Month: June 2022

The first time Monica Barbaro watched Top Gun, she was in San Diego with a couple of “very bro-y dudes,” she recalls. “What do you mean you haven’t seen Top Gun?” they asked her when she wasn’t understanding their references to Miramar, the Marine Corps Air Station in which the film is set. “I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’”

Naturally, the group eased her confusion by watching the cult 1986 aviation flick, starring Tom Cruise in one of his most famous roles. And college-aged Barbaro, a trained dancer who was deciding whether to make the transition into acting at the time, was impressed. “I remember watching it and being like, ‘Oh man, it’d be cool to do something like that.’” But she wasn’t sure it was possible. “I just never really even put myself in it, because I never thought that there would be that space for me as a pilot.”

And yet, years later, she’s doing exactly that, as she stars in the film’s long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, which finally opened this past weekend after two years of pandemic-related delays. She plays Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, a driven young pilot in the newest class of Top Gun recruits, all training for a dangerous mission under the guidance of daredevil Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise). Like Barbaro, Phoenix also finds herself among the bros in this male-dominated course, which, unsurprisingly, isn’t too different from real life. (Women make up about 21 percent of the Air Force and about 20 percent of the Navy, which houses Top Gun.) But she’s treated as an equal, not just a potential love interest, as she plays pool and beach volleyball with the crew, trades snide remarks, and competes for success like the rest of guys. She’s only one of a couple female pilots in Maverick, but that’s more than the original, which essentially had none. Barbaro, and members of the aviation community, hope this film can at least inspire more women to become pilots.

For Maverick’s 10-month shoot, which wrapped three years ago this month, art imitated life behind the scenes, as Cruise led his younger co-stars through a rigorous training program. The syllabus included flying in various planes and even underwater training (in case they had to eject from their aircrafts into water). But unlike Maverick and his students, this group got along swimmingly. “I think we were all pretty gung-ho and ready to do it,” Barbaro says. She and her fellow actors—including Miles Teller, Jay Ellis, Glen Powell, Danny Ramirez, and Lewis Pullman—grew closer because of it. “We formed some really intense bonds, because no one in our world was going through what we were going through.”

And all those flight scenes? They were real. “There were no simulators. We were in planes doing them.” Perhaps a few close-ups of someone flicking controls on the dashboard weren’t airborne, Barbaro clarifies, “But all of the flying that you see is in the air.” Of course, those speedy takeoffs, sharp turns, dips, and spins took some getting used to—for the actors and their stomachs. “I was very lucky to have not thrown up,” she laughs.

Barbaro, whose acting credits include The Good Cop, UnREAL, and Chicago P.D., will later star in an upcoming Netflix series with Arnold Schwarzenegger, though she never thought she’d become an action star. Turns out, she’s not even an adrenaline junkie, even if she plays one well on screen. If anything, she saw herself doing period pieces, after growing up watching British dramas and BBC Jane Austen specials. “I like being an actor because I get to change it up,” she says, leaving the door open for a potential period drama in the future. “That is what I love about this—that I get to totally steer in different directions.”

Her love for acting and film was fostered by her favorite titles growing up, like Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion, Galaxy Quest, Charade, and Amélie. Alfonso Cuaron’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban also opened her eyes to (literal) movie magic. “I would love to escape life day in and day out and get to pretend to be in entirely different worlds for a living,’” she remembers thinking. With a growing resume like hers, who says she can’t?

Here, Barbaro talks Maverick, the women who took her under their wing, and having mentors like Cruise and Schwarzenegger.

What was your initial reaction to landing a part in Maverick?

I was super stoked because of the fact that I got to play a pilot. I told my mom immediately, and that my part in this classic action movie was not going to be that of a love interest; although, I will say, I think Jennifer Connelly is incredible in this, and I think she is strong, stands alone, is great at sailing, runs her own business. She’s the coolest. So I think every woman in this was in good hands, but it was cool to just be able to be a character whose purpose in each scene had to do with the other characters and had to do with the trajectory of the plot, not necessarily, just be a component to fall in love with or not. Her presence is just as valid as everyone else’s. Again, as is Jennifer Connelly’s.

The movie shows both sides.

Yeah, having one woman represent that for a character in the film, and then one woman representing being a co-worker and a fellow pilot and someone to be trusted and responsible.

