Tyrell Hampton(LOS ANGELES) — Zendaya is one of the Hollywood’s busiest and brightest young stars, which earned her the February cover of GQ Magazine, titled, “Guess Who Runs Hollywood Now?”
When the world paused in March during the peak of COVID-19, Zendaya began picking up new skills such as painting watercolor figures in a “journal-book” gifted to her by her Euphoria co-star, Hunter Schafer.
The Emmy-winning actress admitted she’s done some soul-searching to discover what’s outside of her successful career.
“It was my first time just being like, ‘Okay, who am I without this?’ Which is a very scary thing to confront and work through, because I don’t really know Zendaya outside of the Zendaya who works,” she explains to the mag. “I didn’t realize how much my job and my art were a part of my identity as a human.”
She recalls calls to Euphoria co-creator Sam Levinson to discuss creating a film to document the confines of quarantine, hence her upcoming Netflix film, Malcolm and Marie.
The black-and-white film, which was shot under strict COVID-19 safety protocols within two weeks last June, follows Zendaya as Marie and John David Washington as Malcolm: a Hollywood couple who return home after a “celebratory movie premiere” to address their relationship issues.
“[Marie] gave me an opportunity to use these words in a way,” says Zendaya about what drew her to the role. “I don’t yell. I’m not a very argumentative person, but it’s nice to just release and be able to…I don’t know… I guess emote would be the word? To just use her as this vessel to just get [stuff] out that maybe I had pent up or hadn’t said.”
Malcolm and Marie arrives February 5. But not before a special episode of HBO’s Euphoria, which airs January 24.
By Rachel George
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