Here's the Real Reason Why Lupita Nyong'o Chose a "Small Play" Over a More "Hollywood" Role

Oscar winner is currently starring in Ecliped on Broadway

For anyone questioning Lupita Nyongo's post-Oscars career, you better listen up.

In a new essay for the Lenny newsletter, the 12 Years a Slave star recalls one reporter's recent question that felt "quite silly" to the actress. During her last round of press interviews for the play Eclipsed, Lupita was asked, "Why would such a big star choose to do such a small play?"

The inquiry inspired the Oscar winner to explain her mindset as she continues her career in the public eye.

"I think as women, as women of color, as black women, too often we hear about what we ‘need to do.' How we need to behave, what we need to wear, what's deemed as too much or not enough, the cultural politics of what society considers appropriate for us and for our lives," she wrote. "What I am learning is that the most important questions you can ask yourself are ‘What do I want?' and ‘Who do I want to become?'"

She continued, "As an actress, feeling connected to a fully realized, complex character is what I look for first. The size of the role, and the budget, and the perceived ‘buzz' around the project are much less important to me."

If Lupita ever finds herself in doubt of what she should or shouldn't do next, the 33-year-old looks no further than the paths of Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett and Viola Davis.

"They are all fearless actresses who approach every role without ego or vanity. They have a fierce commitment to the moment and the role, whether it's the lead or a character we see for just one scene. They give it their all, and it shows," she explained. "The thought of having a career that in any small way might resemble theirs excites me."

While moviegoers will soon see Lupita on the big screen when she appears in The Jungle Book and Star Wars: Episode VIII, the actress hopes to continue taking risks and take on stories that "thrill and terrify me."

"Partly because of the conversation the industry has been having about women and racial and cultural representation, I have recently decided to participate more fully in the development of roles I choose in the future," she explained. "There are some projects coming up for me that I can't wait to talk about. But at the moment I am onstage, night after night, with four incredible actresses, telling a powerful story about women who are rarely given a complex rendering. I look at this play…and I feel profound gratitude to be a part of it."

Read Lupita's full essay online now.