On the occasion of the release of the highly anticipated “Jurassic World: The World After”, a small focus on DeWanda Wise, the interpreter of the intrepid adventurer Kayla Watts.
Since 2017 and her remarkable performance as the heroine of Nola Darling does as she pleasesa Netflix series created by Spike Lee, DeWanda Wise is an increasingly sought-after actress. This week, she shares, alongside Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblumthe poster of the blockbuster Jurassic World: The World Afterthe sixth part of the lucrative saga initiated by Steven Spielberg in 1993.
DeWanda Wise grew up in Baltimore. When she is in college, she first plans to become a therapist. But when she discovers the theater by chance playing in a play, it’s love at first sight! Wanting to continue in this field, she obtained a double master’s degree in dramatic art and socio-cultural analysis. She then received a scholarship to continue her training at the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts in New York, from which she graduated with honors.
From then on, DeWanda starred in several short films. In parallel, she appears furtively (often the time of an episode) in series like New York Criminal Section, You only live once, The Unusuals, The Good Wife, New York Special Unit, Boardwalk Empire Where Mentalist. Also active on the big screen, the young woman discreetly takes part in dramatic feature films Misleading appearance (2007), Steam (id.) and noticed it precious (2009).
David Lee/Netflix
DeWanda Wise and Margot Bingham in “Nola Darling Has Her Own Way”
Her roles gradually gaining in importance, she plays in five episodes of the historical series Underground and ten of Shots Firedwhich is about an investigation into the murder of a young African American by a police officer in North Carolina.
In 2017, DeWanda Wise’s career took a significant turn when the famous filmmaker Spike Lee offers him to camp the main character of his series Nola Darling does as she pleases (adapted from film of the same that he directed in 1986). In this successful Netflix program, which has two seasons to date, the Baltimore native plays Nola Darling, a committed African-American artist, dividing her time between her friends, her work and her three lovers.
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DeWanda Wise and Chris Pratt in “Jurassic World: The World After”
On the cinema side, his performances are also growing, as evidenced by his roles in comedies the weekend, A good person and An outstanding dad. But above all, DeWanda Wise plays one of the main characters of the blockbuster Jurassic World: The World After in 2022. This is Kayla Watts, a former military working as a freelance cargo pilot. A seemingly cynical mercenary, this badass adventurer nevertheless has a solid moral code.
That same year, the native of Baltimore camped one of the three protagonists of the Showtime series Three Womenin which three women become aware of the difficulty of fully assuming their sexuality in contemporary society.
Note that DeWanda Wise is also active on the boards, and has been since her debut. We have thus been able to see her in plays like fireflies by Donja R. Love, Sunset Baby of Dominique Morrisseau, Breed of David Mamet and In the Continuum of Danai Gurira to name but a few. A multi-talented artist, she also wrote the screenplay for the short film Where You Go, screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, which centers on the chaotic weekend of a young couple in New York…