Lupita Nyong’o has admitted the red carpet is like a ”war zone.” The 12 Years a Slave star insists people tried to warn her about the pressures of awards season, but she didn’t truly understand what they meant until she’d already gone through the ”intense experience.” Speaking to Vogue magazine, she said: ”Everyone said, ‘Brace yourself, Lupita! Keep a granola bar in that clutch of yours!’ I didn’t really understand what they meant, and it was only once it was past that I realized that my body had been holding on by a thread to get through this very intense experience. Nothing can prepare you for awards season. The red carpet feels like a war zone, except you cannot fly or fight; you just have to stand there and take it.”
The 31-year-old actress also admits she was shocked by how quickly she became famous following her role in the historical drama film last year, which led to her winning an Oscar. She explained: ”It just feels like the entertainment industry exploded into my life. People who seemed so distant all of a sudden were right in front of me and recognizing me – before I recognized them! For a split second I looked behind me to see who they were flashing at – and it was me! That was, I think, the beginning of the end of my anonymity.”