When an actor friend asked KiKi Layne to read lines with him for an upcoming audition, she never expected she’d be the one who would end up being cast in the film. Then, she read the part of the film’s female lead. ‘I literally said, “It’s me,”’ says KiKi now. The character’s name was Tish, and the film was If Beale Street Could Talk – the follow-up to Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, which won Best Film at the Oscars in 2017 after that mix-up with La La Land. After finding someone to represent her so that she could send off her own audition tape, KiKi beat 300 others to get the part.
‘I don’t know what it was about her,’ she laughs. ‘It was a very spiritual thing. I felt something on the inside, like, “That’s it.” It was what I’d been waiting for.’ The film, based on James Baldwin’s novel of the same name, has already cemented KiKi as a major new talent to watch (as well as getting a Best Film nomination at the Golden Globes, and three Oscar nominations, including Best Supporting Actress for KiKi’s co-star and on-screen mother Regina King). The fashion world, too, has taken serious note: last month she was announced as a face of Kate Spade and has been dressed by Versace, Prada, Dior, Gucci et al on the red carpet. ‘That’s been really, really dope,’ she laughs.
Back to Beale Street, which follows Tish, a young woman who is pregnant when her boyfriend Fonny (played by Stephan James) is sent to prison for a crime that he didn’t commit. It’s a beautiful film – a delicate portrayal of young love and a couple full of promise set against a backdrop of racism and injustice in America. Why did the film speak to her so much? ‘We all knew we were working on something special,’ says KiKi, 27. ‘I had never seen a love story like that before: two dark-skinned people in love on screen. That definitely drew me into the story.’ She loves that the film offers ‘so many things that people can connect with. It’s interesting to hear what’s resonating.’ The fact that KiKi wears her natural hair in the film ‘is affecting people on a very personal level’, she adds. The film – and the feeling that it provoked in her – have set a very high standard for what KiKi chooses to sign up to next.
Her follow-up to Beale Street, Native Son, is based on the 1940 novel by Richard Wright (it opened the Sundance Film Festival last month). ‘It’s another adaptation of a piece of black literature, and I’m excited to help bring that story to life,’ says KiKi. But she’s not sure what will come next. ‘It’s important to me what I follow these films up with,’ she admits. ‘I’m going to be smart and I’m really going to take my time. I listen to my spirit when it comes to picking roles. If I don’t feel that thing on the inside, I’m not going to do it. So far, it’s led me down a great path.’
‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ is out now