Irish-Ethopian actress Ruth Negga, who recently starred in the historical drama Loving shone in a photoshoot with Mario Testino for the cover of Vogue's January issue. She spoke about her identity, her history as an actress, her time studying at Trinity College’s Samuel Beckett Centre, and even took the time to pull a few pints of Guinness (badly) while telling (terrible) jokes. "To the bartenders of Ireland, I am sorry and ashamed," she apologised at the end.
The actress has definitely had a breakout year in 2016, with her role on the action/drama Preacher, and her acclaimed performance in the new movie Loving. The film tells the real-life story of Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial couple who faced racial prejudice and whose determination to be united in marriage became a historical civil-rights battle. As Negga told Vogue in her interview, "The film is reminding us that there’s a conversation that we need to be having still." She mentioned that her connection to her home in Ireland helped her to identify with her character, saying, ""Virginia isn't that different from Ireland. Land and home and community are super important. When I was playing her, I tried to imagine I couldn't go home again because of whom I married. It must have drained the lifeblood from her."
She spoke about her own experiences with racism she encountered when she moved to London. "When I was a kid in Ireland," she says, "there were not very many black people. I was very much like the strange brown thing, intriguing and cute. I didn't experience racism there. The first time I did was in London. It was that moment that you realize you're black. A kind of lifting of the veil."
Her performance in the film has even sparked rumours of an Oscar nomination, though those won't be announced until January. Loving will be released in Irish cinemas this coming February.