Teyonah Parris is crystal clear on what motivates her thus far impeccable creative choices. “I love pieces that have something to say, roles that make the audience ask questions, that inspire conversation and debate,” says the South Carolina-bred film and television star.
This driving force can be seen as the throughline in Parris’s career to date: Her breakout role as Dawn Chambers, the only Black secretary to helm Don Draper’s desk on Mad Men from 2012 through 2015; originating the role of Colandrea Conners in the feature film version of Dear White People in 2014; as Lysistrata, the female lead of Chi-Raq, Spike Lee’s 2015 Chicago-based revamp of Aristophanes’s Greek comedy; as Ernestine Rivers, the wise and outspoken older sister in Barry Jenkins’s adaptation of the James Baldwin literary classic If Beale Street Could Talk in 2018; and Kaneisha in the 2018 Off-Broadway production of Jeremy O. Harris’s Slave Play, which examined the tangled dynamics of sex, power, slavery, and interracial relations. She also made her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Monica Rambeau in the 2021 series WandaVision and will reprise the role for the forthcoming movie, The Marvels.
“I think it goes back to the training, the story we’re trying to tell that is universal,” says Parris, who honed her craft at Juilliard. “So whether it’s theater, film, or television, you’re trying to tap into this person’s story. How do you be present when you have 18 million other things you’re doing in life? And you still have a journey to go on every night — 8:00 p.m. if it’s the theater, or if it’s film and television, every day for 15 hours.”
Teyonah Parris
When the script for They Cloned Tyrone crossed her inbox, Parris knew she’d found her next project. Written, produced, and directed by Juel Taylor, with Tony Rettenmaier as co-writer, They Cloned Tyrone is a genre-bending mystery caper that follows a series of eerie events and experiments taking place in the Atlanta neighborhood of Fontaine (John Boyega), a local drug dealer; Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), a quick-talking pimp; and Yo-Yo, a witty and inquisitive prostitute. “I loved it,” says Parris. “It’s this pulpy sci-fi story with these Black characters at the center — characters who can be marginalized in their communities and aren’t often at the center of a story.”
For Parris, the role of Yo-Yo was so intricately written that the character jumped right off the page. A sex worker fed up with working the block, Yo-Yo is ready to retire, invest in blockchain technology, and backpack her way through Patagonia when she gets pulled into solving the mysterious occurrences taking place in their neighborhood. Parris was determined to secure the role. “There were a lot of callbacks, a lot of me really fighting for this role, wanting to tell Yo-Yo’s story and be a part of this project.”
Once Parris donned her character’s signature blue lipstick and strapped on her thigh-high yellow chaps — “When we tried those on, I was like, ‘This is so no that it’s yes!’” — she fully stepped into the role and brought a dynamic energy to the film. “Yo-Yo is so smart and just so proactive, and she has a huge heart,” Parris says. “She’s a whippersnapper and you are not going to push her over.”
While a prostitute, a pimp, and a drug dealer might seem like the unlikeliest of saviors, Parris, Foxx, and Boyega bring humor and hijinks to this surreal tale that’s equal parts sci-fi suspense and deep state conspiracy. “All three together are trying to take down what they believe to be a big government conspiracy,” says Parris. “So it read as a good time and as a very smart piece.” With Boyega’s Fontaine as the serious comedic foil of the bunch, Slick and Yo-Yo wield a back-and-forth banter — which ranges from playing the dozens to breaking out in song when tensions are running the highest. Together, the trio serve as the heart of the film. “John is our straight man, and you definitely need that energy to balance the shenanigans Slick and Yo-Yo are giving off,” Parris says.
Since the film’s production wrapped, Parris is still taking in that she went toe-to-toe with Foxx, a comedic legend in his own right. Parris recalls diving right into the mix on her first day of shooting, which involved a verbal sparring match with Foxx. “My first scene was the scene where Slick and Yo-Yo are in the motel, and she’s about to leave him,” recalls Parris.“I wanted to cry. I’m looking at Juel, like, Really? I was so grateful and excited and also scared shitless like, Oh my gosh, it’s Jamie Foxx.”
Although Parris was initially intimidated by Foxx’s improvisational flow, she says the comedian graciously helped her to find her rhythm and settle into their witty rapport. “I struggled a little bit because a lot of stuff Jamie would say would be improv,” Parris says. “And I’m like, I can’t keep up in this way. I can’t naturally rag on people. So I just went to Jamie and said, ‘I know you’re going to rag on Yo-Yo, but I need something to come back at you with.’ And so he would actually give me some jokes to rag him back. He literally was like, ‘Okay, this is what you could say,’ so that my character could have some zingers to freaking keep up with him. We just had a great time.”
Now, Parris is extending her boldness to another endeavor: motherhood. “Becoming a mother has made me think about my own upbringing and just how I’ve been raised — and it was to be quite fearless, really,” she says. “Just go for it. If that’s what you want to do, you better be good at it, and you better be the best.” In continuing to inhabit the dynamic roles for which she’s known, Parris hopes to imbue that same sense of adventure in her little one: “As I think back, I’m like, I hope I don’t lose that fearlessness, but when you have your own little person in front of you, you’re like, I need to protect you with everything.”
All interviews included in this piece were completed in March 2023.