Though the original movie is iconic, it’s very much a boys’ club, and that changes a little bit in the sequel.

Yeah. And I mean, the Kelly McGillis character [Charlie, Maverick’s instructor and love interest in Top Gun] was also smart and knew what she was talking about and went toe to toe with Maverick. But I think it just was a really different time. And I think they did a great job of maintaining genre and still updating it so that there was more diversity across the board, which was incredible.

It’s hard, because there’s also a lot of pressure with it. I’m sure there are still people out there who think women shouldn’t be flying these planes, and then you meet incredible women who are flying these planes, and you want to do them the honor of representing them in a way that showcases them to the best of your ability, because they are so incredible and they deserve the best representation possible. Some of them grew up having seen this movie, wanting to be fighter pilots sometimes because of it, despite the fact that there was no representation of them in this film. I have heard from people that are hoping [Top Gun: Maverick] helps more women realize that they can be pilots, even if they are commercial pilots or have their own license, or whatever that may mean, because I think we only make up nine percent of the aviation community, even though we’re half the population. I would hope it’s inspiring, but we’ll see.

Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures

Did you talk to any real-life women pilots or women in the community to prepare for the role?

I flew with them in the booth. I think there were maybe one or two flights where I flew with a guy. Pretty much all of the footage of me in the film up in the air, is being flown and piloted by [women]… And same with Lewis [Pullman, who plays Robert “Bob” Floyd] actually, because he plays my backseater. So, anything that was over the shoulder was of someone who looked like Phoenix from the back.

Lewis and I flew with two women in particular who I’m just a huge fan of. They came to the premiere with me last week, and it was just so exciting to have them there. That was the nice thing about seeing it three times—having them there, I was like, “Oh yeah, when we were flying in the snow, that was with Bacon and then that low-level flight was with Dragon”—those are their call signs. It was just fun. They were definite role models for me, and for the character for sure. And I got to talk to a lot of female aviators on the ground too.

What did you learn from them?

I think the main lesson that came out of me inquiring what it was like to be in a male-dominated field was that, I think they strive to get to a place where their gender is not what the commentary is about, because even I saw, just in the tiniest ways, as soon as I booked this, it was like, “Monica Barbaro will play a female pilot.” Like, well, no shit, I am a female. I’m not playing a female just as much as Glen Powell is not playing a male. You say he’s playing a pilot, so won’t you say the same for me?

And that was the energy, I think, behind what they were saying. They work really hard. Sometimes, they have to work twice as hard to prove themselves in these spaces. And then, ultimately, when it comes to being asked questions, it becomes more about the fact that they are female than about the fact that they are pilots. And yet, I think it was really important to them to have this character [Phoenix] be represented in a very specific way, that she’d be strong and competent at the very least, and just one of the guys that she flies with.

The training program looked so intense. Can you fly a plane at this point? What were all the skills you were able to develop?

I mean, I was more scared for the water portion than I was for the flying. I did a lot of my own [stunts], holding my breath underwater and doing laps and strengthening as a swimmer, just so I would be comfortable. I think that taught me about my ability to get past fear in a really interesting way. I think I overcame things—that was really great.

In terms of the flying, I was just having a blast. I am halfway through ground school in becoming a pilot. I have taken this very slowly. I need to get back into it, but a project will come up and I dive into that. But I mean, I love it. We did learn how to start up a plane, take off, land, do all that. I mean, I wouldn’t trust myself in most emergency situations right now. I like to say in an apocalypse, if a plane had fuel in it, I would essentially know what to do to get out of a bad situation. But no, I definitely need some training to get back in and fly on my own. We did 40 hours of flights and we flew in several aircrafts. We’re all aviation nerds now. If I get to check out a cockpit, I take videos and send them to the other guys, because it’s just fun.

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Tom Cruise starred and also lead you through training. What was it like seeing him in action?

I mean, that was incredible. That was the most interesting thing I think about all of this, is that we got to watch him operate at the level that he always does. His expectations of everyone around him are through the roof, as they should be, because everyone is able to show up and do incredible things with that belief and trust in them. The way he designed this program for us, I think was based on having experiences where he has ramped up his stunts to an incredible degree and didn’t necessarily have the opportunity to do things the way he did for this on the first one.

