Tessa Thompson on Creating a Definitive Modern Take on Ibsen’s Iconic Pro-Antagonist in ‘Hedda’ [VIDEO INTERVIEW]
It was a little over ten years ago, the world discovered one of the best actresses we have working today in Dear White People as Sam White, an arts major causing a stir at her predominantly white college by criticizing white people and the racist transgressions in her sharp, witty, pointed radio show. Once the credits rolled, there was no denying the incredible performance Tessa Thompson displayed in that film (she won the Breakthrough Actor prize at the Gotham Award in 2014), and set the path over the course of the next decade in creating, crafting roles unique and singular that only she could bring to the big screen, in works like Selma, Sorry to Bother You, Annihilation, Sylvie’s Love, Passing, and her first collaboration with writer-director Nia DaCosta, Little Woods. At the same time as she was doing these layered, detailed roles, she was also saving the world with Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and being there one punch at a time with Adonis Creed in the Creed franchise. But all of this work steadily built up to this year, as she has delivered the performance of her career in Hedda, a reimaging of Henrik Ibsen’s iconic play Hedda Gabler that reunites her for the second time with DaCosta.
Thompson, raised in both Los Angeles and Brooklyn, New York, she attended Santa Monica College, where she studied cultural anthropology before making her transition back to acting, a passion of hers since she was in high school. She started her journey on the stage, getting her start in LAWSC’s production of The Tempest, before appearing in other projects like Romeo and Juliet: Antebellum New Orleans, 1836 with The Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena, California, where she received critical raves for her performance. She moved from the stage to the screen, making memorable turns on episodes of Veronica Mars and Grey’s Anatomy, as well as small roles in films like When a Stranger Calls and For Colored Girls. But it was Dear White People where she grabbed everyone’s attention, and from there on out, she’s never let it go.
She’s selective with her projects, leaving her fans wanting to see her more and more on the big screen, with is why her electric work in Hedda is so special, as it’s a showcase for Thompson to display the nature kinetic energy she has a star and leave us in awe of her miraculous talent. In her review out of the Toronto International Film Festival, our own Sophia Ciminello agreed with me on Thompson’s incredible performance, stating that “Thompson’s Hedda is slippery and frisky, flirting with and controlling everyone in her path,” and “at every turn, Thompson, with her classic glamour, accesses Hedda’s whims and inner itch to cause trouble, showing just how difficult it is for those in her orbit to resist her.” Case in point, it’s not only a tremendous rendition of Hedda Gabler, but the defining role within Thompson’s ongoing, superb career, making it clearly one of the best performances of the year.
In my recent conversation with Thompson, we discussed her relationship with the original source material from Ibsen, her thoughts on DaCosta’s vision for their reinterpretation of the play, and how this version of Hedda can be a vessel for introspection at our modern time and seeing versions of characters we’ve never seen before on screen. We also spoke about building the chemistry between Hedda and Eileen with her co-star Nina Hoss, how childish, heartbroken Hedda is and how that’s the cause of her lashing out, and how the film can be seen as a Rorschach test for audience members, and if people misunderstand Hedda as a character. It was an absolute delight to speak with Thompson and speak about the detailed, complex, hard work she put in; a one of a kind artist.
Hedda is currently available to stream on Prime Video.
- Ethan Hawke on How It Was the Right Time To Make ‘Blue Moon’ with Director Richard Linklater [VIDEO INTERVIEW] - December 2, 2025
- Jeremy Allen White on the Responsibility and Hard Work Needed to Transform into The Boss in ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’ [VIDEO INTERVIEW] - December 1, 2025
- AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 317 – Oscars Retrospective of the 68th Academy Awards - December 1, 2025
‘Frankenstein’ to Receive Visionary Honor from Palm Springs International Film Awards 
Robert Yeoman to be Honored with American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award 
National Board of Review: ‘One Battle After Another’ Tops in Film, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor; Netflix Lands Four in Top 10 
41st Spirit Awards Nominations: ‘Peter Hujar’s Day,’ ‘Lurker,’ ‘Train Dreams’ Lead