While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter about her role as Nawi in "The Woman King," Thuso Mbedu explained that specifically, the strength training brought her to tears early on in preparation for the movie. "I was doing strength training with [lead trainer] Gabriela Mclain very early on, and I just remember crying. So she had to stop the session and talk me through it. It was a range of different things, and she completely understood why it felt the way that it felt in the moment," she explained. Mbedu continued that her sprinting coach, Jerome Davis, also had her doing hills to be prepared, which ultimately made her question her ability to portray Nawi authentically. "I would have to sprint uphill, and there was one day where I was just like, 'I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know if I'm going to be able to serve the character the way she needs to be served,'" she said.
However, Mbedu quickly overcame the struggle by thinking about her favorite anime series, and she developed a mentality very similar to that of Nawi. She explained that just like Nawi has always wanted to be an Agojie, she has always wanted to be part of an action movie. However, both Nawi and Mbedu were not prepared for the reality of the task. "It was brutal. But I had to get through it, and I did, just like the character," she said.