And I think he saw that as a bit of a loss, and something that he really wanted to be able to achieve on the sequel was to do all of the stunts for real. And he very well could have put himself in a plane and then had us all on green screens on the ground. But he didn’t, he took us along and fought really hard to give us the opportunity to get to do things the way he does them, and that was awesome.

Looking ahead to your other projects, you have a Netflix series with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is also a huge blockbuster action star. Is there anything you can tell us about that?

It’s all very much under wraps because we’re filming right now. But it is super fun, and I’m really glad I’ve had this stunt experience in Top Gun to bring with me here, just to validate the expectation that you rehearse something a lot in order to get it right, to do on the day. That’s definitely the mentality of dance. … Last week, I was talking to Tom about [a] scene and asking him some questions and he was like, “Oh yeah, here’s what I know about things like that.” We can always reach out to him, which is incredible. And now I’m excited to use Arnold as a resource, because he’s obviously done so many things and he’s already done this action-comedy space, which is really specific and more of what we’re going forward with in the show. It’s supposed to be fun. I’m just excited to see it.

The two of them work so differently in their own ways and are great in their own right. It’s just really fun to get to see people you’ve been watching for so many years—to not only meet them, but to get to work with them and see what makes them tick and see how they operate.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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When 16-year-old Yamilet came out, she lost her best friend and entire social circle. Hoping to start over, she decides to play the role of a super-straight girl in her new environment: a Catholic high school.

Sonora Reyes’ The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School follows Yamilet’s struggles to keep her queerness under wraps, especially when she meets her new crush, a girl named Bo who isn’t afraid to wear rainbow attire and speak out against homophobic teachers. The young adult novel weaves a story of teenage romance with discussions around first-generation pressures, migration, mental health, and growing pains.

Growing up, I didn’t know any stories about queer girls, especially Brown girls. Like Yamilet, I attended a Catholic high school (mine was all-girls while hers is co-ed) where we were required to wear a uniform. On the days we attended mass, which took place in the school’s gym, we had to wear a thicker, more formal skirt and a burgundy blazer. Even though I wore the uniform just like everyone else, I felt immensely out of place, because in those years, I realized I identified as bisexual. Reyes’ novel, then, immediately caught my attention.

Tasked with looking out for her brother, who often got into fights at his old school, Yamilet navigates a new social sphere. She develops a crush on Bo, who challenges the school leaders’ bigoted statements. At one point, a teacher has students practice their debate skills, focusing on whether gay marriage should be legal. Bo makes a point that it’s already legal, before storming out of class; Yamilet, who’s assigned to the opposing group, runs to the bathroom to cry after hearing her classmates argue about why gay people shouldn’t get married. In another scene, Bo speaks up during mass, asking the priest why being queer is sinful, especially when gay marriage is legal; the priest responds that while that might be the case, it’s still wrong in the view of Catholicism.

It takes effort to hide your true identity, and even more energy to stand firm about who you are in a room full of people who don’t consider you worthy. The homophobia Yamilet and her brother Cesar grow up around seeps its way in. While Yamilet doesn’t fully come out at her new school, she silently rages against others’ beliefs. She feels constantly judged by the Catholic community around her, furious that it won’t accept her full, queer self. And when Cesar comes out as bisexual, she’s angry when she realizes this was the root of the “fights” he got into at school.

Yet in some moments (like the debate scene), it’s hard for Yamilet to maintain a strong sense of self. Cesar takes the religious teachings around him to heart, feeling a deep shame about his identity. The two repeatedly search for ways to feel at home in their own skin.

Same-sex marriage wasn’t yet legal during my high school years, though there was definitely talk about it. When I realized I’d fallen for my classmate Nancy*, I didn’t initially think about what it might mean for us to be together in a small, Catholic school. Queerness was seen as wrong and strange, and that judgment hung over us like a quiet fog.

For years, I told myself that because my coming out story didn’t result in physical violence, I shouldn’t overtly publicize my experience. The micro-aggressions, many of which I pushed down, didn’t seem worthy of bringing up, especially as an adult in a straight-passing relationship with a cis man. Even though I believed I didn’t deserve to talk about it, my high school years did wear me down. I can’t remember why, but Nancy often joked that the principal didn’t like us. I was jumpy, forever trying to hide any affection between us. I walked down the hallways knowing that the majority of the students and the adults marked me as an anomaly, as someone unwanted.

