Guyana-born British actress, Letitia Wright, who is best known for her role as Shuri in the Black Panther movies, yesterday encouraged Parliamentari-ans on both sides to work together for the betterment and empowerment of the country, according to footage released by the Department of Public Information (DPI).
Wright, who arrived in Guyana on Friday night and has been touring various places around the country, visited the National Assembly and met Parliamentarians as well as staff members.
“…it means a lot to come back home. I just want to thank everyone that has invited me to return home and I just want to just encourage you all you know as…I don’t know about the ins and outs of politics I just care more about children and the development of young people that’s kind of where my ministry is. But as you all come together to make decisions for the country I encourage you both, from both sides from both parties, I encourage peace, I encourage love. I am of peace, I am of love and I am just proud of you both and everybody that is working for the betterment and the empowerment of our country,” Wright said while addressing the Parliamentarians.
She visited at a time when the Parliamentarians are examining the budget estimates following the end of one of week of debate.
Wright, who hails from Good Intent on the West Bank of Demerara and who left Guyana at the age of eight, said she was not expected to address the House as she just wanted to visit the different sectors to learn the ways in which she can use her platform for good and encouragement especially for the young people of Guyana..
“Because I am the daughter of the soil of Guyana, so my return means a lot to me. I have not been back for about twenty years now, I left the country when I was just eight years old and I was happy to have the opportunity in the UK to expand on the talent that God gave to me of acting and travelling the world,” she said.
Wright began her career with guest roles in the television series Top Boy, Coming Up, Chasing Shadows, Humans, Doctor Who, and Black Mirror. She received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the Black Mirror movie and then had her breakthrough role in the 2015 film Urban Hymn, for which the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) named her among the 2015 group of BAFTA Breakthrough Brits.
But it was in 2018 her big break came when she attained global recognition for her portrayal of Shuri in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther movie, for which she won an NAACP Image Award and a SAG Award. She reprised the role in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: End-game (2019), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). In 2019, she received the BAFTA Rising Star Award. She also appeared in the 2020 anthology series Small Axe, which earned her a Satellite Award nomination.
