British-Jamaican actress Lashana Lynch recently sat down with Elle UK and spoke on a range of issues including her role of Bob Marley’s wife in the yet-to-be-aired biopic of the renowned reggae superstar.
The 36-year-old star of No Time to Die was reportedly chosen in 2022 to play Rita Marley in the biopic, which is now scheduled to open in theaters in February. Lynch discussed the impending film and her experience playing a well-known character like Rita Marley with Elle UK for its February issue.
“Getting to know Rita, through spending time with her personally and on the page, has been one of the biggest gifts,” she told writer Afua Hirsch. “Her feminine power is so apparent and mighty that my core has almost received a resurgence by playing her. I could retire tomorrow and feel I went out with one of the best decisions for my spirit, my career and my culture.”
Asked about the relevance of Bob Marley’s story and what it means to her as someone of Jamaican descent, Lynch said: “I get the chance to peel back the layers of my culture through my work again and again. Doing it through Bob and Rita’s story is almost a personal love letter to women like her. I hope Jamaica can feel proud of what we’ve created.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Hirsch asked Lynch about her heritage – that is if she feels Jamaican, British, or Jamaican-British. “I feel Jamaican British at all times, because I lead with my culture for everything,” she said.
“I love the subculture I was a part of in west London. That was a special experience for me. If there’s anything that I represent, as a British Black girl, it’s west London, specifically.”
Hirsch went into more detail on Lynch’s Jamaican background and her sporadic remarks about telling her relatives’ stories and portraying them accurately. When asked if she felt a special bond with her ancestors, the 36-year-old responded in the positive.
“I genuinely have regular conversations with my ancestors – I can hear them, I can sense them,” said Lynch. “I can understand the direction that they’re trying to lead me in. I’ve taken their guidance on everything, and it means that certain things in my life look a little miraculous from the outside, but I know that there’s construction happening on the inside, and it’s because of them.
On February 14, Bob Marley: One Love, the biography, will make its theatrical debut. Actor Kingsley Ben-Adir will also portray Bob Marley in the movie. Lynch participated in multiple trials, including chemistry reads with Ben-Adir, before being chosen to play the legendary musician’s wife. The Marley family accepted her choice to play Rita Marley without any objections.
The Jamaican-British actress was cast in several A-list films, such as the James Bond thriller No Time to Die, the Marvel movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the film The Woman King.
In 1981, Bob Marley lost his battle with cancer and died at the age of 36. When the late reggae icon met Rita Marley, he was a member of the Wailers band. At the time, she was a singer. According to Deadline, the couple got together while the singer of No Woman No Cry was a mentor for a band Rita Marley was in.
On December 3, 1976, an attempt at assassination was made in Jamaica, but the couple escaped. Three armed men entered the home of Bob Marley and his band, which was practicing at 56 Hope Road, which is close to the prime minister’s and governor’s residence. Some claimed that the murder attempt on Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley was carried out with political motivations.