You mentioned your play, Eclipsed. How did that go?

“We closed on Sunday [November 28] and we move to Broadway in February. It’s been so good for me. I thoroughly enjoyed telling this story every day and with the group of women that I’m so lucky to play with, it was good to get back to the theater and flex those muscles — the theater muscles.” [Ed. note: In Eclipsed, written by The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira, Nyong'o plays one of four women held against their will by a Liberian rebel officer.]

You spoke so beautifully when you won the Oscar about what the moment meant to you, and the historical significance of it. Do you feel now, almost two years later, that the win changed your life professionally?

“Well…it’s not an obvious thing. It’s very hard to tell for sure, seeing as [12 Years a Slave] was my introduction to the world, to the film industry. So I don’t have a before and an after. I just have that as my first experience, so I’d like to believe that it has afforded me choice. I feel like I can make certain choices and I can go after things that I’m passionate about and kind of see them happen. Like, Eclipsed is an example of something that I feel my winning the Oscar made possible to do. It was a role that I understudied back when I was at the Yale School of Drama, and I fell in love with the role and the play back then. Winning the Oscar, I had people asking me whether I wanted to do theater and if I did, what I wanted to do. I was able to say Eclipsed, and the Public [Theater] and the Broadway producers, they made it happen.”

You also have spoken about your struggles with self-acceptance as a young girl growing up and believing your skin was too dark to be considered “beautiful.” Now you are a role model, especially for darker-skinned girls who don’t have as many women to look up to in this industry. How does that feel?

“It feels good! I’m glad I’m in the position I’m in and I’m glad I get to be an example for all the younger people who may not have that many examples of my complexion. So I feel privileged to be in that position. I feel like I’m on the right path for whatever it is I’m meant to do. I’m just going to continue doing that. And the role model aspect of it will take care of itself.”