In writing Yamilet, Reyes gives us insight into a character trying to figure out her own place at school, in religious circles and, ultimately, in the world. Yamilet is still hurting from the way her best friend, Bianca, cuts her off after finding out about her queerness. I know what that feels like; Nancy told me that girls she previously called friends stopped talking to her when they found out we were dating. And I vaguely remember someone saying that if I hugged them for too long, I might develop a crush on them. I kept turning that comment over and over in my head, until I got down to the core of why it hurt so much—being queer was equated to being othered or an outsider; not a friend or acquaintance, but someone to be avoided.

Yamilet explains it perfectly in the novel: “When I told her I loved her, she made me feel like a leech, like I took advantage of her by being her friend. Like it was only for my benefit,” she says. “It didn’t matter to her that I wasn’t ready to come out until then. The years we spent as best friends didn’t matter because I must have had ulterior motives, and everything I had done now seemed creepy.” I can’t imagine what it would’ve meant to read Reyes’ novel as a teenager, to hear someone put into words the guilt and fear I felt.

Now, as an adult, I’m trying to wrap my head around the idea that books like these are being banned in schools. PEN America reported earlier this year that 33 percent of the books “banned in 86 school districts in 26 states” from July 21 of last year to March 31 of this year “explicitly address LGBTQ themes, or have LGBTQ protagonists or prominent secondary characters.” Approximately 1,145 titles have been banned. The report also states that 41 percent of these books “included protagonists or prominent secondary characters who were people of color.” Reyes’ literary agent tweeted just a few days after the release of The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School that it was already receiving hate. How can a Brown queer girl or Brown non-binary teen see themselves today when these stories are being censored?

Nancy and I broke up and got back together multiple times, mostly when I got too afraid and anxious about the disapproval of the people around me. Our relationship was flawed and we rebelled against our parents sometimes. But it was a kind and loving partnership, even at such a young age. We talked about our nieces and nephews, wished each other luck on homework and tests and competitions. We talked about grief. We exchanged inside jokes and sappy messages on Facebook. I sent her good vibes before band practices. She modeled what true commitment and passion to a creative practice could look like.

It’s heartbreaking, at times, to think about how my teenage self cast this as a shameful relationship. I didn’t have any queer couples to look to; instead, I repeatedly heard religious and personal declarations about how “wrong” it was to be queer.

The shame lingered for years; in college, a friend invited me to visit her hometown during one of our breaks from school. As the date approached, we excitedly made plans and discussed the details. She told me I could just sleep in her bed with her, that there was plenty of room. I hesitated when she told me and came out to her as bi.

“That doesn’t change how I feel about you as a friend at all,” she said. “That doesn’t change anything.”

It was a small gift.

Nancy and I kept in touch after we broke up and I started at a new college. She patiently read my messages about my relationship problems. I confessed that I was too afraid to date women. Dating guys, I told her, was just easier. Not giving myself the space to explore my full self, in the way that Yamilet does, was safer.

The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School

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In my late twenties, I embraced my queerness more fully and I got louder about it. I felt unapologetic about so many things in life—my decision to live with a partner without marrying first, my multiple tattoos—except for that. In earlier years, I felt like a fraud if I brought up being bi. But as oppressive policies continue to be passed—like a certain bill that prohibits teachers from speaking about gender identity or sexual orientation—it feels wrong to be quiet about it.

The final scenes of Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School feel bittersweet because I know not every queer kid gets that type of happy ending. It’s not that Yamilet’s life will never feel difficult again—by the end of the novel, she’s not speaking to her father. But her mom surprises her and Cesar one day with rainbow papel picado and pan dulce.

At an anti-prom party, Yamilet and Bo dance until they fall onto the lawn, and as she settles into the grass with Bo beside her, Yamilet finally lets go. “No more second-guessing. No more double life,” she tells us. I didn’t feel so brave at Yamilet’s age, but in reading Reyes’ writing, I gave my teenage self a little more grace.

