November 19, 2025
In a candid conversation with AMFM Magazine’s Paul Salfen, Tessa Thompson opens up about starring in and executive producing Hedda, Nia DaCosta’s bold modern reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic Hedda Gabler. The film, which has been generating serious awards-season buzz, marks a deeply personal return to Thompson’s theatrical roots while showcasing her in one of the most demanding roles in the dramatic canon.
Paul Salfen: We’re so excited to talk to you about this. The buzz just keeps building and building. I know you had a good time making it, right?
Tessa Thompson: Yeah, I did. It felt like a return. I came from the stage and from doing theater, especially classical theater. It’s where I studied—I never went to acting school, but I did a lot of classical theater and apprenticed. So it kind of felt like coming home. We got really close as a cast; it really felt like a company, like an ensemble. It was a real joy to make.
Salfen: Do you remember that moment where you said, “I’m doing this, I don’t care—I’m going to make it work”?
Thompson: Nia DaCosta called me. I’d made her first film, Little Woods, with her. We became very good friends and close collaborators. Some years later she called and said, “I’m thinking about doing an adaptation of Hedda Gabler.” I didn’t understand—maybe she meant me? I couldn’t believe it. Obviously it’s this iconic part to play. I just thought, I’ll go anywhere with Nia. I trust her, and I believe in her so much as a filmmaker. Any vision she has, I want to help make it come true—even if I’m not in the frame. But in this case, I couldn’t believe she wanted me to be in the frame. So I was like, okay, let’s do it. This is terrifying, but let’s do it.
Salfen: And then you’re on set with these beautiful costumes, beautiful sets…
Thompson: Exactly! That’s the other thing that doesn’t get spoken about often—as an actor, sometimes you deliver a lump of clay and it gets sculpted by other people. I’ve had projects where you put so much heart and energy into it and it just doesn’t come together for whatever reason. In this case, some of the shots are so beautiful—to get to exist in those frames and have them immortalized is amazing to me.
I kid you not, there’s that double-dolly shot when Nina Hoss’s character Eileen arrives. I remember the first time I saw double-dolly shots—maybe one of the first films I’d seen it in was a Spike Lee film—and as a kid I was like, what is cinema? I’ve always secretly wanted to be in a shot like that. There’s this dance between what you can do as an actor and what gets communicated through all the other craftspeople. To have your work elevated by incredible people is tremendous. I feel so lucky.
Salfen: Now people are looking up to you saying, “I want to do what you do.” What advice do you give those kids?
Thompson: This might sound trite, but especially if you want to be an actor—study the classics. There’s a reason these pieces have stuck around and mystified and challenged audiences for centuries. There are such fundamental human questions asked inside of them. Someone told me that in drama school they always say you have to have your Hedda ready. I didn’t go to drama school, so I didn’t have my Hedda ready—I had to get her ready as soon as I understood I was going to play her. So always be working, always be getting yourself ready.
Salfen: When it’s go-time and it wasn’t easy to make this film—what do you tell yourself to stay on the right path?
Thompson: One of the things I love about film is how collaborative it is. You’re never alone—you’re always making something in concert with other people. When it’s go-time, it’s not “here I go,” it’s “here we go.” That alleviates the pressure and makes it so much more enjoyable to work from a place of real community. In the times we live in, it’s getting harder and harder to feel a sense of community—people feel so siloed and alone. Continuing to concentrate on the collective is something I think about a lot.
Salfen: We’re so proud of you and so happy for everything happening with this film right now. Thank you for the great answers—check it out, everybody!
Thompson: Thanks, Paul. I appreciate you.
Hedda, directed by Nia DaCosta and executive produced by Thompson, transplants Ibsen’s explosive tragedy into a sleek contemporary world, with Thompson delivering a fearless, career-defining performance as the restless, brilliant, and ultimately destructive Hedda. The film is now in select theaters and expanding nationwide.
