Letitia Wright on Aisha: Black Panther star says new film tackling the struggles of asylum seekers in Ireland helps give ‘voice to the voiceless’
After starring in the highly anticipated Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever, Letitia Wright can now be seen in another film addressing themes of loss, as well as how we treat people from other countries.
But rather than being set in a fictional place where superheroes help keep the peace, Aisha is a study of the very real immigration system in Ireland.
The drama, from writer-director Frank Berry, who is known for his socially conscious films, sees Wright playing the titular role of Aisha; a Nigerian woman who befriends a former prisoner (played by The Crown’s Josh O’Connor) while seeking asylum in Ireland, but whose future in the country is under threat.
Josh O’Connor stars alongside Letitia Wright. Pic: Sky UK/ Cornerstone
Wright told Sky News that in preparing for the role she spoke to many people who had faced similar issues to her character.
“Frank [Berry] was able to introduce me to the people who he’s been communicating with for the past four or five years of him making the script and putting it together, so I got to have real conversations with women who’ve gone through similar situations as Aisha,” she said.
“I got to dive into the documentaries, dive into the research material that’s provided for me via Frank and our production company, and I just got to sit with it and allow myself to be a vessel for these stories and to feed that into the character of Aisha.
“Because on the page, the work is pretty much done for you and it’s on the page and it’s excellent – but it’s even more so when you’re speaking to people on a real level.
“It channels the scene, it channels you as an actor to just be more sensitive and it does something for you in the scene – it brings a reality and a truth that you can’t find by maybe just reading it and not speaking to people on a real level.”
As viewers watch Aisha struggling to start a life in Ireland, the realities of the way the system works (or seemingly doesn’t work) make for frustrating viewing.
Wright says the work has stayed with her.
“In a way when I represent any human being on screen I see it as truth,” she said. “When we’re speaking to these women and we’re speaking to these young men and children who have gone through so much within the system, you realise that this story is pieced together from all their voices, but we just found a linear way to take you through that journey in the form of a film.
“But yeah, it does stay with you and it does allow you to see that your project is allowing you to give a voice to the voiceless and that’s really imperative for us on this journey.”
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Berry, who is Irish, says the idea for the film came about while researching his last film about the Irish prison system, when he discovered it was run by the same government department as the immigration system.
He says he then set about “listening and meeting people over a long period of time” in order to make Aisha as close to the truth as possible.
“It comes from a documentary impulse, because my background is documentary – so it’s to create a space for discussion, really,” he said.
“And if it’s not close to reality, then it’s undermined… the aims and purposefulness of the whole endeavour is to create conversation, that’s the motivation behind all my work really, it’s what drives me.”
Read more: Wakanda Forever stars say they hope Chadwick Boseman would be proud
Wright says she wanted to be involved because Aisha felt so authentic as a character.
“I’m drawn to stories that explore characters on a human level [and are] multi-layered – I thrive for that, I’m thirsty for that and I try to look for that in each project,” she said.
“Aisha is a beautiful contribution to my catalogue of truth-telling, but yeah, I try to find projects and characters that will move you because cinema is very hard and filmmaking is very hard, it’s not an easy process.
“So you want to make it fun and you want to make it impactful and you want your audience to feel something, so that’s my aim in life – do something that’s meaningful.”
Aisha is in cinemas and on Sky Cinema from 17 November
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.
The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.
The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.
Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.
Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.
Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.
Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA
The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.
Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.
The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.
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Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.
The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.
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