They Cloned Tyrone’s Teyonah Parris Shares Link To Her Marvel Character

The Marvels star Teyonah Parris shared that there’s a common thread between Monica Rambeau and Yo-Yo. The Washington Post caught up with the superhero actress to talk about everyday heroism and bringing that vision to screen. Parris recognizes that some people might see her sex worker character in They Cloned Tyrone as a harmful stereotype. But, the actress thinks there’s some power for the everyday woman in Yo-Yo’s resourcefulness. She’s the power behind the narrative in the Netflix movie and her companions would be absolutely lost without her. Parris hopes that viewers can appreciate her depiction of heroes that might not match up with the vision of what you think about in your head.

“I wanted to be a superhero. I wanted to be telling the stories of marginalized women who are superheroes,” Parris began. “These are the women who are actually in our communities. There should be space to see their humanity even though it might not look nice and clean and pretty, but they get the job done, as Black women do.”

Becoming A Superhero, In Parris’s Own Words

During a recent appearance at Essence‘s Hollywood House, the Marvel star thanked the fans for being the driving force behind her time in the MCU. On social media, people kept fanqasting her as Monica Rambeau until it happened in real life! That’s a wild path to this point, but it makes a ton of sense when you think about it. (Simu Liu had a similar path to Shang-Chi and mentioned it previously too.) Check out how she addressed the fan support right here.

“I feel like it was the audience and the fans who did it in the first place,” Parris said. “I had never heard of Monica Rambeau until people started tagging me on Twitter years ago saying you’d be adult Monica Rambeau. I’m like, Who’s that? Because I wanted to be a superhero. ‘Let me look her up,’ and I looked her up and I’m like, ‘Yes, I think so too.’”

She added, “So, when it actually happened and manifested itself, I’ve been stunned and shocked. And, the fans have been so supportive and so loving. And I feel like it’s them who actually helped to bring my dream. And yeah, my visions to life.”

Parris’s WandaVision Role Also Drew on Older TV and Film

Back in the WandaVision days, audiences were introduced to Monica Rambeau through the sitcom conceit of the show. In a previous interview with Shadow and Act, Parris explained how her Geraldine character was inspired by Willona from Good Times. It seems like the focus on that 70s style and affectation served her well in They Cloned Tyrone as well. During the conversation with the outlet, she also name-dropped Thelma from the show as an inspiration. 

Just like in WandaVision, the Netflix movie also takes some time to tweak the stereotypes that those kinds of characters draw upon. (However, the Disney+ show comes from a much more network-friendly sensibility than the Blacksploitation roots clearly showing in They Cloned Tyrone.) Getting those kinds of shows to be mentioned alongside I Love Lucy or The Brady Bunch mattered to Parris. She said, “Well, then I did my job! Because, that was my main inspiration. Willona, a little bit of Thelma. But, mostly Willona was who I was studying for that time period.”

Did you love her performance in the Netflix favorite? Let us know down in the comments!