*Name changed for privacy

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To watch, in real time, Wunmi Mosaku grasp at hope is to witness an uncanny echo of her work onscreen. In Lovecraft Country, Luther, and even Loki, the Nigerian-British actress plays characters grappling with the ugly reality before them: Do they work to topple the system, or learn to survive within it? Perhaps no role of Mosaku’s has better illustrated that battle than Nicole Steele on HBO’s We Own This City, executive producer and writer David Simon’s spiritual successor to his beloved crime drama The Wire.

In We Own This City, which aired its series finale on Monday night, Mosaku plays Nicole, a Department of Justice attorney within the Civil Rights Division who’s tasked with drawing up a consent decree with the City of Baltimore. In essence, the document would outline the Baltimore Police Department’s long history of abuse, and the decree would require the city to institute police reform. Based on the book of the same name and the real-life events surrounding it, We Own This City follows BPD’s Gun Trace Task Force, from which eight officers are eventually convicted on corruption charges. Through interviews inside and outside of the BPD, Nicole works to piece together a significant case for reform episode by episode—only to recognize just how little will change if she does.

Earlier in the series, Nicole insists she doesn’t need to make her battle for civil rights “her everything.” To some degree, she has the luxury of patience: She was raised in a WASP-y neighborhood outside of Washington, D.C. and didn’t share the ugly experiences with police that forever tainted her brother’s perception of them. But as the show progresses, Nicole’s carefully restrained fury is made more and more visceral. She realizes that, to stay in the fight, it must become your everything. And even then: It might be a fight that’s impossible to win.

During one particularly poignant scene, a police academy instructor tells Nicole what she already knows—but is struggling to accept—about the War on Drugs: “Is the Justice Department or even the Office of Civil Rights ready to declare that we long ago lost this war? That we’ve achieved nothing but full prisons and routine brutality and a complete collapse of trust between police departments and their cities?”

By the time the finale rolls around, the Trump Administration is incoming, and Jeff Sessions “wants to arrest everyone he can for fuckin’ marijuana possession,” Nicole tells a colleague, her voice breaking for the first time all season. As she’s on the verge of trembling, she insists, “I’ll never make it four years.” Such a declaration, though made in the sway of emotion, nevertheless serves as prophecy: Nicole ends up resigning from her position at the DOJ, a move that her colleague and protege, Ahmed, views as cruelly cynical. Is she saying none of their work matters? That they should just give up? Putting a hand on Ahmed’s shoulder and leaning in close, Nicole cooly says, “What I’m saying is, it’s your turn, motherfucker.”

But Mosaku knows that passing the baton isn’t a clean getaway for Nicole. As we discuss the current state of police reform in 2022, Mosaku’s face twists; she repeatedly stops and restarts her sentences, often at a loss for what to say next. Only days prior to our interview, a gunman had shot and killed 10 Black people in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, an act investigated as a racist hate crime. A few days later, a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, would soon reveal shocking inaction from the city’s police department during the massacre.

“It just feels like not enough has changed,” Mosaku says. “It sometimes makes me feel a little hopeless.”

And yet the actress feels these stories, for all the trauma they stir up, are essential to the fabric of American culture: “I feel like it’s just so urgent, this topic of, ‘Who is policing us? What do they do with that position of power and authority? Whose human rights are valued? And whose dignity is valued? Whose safety is valued? Whose lives are valued? Whose hopes and dreams are valued?’’ she says. Below, Mosaku talks through the We Own This City finale—and what the city of Baltimore taught her as an actress and human being.

Paul Schiraldi/HBO

Unlike other characters in this series, Nicole wasn’t based on anyone in real life. So what went into crafting her? What research did you do to make her feel real?

I mean, I do the same thing with all of my characters, whether it’s a person who’s real or not. It’s to figure out who they were before we meet them, because we’re a product of everyone we’ve ever met, every experience we’ve ever had. So it was understanding what a a Black girl from Bethesda, who grew up with her father as a lawyer in a neighborhood where she was one of very few, if any, Black people; whose brother had been terrorized by the police; who had an idea of what justice meant, and tried to live towards that…I had to understand the justice system in the States and figure out why she pivoted, before we meet her, to the civil rights division and why she pivots again.

But I think Nicole is basically, like, the audience within the show. I hope she’s asking the same questions as the viewers watching at home. “How did this happen? Why did this happen? And how can we stop this from happening again?”

