Spider-Man and Barbie have long been icons in Issa Rae’s universe. Yet back when she was a kid, Rae only embraced one outwardly.
“I was more proud to be a Spider-Man fan than I was to be a girl who played with Barbies,” says the “Insecure” writer/star, who has roles in both the animated superhero sequel “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (in theaters Friday) and Greta Gerwig’s meta fantasy comedy “Barbie” (out July 21).
Rae got into Spidey comic books in the third grade and “by that time, there was a stigma that you were too old to play with Barbies. People thought it was lame so I played with them in secret. And oddly enough, I would use my Barbies to create scenarios and try to tell stories that I couldn’t. But it was definitely a part of my life.”
The Los Angeles native, 38, recently saw a home movie from her seventh birthday where one of her aunts gave her a Black Barbie. “I knew that it wasn’t cool for me to get that Barbie in front of my friends, so I tried to downplay it,” Rae recalls. “But I played with that Barbie, for sure. It sucks that I felt shame in playing with something that brought me a lot of joy.”
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Now she’s living it up in two iconic worlds: With Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Rae co-stars as President Barbie in “Barbie,” while in “Spider-Verse” she voices Jessica Drew, a pregnant Spider-Woman who rides a super-cool motorcycle and keeps the multiverse safe as part of an elite Spider Society. “She’s just so brave and confident in a way that I am not,” Rae says. “She’s also doing all of this while with child, and that was really compelling to me and confusing and kind of scary to portray.”
Rae, who next stars in a remake she wrote of the Italian relationship comedy “Perfect Strangers,” talks with USA TODAY about visiting the “Spider-Verse,” ruling Barbie Land and what needs to change in Hollywood.
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Question: Did you reach out to any real-life mothers for “Spider-Verse” character research?
Answer: I’m surrounded by moms. I actually asked a couple questions and had to repel my own biases because I often think that (with) pregnant women, things stop. I’ve had to take that bias out of my own fear of becoming pregnant because I love to just be out here and work. And so to play (Jessica) opened my eyes to the pregnant women around me who are working and kicking ass, in metaphorical and physical ways, just up until they give birth.
What about Spider-Man appealed to you as a little girl rather than, say, Wonder Woman?
Just that he was a regular guy who got bitten by a spider and then had to kind of figure out how to be responsible with his power. For me at that time as a kid, I was all in on this world and curious about Peter and Aunt May and Mary Jane and his relationships with his friends, who he was also hiding a big secret from. That’s just good drama.
Which “Spider-Verse” personality would young Issa have found the most inspiring?
Spider-Punk is super cool. He looks great, he’s mad laid-back, kind of anti-establishment against the system and plays music. What young girl isn’t into a musician? I would be immediately drawn to him.
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It’s a big summer movie season for you with “Spider-Verse” and “Barbie.” What’s President Barbie like?
President Barbie is a perfect leader. She is super, super-intentional about how she runs Barbie Land and takes a lot of pride in being president and also has probably the most time to hang out with her Barbie friends.
All the Barbie sets and production designs we’ve seen so far are pretty spiffy. What was your favorite thing to just look at every day?
The attention the production designers and set decorators put into every detail of the Barbie-verse was fantastic. I remember being at the presidential desk and seeing the presidential seal on the envelopes and all these different things that had the Barbie stamp and little flamingos on the mailbox and the drawers having Barbie handles. It was a dream to live in – it was a Barbie Dreamhouse but just better.
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With the writer’s strike and everything going on in Hollywood now, what would you most like to see change in the industry?
Just general appreciation for what writers do is something that I want to see change. Because the industry is evolving so much, it feels like we’ve lost sight of that. And that in some ways does feel very intentional because people are just looking to cut costs in every industry.
Imagine the multiverse was a real thing. What aspect is inherent in every Issa Rae?
I hope that every Issa in the multiverse has a desire to find good food because you need a break. You’re fighting crime, you’re saving the world, but what are you eating? What’s delicious? What’s the best takeout? Before she goes to bed at night, is she still looking at menus for the restaurant where she’s going to eat the next day? That would be core, that love for food. And to be able to transport there quickly via motorcycle or by web would be essential.
