2024 NAACP Image Awards: Issa Rae's Cinematic Moments: 5 Films That Showcase Her Impressive Acting Prowess
In the world of television, Issa Rae reigns supreme. The multi-hyphenate “Awkward Black Girl” creator and actress burst onto the scene with her HBO hit “Insecure” in 2016 and hasn’t slowed since. After wowing the TV world, she made her foray into films, attaching herself to more cultural phenomenons that have shaped her wildly successful career. Last year alone, Rae starred in three Oscar-nominated films: “Barbie,” “American Fiction,” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the latter of which earned her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Motion Picture).
Rae’s rise from internet star to Emmy-nominated actress to promising film star is one to be studied. If not for her recent flawless film choices, then certainly her memorable performances, both comedic and serious. Check out five movies that showcase her acting expertise.
“Little”
Rae showed off her impeccable comedic chops in Tina Gordon’s 2019 fantasy comedy “Little,” which starred Marsai Martin and Regina Hall. In the film, the TV creator-producer plays long-suffering assistant April to Hall’s hard-ass character Jordan Sanders, who magically transforms into her younger self (Martin) when the pressures of adulting become too much to bear.
“The Photograph”
Rae switched things up as the leading lady of Stella Meghie’s dramatic romance film “The Photograph.” She starred as Mae, a museum curator who falls for a rising journalist (LaKeith Stanfield). The movie follows her character’s journey into her late estranged mother's past, exposing hidden family secrets and some unexpected love stories.
“The Lovebirds”
Rae pulled out some of her best jokes in her 2020 romantic action-comedy “The Lovebirds.” She played one-half of a couple (starring opposite Kumail Ali Nanjiani) on the brink of breaking up when a murder mystery forces them to stick it out.
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“Barbie”
Rae inspired us all when she played President Barbie in the Oscar-nominated blockbuster “Barbie,” ruling over the utopian Barbie Land as its proud woman leader. She joined the star-studded cast alongside Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, and many more.
“American Fiction”
Rae played an essential role in the poignant satirical drama “American Fiction,” the Oscar-winning screenplay by director Cord Jefferson adapted from Percival Everett’s “Erasure” novel. She starred as Sintara Golden, the bestselling author of “We’s Lives In Da Ghetto,” the source of protagonist and novelist Monk’s (Jeffrey Wright) frustration with harmful Black stereotypes in literature. In response, he pens his own “ghetto” novel, which unexpectedly becomes a big hit.