Westworld star, Thandiwe Newton, is reclaiming her birth name, after decades of being credited as “Thandie Newton,” a nickname based on her actual name she was given at birth, Melanie Thandiwe Newton.
Newton had been using “Thandie Newton” as her credited name ever since her film debut, but as she explained to British Vogue in a new interview, “I’m taking back what’s mine.”
Newton was born in London, England, in 1972. Her parents are Nyasha and Nick Newton. Nick was a White lab technician from England, while Nyasha was a Black member of a Shona tribal family in Zimbabwe. They named their daughter Melanie Thandiwe. Thandiwe means “beloved” in the Nguni language. Growing up, Newton went by Thandiwe rather than Melanie, but as she and her brother were often the only Black children in their schools, so in an attempt to not stand out as much, the Vogue article explained, “the W of her name drifted inward, out of sight and earshot, in a futile hope to make her feel less different.”
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In 1991, Newton auditioned for the Australian film, Flirting, written and directed by John Duigan. Newton noted that when she met Duigan, “‘Can you be a bit darker?’ he said. ‘I dunno,’ said Thandiwe. ‘Be darker by Monday,’ he said. So she spent the weekend covered in coconut oil and frantically bronzing. ‘Got the role. Colourism has just been the funniest. I’ve been too Black, not Black enough. I’m always Black. I’m just like, whadda you people want!’” Duigan (who Newton also noted groomed her soon after they met when she was 16 years old, a scenari she later described as “It was textbook, really boring textbook.”) took the name “Thandiwe” and used it for the name of Newton’s character and then credited her as “Thandie Newton” to differentiate her from her character. The name stuck for the next thirty years.
From now on, though, she will be credited as Thandiwe Newton, explaining, “That’s my name. It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine.”
Westworld stars Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Luke Hemsworth, Simon Quarterman and Rodrigo Santoro, Aaron Paul, Vincent Cassel, Lena Waithe, Scott Mescudi, Marshawn Lynch, John Gallagher Jr., Michael Ealy and Tommy Flanagan. Seasons 1-3 are available to stream on HBO Max. A release date for Season 4 has yet to be announced.
Source: British Vogue
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