awards season

Emmy award winner Keke Palmer has been lighting up our screens and our hearts since her hit Nickelodeon show True Jackson, VP and now she’s the star of Jordan Peele’s latest: Nope. Last year was a big one for Palmer with the release of crime thriller Alice, return of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Toy Story spin off Lightyear, and Nope, closing the year by hosting SNL where she announced her pregnancy.

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The conversation begins with asking Keke a question she’ll have answered thousands of times “When was your big break?”. As enthusiastic as ever she explains that she was discovered by Sharron Davis “on the South Side of Chicago” when, despite having no previous acting experiences, Davis gave her the role in Barbershop 2 - her first film. She also credits American film producer Ralph Farquhar who, under his Disney deal, brought her onto her first pilot (which is unheard of) when she initially moved to California. The pair went on to work on Keke & Jamal and The Proud Family (both the 2005 movie and the more recent animated series) together.

It's safe to say that Keke has worked with some of the biggest companies in film, having hoped between Disney and Nickelodeon for years working on projects like Jump in with Corbin Blue as well as the aforementioned True Jackson, VP. In this area of the conversation the topic turns to Keke’s experience as a child star. She refers to her song ‘I don’t belong to you’ (which she classifies as her favourite) saying it was “me just really trying to focus on how to express coming into my own and definitely shedding other people’s thoughts of me, which, as a child entertainer, can be quite a task honey because everybody always tries to tell you who you’re going to be and keep you in the identity they see for you. Which is kind of sweet that they care so much but it’s also like honey I don’t belong to you.” On the surface it seems as though Keke has managed well to get through this and doesn’t reflect negatively on this time of her life but perhaps it is only retrospectively that she knows this is what was happening to her. Keke refers to it as “the part of me like finding myself and stepping into my own autonomy.” Keke returned to the Disney family last year with the role as Izzy Hawthorne in Lightyear alongside Chris Evans and Taika Waititi. With a budget of $200 million this is infinity and beyond the realm of independent film.

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As well as projects under the bigger companies, Keke has also been apart of smaller, independent projects which is what we’re realty interested in. In 2019 she starred in the American crime comedy-drama written and directed by Lorene Scafaria and based on ‘The Hustlers at Scores’ 2015 New York magazine article by Jessica Pressler. Keke says she “really just loved hanging out with the girls, I loved working with Jennifer Lopez.” Lopez being the lead and with her production company Nuyorican Productions part-funding the film. Keke’s feelings about the experience might shock those who assume any group of successful women would create a hostile, catty and competitive environment but we’re glad that Keke has set the story straight and that this will encourage more people to cast in the same way. The female dominated drama premiered at one of our favourites: TIFF, in September 2019 where it was met by positive reviews and grossed $157.6 million from its theatrical release a week later, that’s a profit of $136.9 million!

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At the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, Keke’s (independent) dramatic thriller Alice premiered. It tells the true but not widely known story of a woman who comes out of slavery in the 1950s. When we talk about history “especially when we talk about black American history there’s a lot of just negative feelings: shame and feeling like the story is always coming from the oppressor. And I think with Alice we wanted the opportunity to not only bring up something new, another perspective of that time, but also the message of pushing forward and that’s where the ode to the black exploitation era comes in, even though the film is different than that and rooted in something a little bit more grounded and not necessarily as big, the reality is that this is an opportunity to hopefully instil faith and hope for the future in the same way that that era did.” Keke’s performance in the film was widely complemented while the other aspects of the film less so.

When asked about the film, Keke reveals “I am in nope. So excited about this movie.” On paper that reads as an almost scathing comment but from Keke Palmer the level of joy exuding squashes that.

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Briefly talking about her tattoos, Keke shares that the pyramids on the back of her neck represent Mesopotamia (the first recorded civilisation) which is something she is very interested in. She shares that from “18 -22 I was like who am I? What does it mean to be black in America? What does it mean to be black in Africa? What is the diaspora? So I went through that and I loved it, I loved everything I learned and am continuing to learn.”

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Finally, Keke shares that her “favourite favourite favourite thing is going to the movies, especially experiential movie experiences. For instance, boat cinema.” “Rooftop cinema, drive in cinema – very very classic.” “Just sitting at home and watching TV.” “It’s a blast.” It’s comforting to know that the most entertaining people find entertainment the same we do. Take this as your sign to go and watch a film at the cinema. Check out what’s on!