Captain Marvel is rollicking superhero fare. And there’s one actor getting particularly rave reviews: London’s own Lashana Lynch.

Lashana plays Marvel’s best pal Maria Rambeau in what promises to be a career-making performance. Balance got in with the immensely likeable Lashana, before her star goes intergalactic.

First up, we ‘fess up: her American accent was so good, we thought she was American, until good ol’ imdb informed us before our chat that we’ve actually seen her in several projects already… Now <that’s> the power of good acting

 BALANCE WILL TELL YOU HOW GOOD YOU ARE: WE THOUGHT YOU WERE AMERICAN! 

Yes! *punches the air*

 HOW DID YOU ACE THE ACCENT?

A really good dialect coach! Who’s called Tom Jones.

REALLY? (BALANCE REGRETS NOT SINGING, ‘IT’S NOT UNUSUAL’)

Yes, really! We had so many conversations about where to pitch her because she’s originally from Louisiana, but I didn’t want her to have a strong southern accent. I didn’t want her to be general and then I wanted to find moments where there’s a certain way she talks to Monica and to Carol in a more colloquial way. I worked really hard.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE SINGLED OUT FOR BEING SO FANTASTIC IN THIS MOVIE?

The movie isn’t even out yet so it feels good. Not to sound cliché, but everyone did such a good job on this movie and I’m really happy that people are seeing my work in my first big movie; I feel really good about it. I know the hard work that’s gone into it and the work Brie put in was phenomenal, the directors did a fab job, and everyone trained super hard. I got the easy job, I didn’t have the superhero suit and didn’t have to run all day so it’s nice that people are appreciating this new person.

HOW IS TO BE A PART OF MARVEL?

We’ve grown up watching these movies. It’s pretty bizarre to be a fan of something and go to watch the movies and then audition for it and get the call that you got it, so when you watch it as a fan and also an employee I don’t really understand how it’s happened. When I watched it I felt like I was just a fan and then my face popped up and I was like, “Oh, it’s me!”

HOW DID THIS PARTICULAR BREAK COME ABOUT?

The general misconceptions with auditions or this newcomer landing this great role is that it’s all brand new and I’ve just dropped out of the sky, when really I’ve been auditioning for Marvel for a good two years. I think the universe was just like, “This is the right one.” I didn’t actually know what I was auditioning for; I had an inkling that it might be Captain Marvel. I went in to do a couple of scenes and had a great time and then went in again to do a test with Brie and thought it was probably Captain Marvel. I went in on a Friday lunchtime and then that night I got the call that I got it. I thought they were making it up.

WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THAT THEN?

I was in LA with two friends from home, from London, just having dinner and got a call. I went outside to take the call and it was all of my team just screaming down the phone. I fell on the floor, sobbing with tears, my friends had to scoop me up. They were like “Your life has changed!” I went to CVS (a bit like an American Superdrug), to buy some face wipes, because I needed face wipes…I think I was in shock. I was like, “I need buy one, get one free face wipes!” You need balance in your life!

HOW IS IT TO BE IN A MOVIE WHERE SO MANY OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS ARE WOMEN?

It’s definitely refreshing. It feels like, why not before now? It’s 2019! I can’t believe that the 80’s and the 90’s were so long ago, for me it was just the other day. It’s great to celebrate that this is the first Marvel female-led superhero movie, first female director in the MCU. At the same time I just look forward to a time where we say it was great that we had that, but it’s the norm now and isn’t it great that this was a classic movie for your kids to be able to grow up on and have that all of their lives. What is it going to do for their mentality? What’s it going to do for the next generation of filmmakers, politicians, nurses? It’s just going to broaden their minds so much that I feel like it’s a real “sky’s the limit” type of situation when you’ve got movie like this.

AND CAPTAIN MARVEL’S AWESOMENESS IS JUST THERE FOR EVERYONE TO SEE..

Yeah! You wouldn’t go into an office and be like, “Oh look, there’s women in here.” We’ve been here since the beginning of time, so why is it a bizarre thing? Everyone just needs to get over it. Of course there’s a women headlining a movie. For some people it might feel bizarre because she’s so strong and she is the strongest, and so opinionated, and she uses her voice. Things we know and love from modern women and women throughout the eras is all encapsulated in one movie. She’s just normal and goes through normal life experiences, and uses those experiences to empower herself. Marie uses her experiences to empower herself and her friend. There are so many themes in this that little girls are going to see.

WHAT DO YOU FOR BALANCE?

I sit. I literally just sit with like-minded people and just don’t talk about anything. I just want to hear about them. I like listening to people’s experiences and connecting with their hearts instead of talking about everything that’s distracting us in society these days. It feels nice to just put it all to the side, look someone dead in the eye and connect with them. It’s a nice thing to be able to do when you’re at home or anywhere in the world to connect with someone.

Captain Marvel is at cinemas 8 March