s your favorite movie to have worked on?" And now, being in a position similar to him, I know that he gets asked that all the time, and it was the wrong time to be making small talk when he’s, like, trying to get in the zone. And he was very — he was very diplomatic. He gave me a very curt answer, but, um — and then I could tell the conversation needed to end. -Yeah. -And… -He was probably like, "Oh, where’s my vocal rest button?" [ Laughter ] -Yeah, he probably was. -But it must be — It must have been — I mean, I would imagine, not that you would have treated a production assistant any differently, but it must have been helpful to know what the other side of a film set is when you then become, you know, one of the main actors. I would imagine that’s a helpful thing to have experienced. -Yeah, absolutely. You know, when you’re working on a film set, there’s so many pieces that have to be in place before the actor gets there. And so, now, when I’m on the other side, I have a lot of empathy for all those pieces. But the one thing I definitely do is tell the P.A.s, as soon as I get there, "When I step out of this trailer, I’m at work, so leave me alone," so that they don’t take it the wrong way when I’m being weird. -That’s very helpful. Also, you’re like, "I will tell you when I’m going to the bathroom." [ Laughter ] -Yes, actually, I do. I definitely give people a heads-up. But there are days when I really do try and escape them because you just — you just want to — It’s weird when there’s — there’s people reporting that you’re going to the toilet into a walkie-talkie, you know? It’s still embarrassing, even if I know that they have to do it. -All right. -Yeah. -Yeah, it is true. Like, you know, obviously, all of us do it, but you don’t want to have somebody in a radio being like, "She’s going right now." -Yes! Right, right. And then, like, sometimes I overhear them when I’m in the toilet, asking for me, and then, "She’s — she’s in the toilet." I mean, nobody needs that. -I want to get my own radio, so I’m like, "I can’t go when you’re talking about it." [ Laughter ] "I can hear — I can’t go. Please — please stop talking about it." Congratulations on the film. Thank you for being here. It’s so, so lovely to see you again. -It’s so good to be here. -Lupita Nyong’o. "A Quiet Place: Day One" is in theaters June 27th. We’ll be right back with Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

Lupita Nyong’o talks about her first job on a film set being a production assistant for The Constant Gardener, getting in trouble when Rachel Weisz went to the bathroom without telling her and trying to make small talk with Ralph Fiennes.

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Lupita Nyong’o Once Got in Trouble When Rachel Weisz Went to the Bathroom – Late Night with Seth Meyers

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