IN CONVERSATION WITH CLEOPATRA COLEMAN

interview by JANA LETONJA

Cleopatra Coleman steps into a bold new chapter with her starring role in Nemesis, the highly anticipated crime drama from Courtney A. Kemp, premiering on 14th May on Netflix. Already known for standout performances in Black Rabbit opposite Jason Bateman and Jude Law, as well as FX’s Clipped alongside Laurence Fishburne and Ed O’Neill, Cleopatra continues to build a dynamic career defined by range, intensity, and compelling character work.

Ebony Wilder feels like a woman in transition. What did you recognise in her the moment you read the script? 

I recognised a woman who’s learned how to survive inside intensity, and is now being forced to confront what that has cost her. That moment where survival stops working, that’s where she lives.

Nemesis moves between danger and seduction. How did you understand the tone of the world? 

I’m interested in making heightened material feel emotionally real, even when the world is extreme. Ebony exists in something almost operatic, but I approached her with precision. I’m always looking for the truth inside those extremes. 

What did you have to surrender in order to play Ebony truthfully?

Control. Or at least the illusion of it. You can’t play someone like Ebony from the outside; you have to let her destabilise you a little.

Ebony is both powerful and destabilised. Where does her control come from, and where does it fracture? 

Her control comes from knowing how to read people. How to anticipate, how to move first. And in intimacy, that becomes something else. When she doesn’t get what she needs verbally, she finds another way to secure it. She’s constantly trying to stabilise something that’s already shifting underneath her.

What did Ebony reveal to you that you weren’t expecting? 

That strength and fragility aren’t opposites. Sometimes, the most controlled person in the room is the one closest to unravelling.

You move between very different tonal worlds—what connects the work you say yes to? 

I’m drawn to work that asks something of me psychologically. The tone can be anything, but there has to be something real underneath it.

What kind of women are you interested in exploring right now? 

I'm interested in exploring women who are difficult to categorise. Those who use power, intimacy, and perception in complex ways. I’m less interested in whether they’re likeable, more in whether they’re true. 

Do you feel more freedom or more pressure in the current landscape of television? 

Both. There’s more space to take risks, but also more noise. The challenge is staying connected to your own taste and not reacting to everything around you.

What still feels dangerous to you as an actor? 

Letting something be unresolved. Not explaining it, not smoothing it over. Trusting that the audience can sit with ambiguity.

With so much visibility, how do you protect your inner life? 

I’m quite protective of my inner life. I think mystery is part of the work. You don’t need to give everything away for people to feel something.

TEAM CREDITS:

talent CLEOPATRA COLEMAN
photography DANA BOULOS
editorial director and interview JANA LETONJA