I thought it was interesting that we don’t get much about Nicole’s history until the penultimate episode. Only then do we learn that she used to prosecute drug cases and that her brother had these racist experiences at the hands of police. From your perspective, why do you think it was important for the audience to learn these details later, as opposed to right when we meet her?

I guess because it’s not about her, maybe. Maybe this is a very big generalization, but I would say most Black people have a relationship with law enforcement in some way, whether it’s a fear, an inherent fear, or a direct conflict. It’s a relationship that is strained and painful and scary. I feel like you could look at [Nicole] and think, Oh, she’s put together. And she feels confident in these spaces. But still, even though she said she had it a lot easier than her brother, the residue of what happened with her brother still permeates her life.

I guess I don’t know why [the writers] waited that long. The only thing I can think of is that it’s not about my character. It’s not my story. But I think it was put in there to maybe show that it doesn’t matter how high you fly, there is still a tension. The tension is the repercussions of centuries of oppression. It vibrates on a cellular level throughout the whole community, that a grief felt here on the East Coast is absolutely felt on the West Coast.

Paul Schiraldi/HBO

Something that really struck me about your performance in this series is how it moves from one end of the spectrum to the other, incrementally, throughout each episode. Nicole starts out confident and steady. By the finale, she’s cursing; she’s almost on the verge of tears; she ends up resigning. How did you go about demonstrating that shift in her over time, without, in a sense, clueing the audience into what was happening?

I just read the scripts over and over. And I kind of charted where she was. She’s trying to change things on a federal level. And she realizes that the only way things are going to change is if it’s like… We’re talking from the top down. This consent decree will only do so much. The whole system needs to change. I mean, she’s just one person. It doesn’t matter how fit you are, you run on a treadmill and you will get tired. And you do have to hit the emergency stop in order to preserve yourself.

That leads me into my next question, because I thought that scene where Nicole tells Ahmed, her colleague, “It’s your turn, motherfucker,” you delivered so beautifully. But I’m curious, what did that scene represent to you?

I mean, for me, I look at activists and freedom fighters, and I think of them as gods, demigods. I’m so grateful, so grateful, because without them, I wouldn’t have the freedoms that I experience. And I know we’re nowhere near where we need to be, but I look at these people and they stuck their head above the precipice and they became a target. And this is every single person who advocates for equality and humanity and the dignity of people. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are.

[Nicole] gets to bow out. She’s not assassinated. She’s not killed. When we gain more rights for a certain person, type of person, or whatever, really what we’re doing is opening up for everyone to have more rights with that…But I do think it’s that feeling of like…You have to pass the baton on. At the same time, she’s very blessed to be able to walk away from her part in it. Lots of people aren’t given that opportunity.

I think there’s two different lenses through which you could view Nicole’s resignation. You could view it as a tragic thing: This system is so broken that nothing can ever fix it, and this was a casualty of that. Or you can see it the way you’re describing: It’s a triumph. Nicole escapes intact. She gets to take care of herself and pass the baton. Which do you view it as?

I don’t think it’s tragic. I think it’s tragic that it’s not finished, that the job isn’t done. We haven’t achieved equality. That’s tragic. But I look at her and I think, “Okay. You did as much as you could.” Now, I want her to enjoy. I want her to be at peace. I’m not saying that leaving the job will give her peace. But also, I think that it’s not for just a few people to burn themselves out. It’s for all of us. [The work of justice] is too much for one person. It’s too much for the civil rights office. It’s too much. It has to be a shared burden for us to actually achieve equality if that’s what we truly want.

I don’t see it as a bad thing that she leaves. Especially with the state of the world and the tragedy that we see on a day to day basis with white supremacy and violence and the evil that Black people have to face on a day-to-day, I feel like that trauma is huge and a heavy weight for everyone to bear. And I feel like it should be someone else to do this job. If you already have to deal with all of the stuff that we have to deal with on a day-to-day, to then also be the people trying to fight? It’s a lot.

Paul Schiraldi/HBO

It’s interesting how this series ends just as the Trump administration is coming in. This whole event takes place prior to George Floyd’s death, the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, and the way that, as you’ve mentioned several times, had a ripple effect around the globe. So, looking back on the series now, what do you think it represents in the national conversation about policing and Black lives? Did knowing what was coming shift how you viewed this show?

