Danai Gurira

Kicks Ass On-screen And Off, But She Is Happiest Using Her Forces For Good.

- Britni Danielle

If it’s Sunday, please do not disturb Danai Gurira. That’s the one day the actress-playwright-activist likes to lay down her weapons (we’re talking prop sword or pen) and carve out time for self-care. “Creating ritualised time and space to nurture myself is something I’m constantly trying to figure out and develop,” she says. It’s not always easy to accomplish, she admits, but it feeds her soul. “There’s nothing more fun, more replenishing, than a Sunday of walking in nature, enjoying friends’ company or having a great meal.” Today is a Thursday and Danai is engaged in nourishment of another kind: dinner at a popular Los Angeles bistro. As she talks about her current projects, it’s clear why she needs – and deserves – her weekly day of rest. Not only is she a star on one of TV’s most popular shows, The Walking Dead, but she’s also been busy portraying fearsome general Okoye in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther (the highest-grossing superhero flick in domestic history) and the blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War. As if that weren’t enough, she’s the co-founder of a nonprofit, Almasi Arts, which supports and facilitates the dramatic arts in Zimbabwe and she’s knee-deep in her next project, adapting Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s award-winning novel Americanah into a TV miniseries.

For such a busy woman, Danai is remarkably down to earth and she knows that the only way she can tackle her overflowing to-do list is by staying mentally and physically fit. In person, the results of her effort are clear. The 40-year-old has a powerful – almost regal – presence and moves her body with the gracefulness of a dancer: head high, shoulders back. Her secret? A mix of eating well (tonight it’s salmon, Brussels sprouts and spinach), spiritual practice, listening to her body and, of course, exercise.