Our latest guest on Take Ten is Tessa Thompson.
From next week, you can see Thompson in the titular role of Hedda, Nia DaCosta’s big-screen reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s play. In this episode, Thompson gives us a look behind the curtain at life on the Hedda set, from drinking “fake martinis,” to intense card games, to the cast WhatsApp group named “Casino Royale.”
We also dive into what Thompson learned from her iconic character of Hedda Gabler, a woman bent on finding a satisfying life, partly via her disruption of societal norms. “She does some things that maybe are unsavory in the course of the evening,” Thompson says, “and she wakes up in a life that she’s doesn’t feel comfortable in, that doesn’t fit her, and I think she wants to destroy everything so she can build up again. And while I’m not sure that some of the things that she does on the way are admirable necessarily, I think the desire to live a life that feels like yours and that fits you is a really beautiful thing.”
(L-R) Director Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson on the set of ‘Hedda’
Amazon MGM Studios
Writer-director Nia DaCosta interpreted Ibsen’s story with a fresh vision, moving the action to 1950s England and swapping the traditionally male character Eilert Løvborg for the female character of Eileen, played by Nina Hoss. Imogen Poots also stars as Thea, Nicholas Pinnock as Judge Brack and Tom Bateman as George.
Tessa Thompson as Hedda Gabler in ‘Hedda’
Amazon MGM Studios
Thompson says she doesn’t quite agree that Hedda is “the female hamlet” because, she says, “Hamlet is the male Hedda.” And, on the lighter side, she decides what Hedda would have on her Instagram bio: “One of my favorite lines in the movie is, ‘The best time to leave a party is after something terrible’s happened, but before the police come.’ So I think that could be a good thing to put in your Instagram bio.”
Thompson also reveals the accessories she wishes she’d taken from her turn as Valkyrie in the films Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder (hint: there are two of them).
And we discuss Thompson’s upcoming return to the role of Bianca Taylor in Michael B. Jordan’s Creed IV, which movies always make her cry, and the film she watches again and again.
Plus, Thompson chooses her top three guests for her imaginary late night show and tells all about that one time Martha Stewart made her a “very strong” margarita!
To watch the full episode of Take Ten with Thompson, click the video above.
Hedda is in theaters from October 22nd and streaming on Prime Video from October 29th.