It’s interesting because I have to think about it from when I read [the scripts]. I read them in 2021, so after the global reckoning in 2020. I feel like…Reading it and knowing where we are, I mean, it just feels like not enough has changed.

It sometimes makes me feel a little hopeless that something as big as [the 2020 protests] can happen. After the murder of George Floyd, after this huge global racial reckoning, that anyone could still kill and brutalize unarmed Black people, it just shows to me that I…It blows my mind that you’ll have this huge moment that will be written about in history and still nothing changed. I don’t know. I read the scripts after all of that and I was like, “This needs to be told, and maybe someone will feel, like, that it’s not just a ‘bad apple’ or this or that. It’s a systemic thing. Maybe someone who feels safe with the police might now advocate for all of us to feel safe with the police.”

I can only hope that someone’s heart has changed, one person at a time, because these huge global-changing moments happen, and still we get the same. If one person… [Shakes her head.] One is too little. One is too little. But at least one person feels emboldened to change and move toward helping, then that matters. That does matter. And that means that what we’ve done means something.

But the reality that we’re living in, nothing’s changed. So, yeah. I don’t know. I don’t really know how to answer that other than not enough has changed.

How did your experience on the set of this show shape you as an actress? What did it mean to you, as a sum of its parts?

I think being in Baltimore, and being surrounded by the amazingly strong and resilient and loving people of Baltimore, and seeing the wounds that this police force have left, and how the people have continued through the pain and the atrocities, I feel like that resilience and strength was very humbling. Because they really welcomed us in. They really wanted us to tell their story. And just being around people who have actually been affected and still have their humanity and their grace intact is quite an extraordinary thing to witness, because it shows just the depth of humanity within us, as a people.

The anger and the pain can be there, but it doesn’t mean you lose the good stuff, too. I think that, for me, was a huge thing to really witness and be surrounded by, because so many people on our set had been victims of [police violence], or had family members, friends, who had been there at the uprising [after Freddie Gray’s killing]. These people lived it and still have this huge capacity for love and compassion. And haven’t been ruined by it.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Jennifer Lopez didn’t wait long to unveil her first bikini photo of summer 2022. The singer shared a carousel featuring two photos and a video of her posing like a pro in a black bikini and JLo Jennifer Lopez footwear heels. On display were her toned abs and impeccably styled, blonde-highlighted hair. “Summer mode: activated. 😎🖤” the 52-year-old star captioned the post. You can shop the heels here.

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Lopez spoke in December 2020 to ELLE.com about skincare and how she swears by sunscreen for skin protection and anti-aging above all. “I was in my 20s and I was dating this guy,” she reflected on when she was first recommended to try Botox. “He went to one dermatologist and I went to another dermatologist. Basically, my dermatologist gave me a great cleanser and some sunscreen and said, ‘If you do this from now on, your skin is healthy, you’re young right now, it’s going to be great.’ And he’s like, ‘But the sunscreen is the thing.’”

“And then I went to this other doctor with the boyfriend, and again, I was 20-something years old, and I haven’t ever had Botox to this day,” she continued. “And she said, ‘Did you know you have a little line right here? We should start Botox.’ I mean, I had to be 23 years old, right? And I was like, ‘I’m going to pass.’ I didn’t like needles anyway, but the boyfriend’s like, ‘Yeah, you should start it. I do that.’ I was like, no, thank you. And I just wonder what would’ve happened to me if I would’ve started Botox at 23, what I would look like right now. My face would be a totally different face today.”

“One of the big things I would encourage everybody to do from the time they’re 15 years old, even younger, is wear sunscreen every day,” she continued. “We developed a sunscreen you can wear every single day as your day moisturizer, and that is going to protect you more than anything. That’s a big skincare secret that people kind of do but don’t do. They use moisturizers, but they don’t put on sunscreen every day. That is something I have done from that time I was 22 years old.”

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What about taking in a movie this Fourth of July? Sure, setting off fireworks and running around with playfully dangerous sparklers can be fun, but some people would much rather watch other fools launch pyrotechnics into the sky from the safety of their homes. Your uncle may say there’s nothing more American than grilling hot dogs and burgers outside on Independence Day, but who said you can’t celebrate the birth of our nation in front of your TV? Here’s a list of films to settle down with for the holiday.

