Lupita Nyong’o’s career has moved well along since her Academy Award two years ago, yet she’s still basking in the glow of her Oscar win.
“I never expected to win in the first place, so I didn’t have any expectations as to what life would look like after that, but I’m happy. I’m a really happy person. I love my life,” said Nyong’o at the world premiere of “The Jungle Book” this week in Los Angeles.
Nyong’o, who won best supporting actress in 2014 for “12 Years a Slave,” currently stars in Broadway’s “Eclipsed” and is back on set for “Star Wars: Episode VIII.”
“I sleep whenever I can. I get massages and acupuncture and I eat well,” said Nyong’o of surviving her busy schedule. “I plan what I eat a week in advance and then I don’t have to worry about it on a day-to-day basis.”
Nyong’o voices Raksha, Mowgli’s adoptive wolf mother in Jon Favreau’s live-action remake of “The Jungle Book,” in theaters April 15.
“I channeled my own mother who is fierce and unwavering in her motherly ways,” she said of the role. “I just think as a woman, I think we all have it somewhere in us and it was about finding it.”
Up next, she’ll reprise her role in the highly anticipated “Episode VIII,” but in true Star Wars fashion, Nyong’o remained tight-lipped about the project.
“It’s really cool,” she said of working with the franchise’s newest director, Rian Johnson. “The adventure continues you know and it’s never a dull moment on that set.”
“Episode VIII” is slated for a December 2017 release.