Lupita Nyong'o Is Excited to ShowWild Robotto Nieces So They 'Finally' 'Understand What I Do for a Living' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Lupita Nyong’o attends the premiere of “The Wild Robot”.Photo:Cindy Ord/GettyLupita Nyong’ocan’t wait for her nieces to see her new venture.On Sunday, Sept. 8, the actress, 41, spoke to PEOPLE at theToronto International Film Festivalscreening of her new movieThe Wild Robot, out Sept. 27. Nyong’o revealed that she has a few particular people in mind that she can’t wait to see the film.“My nieces, I have nieces,” she tells PEOPLE.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Lupita Nyong’o.Arnold Turner/GettyShe continued to share that she immediately thought of her nieces upon reading the script for the first time. “I thought, ‘Oh boy, they’re finally going to understand what I do for a living!’ " she added.“I look forward to my nieces and nephews being able to watch this film and thinking of things like theCharlie Brown ChristmasandLion King,and these formative things for me and what they’ve done for my most impressionable years,” she explained. “This could be that for my nieces and nephews and they could have this direct relationship with it, not only because it’s a great story with a great message, but their auntie is in it.“During an appearance on the June 20 episode ofLate Night with Seth Myers, theAcademy Awardwinner shared that the “super-positive voice” she uses in the upcoming animated film put such a strain on her voice thatshe developed a vocal cord polypand had to go on three months of vocal rest.The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Lupita Nyong’o during an interview with host Seth Meyers.Lloyd Bishop/NBC via GettyHer character Roz, who is a robot, “goes through this journey to finding, I guess, what we would call humanity, like empathy.”“And so at the start of the movie, I chose to do this very, kind of like, super-positive voice. And it was, like, just not in my vocal register, which is a lot lower,” she explained.“I did it for way too long over a number of days, and I got a vocal polyp.” theA Quiet Place: Day Onestar said, adding that she “lost my ability to speak, and my doctor put me on vocal rest, and I was on vocal rest for three months.”She also shared that she was scheduled to have surgery, but when her doctor told her 35% of people recover naturally, “I was so determined to be part of that 35%. And I did. I cured myself.”

Lupita Nyong’o attends the premiere of “The Wild Robot”.Photo:Cindy Ord/Getty

Cindy Ord/Getty

Lupita Nyong’ocan’t wait for her nieces to see her new venture.On Sunday, Sept. 8, the actress, 41, spoke to PEOPLE at theToronto International Film Festivalscreening of her new movieThe Wild Robot, out Sept. 27. Nyong’o revealed that she has a few particular people in mind that she can’t wait to see the film.“My nieces, I have nieces,” she tells PEOPLE.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Lupita Nyong’o.Arnold Turner/GettyShe continued to share that she immediately thought of her nieces upon reading the script for the first time. “I thought, ‘Oh boy, they’re finally going to understand what I do for a living!’ " she added.“I look forward to my nieces and nephews being able to watch this film and thinking of things like theCharlie Brown ChristmasandLion King,and these formative things for me and what they’ve done for my most impressionable years,” she explained. “This could be that for my nieces and nephews and they could have this direct relationship with it, not only because it’s a great story with a great message, but their auntie is in it.“During an appearance on the June 20 episode ofLate Night with Seth Myers, theAcademy Awardwinner shared that the “super-positive voice” she uses in the upcoming animated film put such a strain on her voice thatshe developed a vocal cord polypand had to go on three months of vocal rest.The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Lupita Nyong’o during an interview with host Seth Meyers.Lloyd Bishop/NBC via GettyHer character Roz, who is a robot, “goes through this journey to finding, I guess, what we would call humanity, like empathy.”“And so at the start of the movie, I chose to do this very, kind of like, super-positive voice. And it was, like, just not in my vocal register, which is a lot lower,” she explained.“I did it for way too long over a number of days, and I got a vocal polyp.” theA Quiet Place: Day Onestar said, adding that she “lost my ability to speak, and my doctor put me on vocal rest, and I was on vocal rest for three months.”She also shared that she was scheduled to have surgery, but when her doctor told her 35% of people recover naturally, “I was so determined to be part of that 35%. And I did. I cured myself.”

Lupita Nyong’ocan’t wait for her nieces to see her new venture.

On Sunday, Sept. 8, the actress, 41, spoke to PEOPLE at theToronto International Film Festivalscreening of her new movieThe Wild Robot, out Sept. 27. Nyong’o revealed that she has a few particular people in mind that she can’t wait to see the film.

“My nieces, I have nieces,” she tells PEOPLE.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Lupita Nyong’o.Arnold Turner/Getty

Arnold Turner/Getty

She continued to share that she immediately thought of her nieces upon reading the script for the first time. “I thought, ‘Oh boy, they’re finally going to understand what I do for a living!’ " she added.

“I look forward to my nieces and nephews being able to watch this film and thinking of things like theCharlie Brown ChristmasandLion King,and these formative things for me and what they’ve done for my most impressionable years,” she explained. “This could be that for my nieces and nephews and they could have this direct relationship with it, not only because it’s a great story with a great message, but their auntie is in it.”

During an appearance on the June 20 episode ofLate Night with Seth Myers, theAcademy Awardwinner shared that the “super-positive voice” she uses in the upcoming animated film put such a strain on her voice thatshe developed a vocal cord polypand had to go on three months of vocal rest.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Lupita Nyong’o during an interview with host Seth Meyers.Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty

Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty

Her character Roz, who is a robot, “goes through this journey to finding, I guess, what we would call humanity, like empathy.”

“And so at the start of the movie, I chose to do this very, kind of like, super-positive voice. And it was, like, just not in my vocal register, which is a lot lower,” she explained.

“I did it for way too long over a number of days, and I got a vocal polyp.” theA Quiet Place: Day Onestar said, adding that she “lost my ability to speak, and my doctor put me on vocal rest, and I was on vocal rest for three months.”

She also shared that she was scheduled to have surgery, but when her doctor told her 35% of people recover naturally, “I was so determined to be part of that 35%. And I did. I cured myself.”

source: people.com