Independence Day (the 1996 version, you heathens)

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I mean, it’s kind of all right there in the name.

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Hamilton (2020)

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Now that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit is on Disney+, you don’t have to dish out thousands of dollars to watch this Tony-winning musical.

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Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)

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The maxi-sized Baker family (Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, and more) trek to Lake Winnetka to celebrate Labor Day, but watching little Mark Baker (Forrest Landis) set off an entire backpack full of fireworks and causing their boat to explode is much more entertaining than seeing it happen to your cousin.

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Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

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The Vietnam War tale, based on a veteran’s true story, gets automatic inclusion on this list.

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Harriet (2019)

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Celebrating our country’s Independence Day means remembering the dark days in our nation’s history too. This 2021 film does just that—it follows abolitionist Harriet Tubman (played by Cynthia Erivo) who led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad.

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American Graffiti (1973)

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It doesn’t get much more American than this coming-of-age comedy with a strong dose of ‘60s nostalgia.

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Jaws (1975)

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The action goes down on a Fourth of July weekend, but this horror movie might make you too afraid of sharks to ever celebrate July 4 on a beach again.

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Girls Trip (2017)

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This comedy doesn’t scream Fourth of July, but the four main characters are heading to New Orleans on July 4th weekend for the Essence Festival. Independence Day films don’t always have to be about outright patriotism and freedom—a nice laugh on the holiday works too.

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Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

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A musical classic about the man who wrote “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

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Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

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Mustache-less Chris Evans. Need I say more?

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Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

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For the more eclectic celebrators, Moonrise Kingdom is the ultimate summery Wes Anderson Americana flick—and probably the only film that could actually make you actually want to go camping.

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Selma (2014)

Ava DuVernay directs this Civil Rights film that follows Martin Luther King Jr.’s (David Oyelowo) journey to securing voting rights for Black Americans. A biographical film that truly demonstrates patriotism and freedom.

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Top Gun (1986)

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This is the second Tom Cruise combat movie on this list, and it helped make “Maverick” a part of the American pop-culture lexicon.

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Cabin in the Woods (2011)

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Corn on the cob and a dip in the pool for Independence day? Boring. Instead, try a summer lake-house romp that explores all of America’s scariest lore in one fell swoop.

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A League of Their Own (1992)

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Few things are more American than baseball. Feminist film A League of Their Own shows a women-led team breaking the glass ceiling in the male-dominated league.

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National Treasure (2004)

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Nicolas Cage turns into a historian obsessed with finding a hidden treasure with links to his family history. His fixation leads him to steal the Declaration of Independence, where a coded message to a map lies. Will he find the treasure or is he just another victim of a good ole conspiracy theory? Watch and you’ll see!

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Air Force One (1997)

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The ultimate action actor, Harrison Ford, plays a former soldier turned president who must save his family and staff from terrorists after they hijack his plane.

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Lincoln (2012)

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Acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg directed and produced this biopic about former president Abraham Lincoln, with Daniel Day-Lewis delivering a stunning performance in the titular role. This 2012 film has become a staple of American cinema, which makes it a perfect 4th of July film.

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Glory (1989)

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Celebrate the Black veterans who risked their lives fighting the Confederacy in the Civil War.

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Remember the Titans (2000)

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This film brings all the feels. Starring Denzel Washington and a 20-year-old Ryan Gosling, this sports film is based on a true story of a newly integrated high school football team and their Black coach. The acting is spectacular, but it’s the soundtrack that’ll give the goosebumps.

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Zero Dark Thirty (2013)

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This thriller follows U.S. intelligence officers and Navy SEALS on their decade-long search for Osama bin Laden. Enter: Maya, a CIA intelligence analyst who might have answers to all of their questions.

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Hidden Figures (2016)

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The untold story of three courageous Black women who helped NASA journey to space is the perfect film to reminisce about America’s history. Add the stellar performances of Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae, Hidden Figures might become one of your favorite films.

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Pearl Harbor (2001)

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A love triangle and a historical drama all in one? Pop the popcorn, please.

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Saving Private Ryan (1998)

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If Remember the Titans will make you tear up, then Saving Private Ryan will make you bawl. This war film follows a group of soldiers who venture behind enemy lines to rescue a lone soldier whose brothers have all been killed in combat.

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