Surrounded's Letitia Wright Drew Inspiration From A Real-Life Hero, Cathay Williams - Exclusive
When you think of Westerns, you probably picture scruffy men slinging guns in dusty little towns. It's rare to associate the genre with women, and even rarer when it comes to Black women. But Letitia Wright — who's best known for portraying Shuri in the "Black Panther" franchise — is hoping to change that outlook by helping blaze a more high-profile path for Black women in Westerns with "Surrounded," the story of freedwoman and former Buffalo Soldier Mo Washington, whose stagecoach is ambushed while traveling West disguised as a man to lay claim to land after the Civil War.
"Surrounded," which will be available on digital everywhere on June 20, follows Mo as she is left behind in the harsh Western landscape to guard a murderous thief (Jamie Bell) as her fellow stagecoach survivors seek out help. It's a story Wright felt so compelled by that she not only took on the lead role but also produced the film. And even though there's not a huge well to draw from when it comes to finding inspiration as a Black woman to carry a Western, Wright used the real-life story of Buffalo Soldier Cathay Williams to help shape the way she portrayed Mo.
During an exclusive interview with Looper, Wright discussed how researching the legendary Williams helped her bring Mo from "Surrounded" to life.
Wright admires Cathay Williams for her bravery
An African American woman, Cathay Williams enlisted in the United States Army under the alias William Cathay, becoming the only documented woman to serve in that branch of the U.S. military while posing as a man during the American Indian Wars. She is the Army's only female Buffalo Soldier on record.
While "Surrounded" is not based on Williams, she was still a huge inspiration for Letitia Wright behind the scenes when it came to portraying the comparable fictional character Mo Washington.
"We mainly drew inspiration from the experience of a beautiful woman named Cathay Williams," said Wright. "What we learned from research was that she hid, in the Civil War, in a men's troop and didn't reveal that she was a woman. She did that for survival; she did that for food and some type of shelter. She fought alongside these men for many years until it was time for her to leave, until they came to know that she was a woman. That was a great inspiration — of bravery, of someone that took a chance at survival and to protect herself."
As for why "Surrounded" was an important story for Wright to be part of as not only an actor but also a producer, she said, "I love stories that challenge me as an artist ... It was important to do something that felt different, that felt left-of-field for me in my career, and to tell a story that felt impactful ... That's why I loved it."
"Surrounded" will be available on digital everywhere on June 20.