Lupita Nyong'o on Oscar Win Leading to Slave Role Offers

Lupita Nyong'o, the Academy Award-winning actress known for her breakout role in "12 Years a Slave," disclosed in a recent interview that her Oscar victory led to a flood of offers for additional slave roles rather than diverse lead parts. The 42-year-old Kenyan-born performer shared these experiences during a conversation on CNN's "Inside Africa" with musician Angélique Kidjo, reflecting on the challenges that followed her 2014 Best Supporting Actress win for portraying Patsey, an enslaved woman in the historical drama directed by Steve McQueen.

Nyong'o described the period immediately after her triumph as unexpectedly limiting. "It really did set the paces for everything I've done since," she said. "But you know what's interesting is that, after I won that Academy Award, you'd think, 'Oh, I'm gonna get lead roles here and there.' Instead, it was, 'Oh, Lupita, we'd like you to play another movie where you're a slave, but this time you're on a slave ship.' Those are the kind of offers I was getting in the months after winning my Academy Award." She characterized the time as "a very tender" phase in her career, marked by media speculation about her future. "There were think...