NPR

Tessa Thompson, New 'Men In Black' Agent, Found Inspiration In The Originals

Thompson stars in the new Men in Black: International, and she says she might never have thought of movie stardom if she hadn't seen Will Smith on television and in the original Men in Black films.
Tessa Thompson as M and Chris Hemsworth as H in the new <em>Men in Black: International</em>.

Tessa Thompson is one of Hollywood's fastest rising stars. With big parts in Thor: Ragnarok, Creed, and Westworld, she's gone from that actress you know from somewhere to the kind you stop on the street.

"It also doesn't help currently that I'm on the side of a lot of buses," Thompson jokes.

And part of what got her to this strange place is a sci-fi movie that came out in 1997, when she was 14 years old: . "I was — I still am — but then was a massive Will Smith fan. I grew up watching , and it's easy

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