Dominique Thorne Brings Ironheart to Wakanda

On the morning that Dominique Thorne and I speak over Zoom, she’s preparing for the Los Angeles premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that will take place later that evening. The film marks her entry point into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as her character Riri Williams, the super-genius MIT student also-known-as Ironheart, is introduced for the first time on screen.

Thorne, who was born in New York, has long been a Marvel fan. “The comics were always required reading in my household,” says the now 25-year-old. While growing up in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School and went on to win the YoungArts Award in Spoken Theater and was a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. And just three years ago, she graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Human Development.

Since then, Thorne has acted in award-winning feature films If Beale Street Could Talk and Judas and the Black Messiah, and now Wakanda Forever, which opens in theaters on Friday. Riri lives as a young undergrad student and engineer before she gets recruited by Shuri (Letitia Wright), princess of Wakanda, and Okoye (Danai Gurira), general of the Dora Milaje. While in Wakanda, Riri’s clever talents are on full display as she helps its people defeat an opposing power; she also perfects her own version of the Iron Man suit. Though Thorne has acted for both stage and screen, working on Wakanda Forever further deepened her love for the craft. “Of course, I’ve seen films that have moved me,” she explains, “but being in the MCU has given me a new and far more intimate relationship with film. It excites me for what’s to come.” What’s to come is, of course, Disney+’s new series Ironheart that will debut next year.

Below, Thorne spoke to ELLE.com about inhabiting the role of Ironheart, the recent Black film renaissance, and why she was initially intimidated about joining the MCU.

How did the role of Riri Williams (Ironheart) initially come to you?

I got a phone call in August of 2020 from Nate Moore [VP of Production & Development at Marvel Studios] who I had met a few years prior. He asked me if I was familiar with the character and I very much was since my family and I are huge Marvel fans. Then he told me that they were going to be adapting the comic book character for her own series on Disney+ and first introducing her in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. [The show and film] were a package deal which was interesting. Traditionally, I think it’s far more common to have an origin story, but with Riri, we’re meeting her in the middle of her story. It just swings the door wide open for what is possible when we do get to sit down and follow her in her own pocket of the world.

What about Riri as a character spoke to you? Are the two of you similar at all?

I definitely remember seeing the imagery in college during my sophomore year. That was the first time and I remember thinking, “Oh, shit. That is so cool.” She had the red tank top with the arc reactor in the center, but with dark skin and this huge ‘fro. I thought it was so incredible. I almost didn’t believe that Marvel put out that imagery. I was like, “This has to be fan art. There’s no way.” [Laughs] But it was absolutely Marvel business. It’s a beautiful character and I definitely felt seen by her existence. She’s from not the greatest neighborhood in Chicago, but gets to go to this super prestigious school. I don’t think that I can be so bold as to compare myself to someone called a “super-genius,” but I definitely do relate to being from not the greatest neighborhood in New York and then getting to go to this super prestigious university. So those parallels alone were something that made me want to take this role when the offer was extended.

You spoke about already being a Marvel fan, so did you have to do any supplementary research for the role?

Well, I was all caught up on the film end. I’ve been watching all the films as they come out since the first Iron Man. So the first thing I needed was to up my comic book knowledge. My brother’s definitely more of the comic book aficionado in the family; I was more into the films. I started with Riri’s appearance in The Invincible Iron Man comics and then transitioned to the Ironheart comics by Eve Ewing and Brian Michael Bendis, but I also left room for the movie to be different than the comic books, as is sometimes the case. That also meant really listening and being open to hearing from Ryan [Coogler] and his perception about who Riri is, especially as she relates to Wakanda.

When you were offered the role, were you intimidated about entering the MCU?

Absolutely. Up until this point, everything that I had done was super grounded in reality. I mean, the project immediately prior [Judas and the Black Messiah] was heavy combat boots and shotguns. It was really tactile and in the trenches. The scene work was all very practical. So one of the most intimidating parts for me on Wakanda Forever was all the green screens that come into play. I didn’t have any prior experience with that type of filmmaking. And then on the career side of it all, I was fearful about getting locked into this one character and there not being any room for much growth or flexibility afterward. I was nervous about that. There are so many different types of projects that I want to do that are so incredibly different from each other. I hope that I don’t get pigeonholed. But I ultimately came to the consensus that that’ll be up to me and my choices. And of course, being a fan of Marvel, I couldn’t not give into the excitement that comes from being able to be a part of this world that I admire. So, those moments of intimidation were fleeting, but they definitely did exist.

Speaking of choosing roles, you’ve done so many great films with Black directors like Beale Street, Judas, and now, of course, Wakanda Forever. Did you make the conscious decision to work with Black creators behind the scenes?

I think the conscious decision came into wanting to be a part of work that had care at every level of the process. I wanted to work with people who were passionate about what they were putting out, who took pride in the finished product, and who cared about truth and authenticity in their storytelling. It’s been a beautiful blessing to have received validation from such iconic Black filmmakers. Barry Jenkins was the first director that said yes to me. That film [Beale Street] was steeped in sacred Black love and showcased it in this very tender light. Then Shaka King was the next person to say yes to me. And now Ryan Coogler. I do believe that some of the greatest work that we can do in this portion of the film world is to make sure that people know that there is a truth, an authenticity, a depth, and a nuance to the Black experience that goes far beyond some of the things that we have seen in years prior. In the last six years, there has been a renaissance when it comes to Black film. So I’m very proud to be able to play any part in that.

What was it like being on set with all of Black Hollywood? I mean, you’ve got everyone there.

That’s hilarious. [Laughs] It was beautiful to witness these people, especially these women, work. I got to see them in their bag for real. Although it was stressful at times, it was a joy-filled, passionate project and undertaking. It was really encouraging to see just how much everybody cared, and how natural and intuitive the caring was. I mean, it was a masterclass.

Are you prepared for the level of fame and attention that will undoubtedly come with this role?

I’m ready for whatever happens. I try not to think about what happens next and really just focus on this right here. One of the best lessons I was able to take from Judas is that the movie you make and the movie that’s released are two completely different things. So I’m very proud, I suppose, of the movie that we made about making it through to the other side.

What do you love most about acting?

I was just talking about this yesterday. It’s giving people the opportunity to be changed. That’s really what it is for me. The moment when you watch a film, it’s a window of time where you’re able to step into someone else’s perspective. In the theater, you’re in this dark room and nobody’s really looking at you. All the attention is on what’s in front of you, and you have the opportunity to say something really meaningful. You have the opportunity to give someone something that maybe they didn’t know they needed. There’s something so beautiful about getting a front row seat into the lives of others. It encourages empathy. The more that people are aware of what’s going on in the lives of others, the more that we can get out of our own way and be a little less insular.

What do you hope to see for yourself as you continue to grow as an actor? What do you envision your ideal career to be?

Oh, man. I’m interested in doing work that is genre-bending and outside of the box. I want to do things that are funny and gushing with the sappiest kinds of love, but also something scary as hell and intense as shit. I want to tap into the full colors of the rainbow and create a filmography that is just as vibrant and colorful as life is, and to make sure that truth and authenticity are at the center. I think that would make me very happy.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.