NEED TO KNOW
- Lupita Nyong’o’s brother Junior spoke with PEOPLE at the opening of Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night in New York City, about working with his sister in the play
- Recalling the first time he starred in the play eight years ago, he says, “I was like, ‘Wait, these are twins — I feel like me and my sister [could] play twins’ “
- Twelfth Night — also starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sandra Oh and Peter Dinklage — runs from Friday, Aug. 22, to Sept. 13
Shakespeare in the Park’s production of Twelfth Night is a family affair for Lupita Nyong’o and her brother Junior Nyong’o.
The real-life siblings star in the classic play, playing at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater in New York City, as twins Viola and Sebastian.
Junior spoke with PEOPLE during the opening night premiere, where he said working with his Oscar-winning sister has been “a dream come true.”
“I’ve been thinking about this since the first time I did Twelfth Night eight years ago, [in] an all-male production at Orlando Shakespeare Theater,” he recalls. “That was like my first real like interaction with the play and I was like, ‘Wait, these are twins — I feel like me and my sister [could] play twins.’ “
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“So I kind of put it out in the universe,” Junior continues. “But the fact that it’s come back eight years later, it’s definitely a dream come true, and it’s been so much fun to be able to do this with basically my best friend.”
The actor raves that he and Lupita, 42, “have such a great friendship,” adding that “being able to bring that into the rehearsal room and just have so much fun bringing this play to the people of New York” has been an invaluable experience.
For Junior, starring in Twelfth Night with Lupita has given them “a new dimension of artistic relationship” — and they also remain as close as ever off the stage.
“We were already solid, so it’s been fun to be able to spend this time together professionally,” he tells PEOPLE.
Aside from Junior and Lupita, Twelfth Night also stars Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Andrew Aguecheek, Sandra Oh as Olivia and Peter Dinklage as Malvolio, among others.
Junior graduated from the UCSD MFA program and has appeared in numerous productions, including The Outsiders and other Shakespeare favorites like King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
As for his favorite projects of Lupita’s, Junior admits it’s difficult to choose because “I feel like I love everything,” but her creepy turn in Jordan Peele’s 2019 horror hit Us stands out.
“I’ve watched Us maybe four times, but I love her film Little Monsters and I’ve also seen that quite a bunch. It’s such a fun ridiculous romp,” he races. “It’s a zombie comedy. She’s in Australia and she plays a school teacher … and their school gets invaded by a bunch of zombies. It’s so much fun.”
Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night runs from Friday, Aug. 22, through Sept. 13. Ticket information is available at publictheater.org.
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