Marvel’s “Ironheart” is full of Chicago connections, and they are becoming more evident as more episodes of the debut season drop on Disney+.
The first half of the six-episode miniseries debuted June 24, and the last three dropped on Tuesday .
At the start of the show, viewers see South Side native Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) getting expelled from MIT and flying her Iron Man-inspired suit back home. She asks her wonky AI assistant TRVOR to direct her back to Chicago — and he barely gets her there in one piece.
At home, Riri reconnects with family and friends, who mostly disapprove of her desire to continue working on her tech. She secretly starts to build N.A.T.A.L.I.E., inspired by her late best friend, Natalie Washington, portrayed by Chicago-area native Lyric Ross.
As much as she tries to keep her hologrammed dead bestie a secret, Riri’s mom and Natalie’s brother eventually find out. They have mixed reactions to the recreation of their beloved friend and sister, especially as the character’s presence blurs the lines between reality and fiction and complicates their grief.
The Sun-Times spoke with Ross as the first episodes of the series premiered. This interview was lightly edited for grammar and clarity.
You were born in Evergreen Park and raised in Homewood. What was growing up there like?
So, I grew up under my grandmother’s roof. She actually had that house since the early ’80s. My mom also grew up there, along with my uncle. I went to some of the same schools that they did. It’s a really quiet, small town. I was in and around the south suburbs, through South Holland, Harvey, Calumet City and downtown Chicago. My folks are all around Chicago and the Chicago area.
How did you get into acting? What was your first introduction to it?
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been wanting to do this. My mom has this story of when I was maybe around 2 years old, when the “Incredibles” came out on DVD. I was trying to recite one of Frozone’s monologues. I didn’t really know any words, but I was trying as much as I could, and she caught me doing it, and that’s when she was like, “OK, I should probably get her into something.” So she got me into an acting school, maybe when I was around 4. I did that for a couple of years, and afterward, it was just going out for commercials and stuff like that. And I loved it. I didn’t know exactly what it was. I just loved the feeling that I got from it, the joy I got from it. I did not want to leave. And after hours of doing extra work in the city, I was looking for my next gig. …
[For] this circle of very talented actors that are coming out of Chicago, it can be pretty slow for us, and I know that’s how it was for a very long time with the people around me. I was one of the fortunate ones to get a big break at the ripe age of 13. So yeah, it’s been a wild ride.
That big break you speak of was on the NBC drama series “This Is Us.” What was it like to see your role grow, especially since you were growing alongside your character, Deja, who became more dynamic and more complicated as time went on?
It was almost therapeutic for me, because, as you said, I did grow up on that show, and this character was growing up as well. We were going through a whole bunch of growing pains together, and even though they may not be the same … certain similarities connected me to Deja.
I learned a lot from that journey and the relationships that were being created along the way between Deja and her peers and her new parents and siblings. It helped me out in a few ways.
Tell me about the casting process for your role as Natalie Washington in “Ironheart.” What was challenging or different for you?
So if I remember correctly, for the casting process, I sent in a sub tape, which was kind of like me just trying out something because they weren’t really giving me any information about this project. It was a different name for the character, and there was no description for the character. They kind of just told me to wing it, you know, anything that you can come up with. “We just want to see what you’re feeling for this character.”
So I sent it in, and I didn’t hear anything for a few months. I thought it went on to someone else, but they came back and they were like, “We want you to do a chemistry read with [Dominique Thorne].” That happened. It was very quick, and the next day, they were like, “Hey, we want you to be signed on to the show.” And a few months after that is when we started rehearsals. … I thought [Natalie] was more of a simple character than she actually ended up being. And yeah, she definitely taught me that we thought wrong in a few different ways. … Throughout those five months of shooting, I was rediscovering her and just exploring a lot of things that people may not pick up on. A lot of things make her who she is, not just as an AI with personality. She’s a lot more complex than that.
Can you tell me a little bit about how you explored and prepped for the Natalie Washington character?
Oh, man, it started off with just putting myself to the side, because I know that I can be very anxious to get things right, and that comes with a lot of fear and a lot of doubt and stress. And Natalie has none of those things. She focuses on joy and you know, happiness and confidence, courage, fight, fire. I was just turning myself off in a way, and kind of letting her, I won’t say, take over, but just show me who she is, and a lot of time reading over this and letting whatever flows flow.
I have a lot of people around me who kind of remind me of Natalie. So, imitation, that worked out a lot for me, just to get me started. But other than that, you know, it’s just letting myself feel and not getting in my own head.
For the majority of the show, your character is an AI. Did you have moments of having to shut off your human brain and think a little bit more robotically in your approach to the character?
I did, I think. It’s kind of hard to explain. Like I said, I was literally in the middle of rediscovering her. So most of the things that I came up with, I had no idea what I was doing. The memorizing of all of these big words was enough for me. But [Natalie] knows what she’s doing. This is basically nothing to her. This is easy work. … Her focus is moreso on the human side of things, her memories and all of the complications of humans and how to deal with them.
Speaking of Riri and Natalie’s friendship, I’m really curious to know what your dynamic with Dominique Thorne was like on set.
Dom is great, man. We were always there to support each other, not just as scene partners, but in a sisterly way. Stuff like this, it can really take a toll on you, whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally. It was a lot of checking in with each other and a lot of long conversations, or being in each other’s presence, letting each other know that I have you if you need anything … I got you. And sometimes we didn’t even have to let each other know. We just knew. That says a lot about sisterhood, not just between Lyric and Dom, but between Riri and Natalie.
“Ironheart” picks up within days of the ending of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Those movies hold such important meaning in Black culture. On set, did you guys have discussions about those movies and the artistic vision that was laid out in them?
Most of our conversations, when it came to stuff like that, were just about how important this is going to be for the world to see on such a grounded scale. This is a very raw style and story that’s being produced by Marvel … We’re taking you to the South Side of Chicago, where you have to be real. You have to have that kind of hustle and grit of some sort. We were talking about how this is very much beyond entertainment. This is something that you can learn from and apply to your own life.