Ariana DeBose finds her space, and then some
Proving that she can do more than sing and dance, the busy Oscar winner stars in four upcoming films, including the sci-fi thriller I.S.S.
Ariana DeBose, who turns 33 on January 25, has already attained the kind of success some actors only dream of, winning an Oscar and a Golden Globe for West Side Story, and being nominated for a Tony (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical) and an Emmy (for hosting the 2022 Tony Awards ceremony). DeBose is striking while the iron remains hot. She provided the voice of Asha in the Disney animated feature Wish and stars in a quartet of upcoming films: I.S.S., House Of Spoils, Argylle, and Kraven The Hunter.
The first to reach theaters will be I.S.S., set for release on January 19. Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the ambitious, low-budget sci-fi thriller casts DeBose as Dr. Kira Foster, a scientist who arrives aboard the International Space Station just before war breaks out across the world back on Earth. So dire is the situation that the space station’s occupants—three Americans (DeBose, Chris Messina, and John Gallagher) and three Russians (Pilou Asbaek, Maria Mashkova, and Costa Ronin)—receive orders from their respective superiors to assume control of the space station … by any means necessary. Cue the intrigue.
The A.V. Club recently caught up with DeBose via Zoom for a conversation during which she enthusiastically talked in detail about I.S.S., touched on her other projects, and contemplated how she could maintain her momentum.
The A.V. Club: The story and the characters feel very real, and the movie looks and plays at times like a documentary. What went into achieving that?
Ariana DeBose: This film came to me at a time when I was specifically looking to do something that had nothing to do with movie musicals. This definitely checked all those boxes. I saw Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s name on this. She brought us Blackfish, but also brought us Megan Leavey and Our Friend. To me, the range spoke for itself, but I also had a gut feeling that her background in documentaries would root this thing. She would bring an undeniable honesty to it, and demand that of us. You can see that in the production value. She did so much research. She and our entire team were like, “How close can we get this design to invoke the real I.S.S.? Let’s let the audience go on that authentic journey.” It’s dirty, cramped, and claustrophobic. It’s not necessarily clean, spacious, or futuristic. They put things on the walls with Velcro and duct tape at times. It’s not cutting-edge, you guys. That, to me, was exciting to be able to put myself in a situation as this character, to get to know her brain and her thoughts, and also see what that would bring up in how these characters relate to each other.
AVC: A couple of the characters are romantically involved. A couple of the characters have family at home, and your character, Kira, does not. What’s at stake for her? Is it her science, her life, or her country?
AD: Interestingly enough, she goes up there with the intent and focus of achieving her scientific goals, period. It’s her and her mice. She has this undying belief that if she can just find the answer she is looking for she will be able to better humanity. I did not find that Kira was someone who felt any sort of nationalist pull at that time. She doesn’t actually feel connected to her culture or home—or to people—so it was fun to embody a human who finds herself in this small space with these people who do share a respect for science. Ultimately, that is what allows her to connect with them. This is Dr. Foster, someone who has felt to me like she was devoid of human connection, and then she finds herself in a situation that demands it. That was inherently uncomfortable in the process of embodying her. I felt very uncomfortable at times, not just because I was wearing a harness, but because that’s what came through with the character.