SPARKNOTES EXCLUSIVE: Samira Wiley Talks About Shakespeare, Hamilton, and Her New Role In NERVE
When I first read about Nerve, I saw it described as an “action crime techno-thriller survival film” and thought: ALL THAT, PLUS Dave Franco’s cheekbones? I’M SOLD. Friends, it surpassed the hype—it’s a nail-biting commentary on the consequences of taking candy from creepy strangers who watch you through your phone camera.
To give you a taste of the plot: When her best friend calls her out for being too shy, Emma Roberts (Vee) signs up as a “Player” for an online game called Nerve, where you complete dares provided by the game’s users (“Watchers”) in exchange for cold, hard cash. Vee crosses paths with Dave Franco (Ian) on her first dare, and the rest is history that got my heart racing at LEAST seventeen times (The first thing I did after seeing it was text Sparkitor Jessie: “I WANT TO THROW MY PHONE OFF A BRIDGE”).
Basically, it’s what would happen if you signed up for Pokemon GO with your social security number and bank account information, and then Snapchatted yourself playing so everyone in the world could see where you were at all times.
One thing that really stands out in this movie is that there are some kickass female characters, including Azhar, the head of an exclusive hacker network that has NOTHIN’ on Q over at MI6. We got to sit down with the brilliant actress who plays her, Samira Wiley (Pousséy in Orange Is the New Black), who, in my opinion, has the most badass gig in the whole movie. I don’t want to spoil anything, but she’s the reason the film can come to an end. I almost gave her a standing ovation, but then I realized that might not be proper movie theater etiquette.
Samira told us about her experience with technology in high school, fangirled a little about Hamilton, and then played a game of Would You Rather. Enjoy it as much as we did!
