“I just felt really lucky that I got the opportunity to be part of something like this”: Cynthia Addai-Robinson on The People We Hate at the Wedding

Cynthia Addai-Robinson has enjoyed quite the year. As a part of The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power, she is in the maelstrom of one of the biggest cultural events of the year. While the scale of the universe-expanding Amazon Prime blockbuster series may be a uniquely unmatched experience, the experience is offset through her involvement in an altogether smaller, more independently spirited venture. The People We Hate at the Wedding fits the bill, being only the second directorial feature of Claire Scanlon after 2018’s Set it Up, and an example of the increasing rarity of a self-contained narrative feature unconnected to any broader universes.

The Upcoming had the pleasure of speaking to Addai-Robinson about the contrast of working on such a project after the cultural behemoth that is The Rings of Power alongside the things that made her character, Eloise, such an attractive character to portray.

Could you briefly outline the character of Eloise and her role in the film?

So, I play the role of Eloise, and, essentially, Eloise is the woman getting married. She is somebody who is a very aspirational, prim, proper English woman. It just so happens that she has a crazy American family back in the US and she uses her wedding as an opportunity to reunite her family and try to reconnect with them, and, of course, comedy ensues! So, with Eloise, she’s somebody who is caught between these two cultures because she has spent some time as a child in the US and is then raised in the UK. So her American siblings, played by Kristen Bell and Ben Platt, I think look on her with a bit of envy and also disdain and perceive her life to be perfect compared to their chaotic American lives. But, as we find out over the course of the movie, things are not always as they seem. To me, it’s a movie about family, who should know you best, but sometimes don’t really know you at all, which is something, I think, a lot of people can relate to.

What was it about the script and your initial conversations with Claire Scanlon that attracted you to this project?

Well, what first grabbed me was the title! It was immediately evocative to me. We all know who those people are. When I spoke with Claire Scanlon, what I was really excited about was getting to take a stab at comedy, which is something I have not had the chance to do in a really long time. Within the context of this film, I am definitely more of the “straight man” character, so it’s really the chaos around me and my hilarious relatives that do a lot of the comedic heavy lifting, but I also think that with all of the humour in this movie, there’s the flip side where there’s a lot of pain and family dynamics. Again, I think a lot of people can relate to that sense of having a family that you love, and them loving you back, but there’s just the lack of honest communication which gets in the way. So, for me, it was playing both the comedy and the drama of family dynamics and doing it with some of the best people in the business. Allison Janney is a brilliant comedic and dramatic actress, and the same goes for Kristen Bell and Ben Platt.

How important for this role was it to rub shoulders with some of the comedic actors you just mentioned?

It’s very important. It’s almost like playing in a band, and so you’re jumping in and you need to not mess anyone up and keep up with everybody. So, I definitely wanted to absorb what everyone around me was doing and also trust my own abilities and Claire, our director, was really great at setting that tone and instilling the confidence that made me believe I could keep up with everybody and slot believably into this family. But what was also helpful for me was that Eloise is kind of the odd one out in the family, and there was something interesting about not totally fitting in all the way, so you almost want to lean into that and use it to your advantage.

What were the aspects of Eloise’s character that were most fun for you to explore as a performer?

It was interesting to have moments where I was just with my mother, or sister, or brother, and exploring the specific relationship with each individual family member. But I also loved those moments when you sort of had everyone together, and it’s very much that case of acting as reacting. You’re just really reacting to what everyone else is doing around you. It’s a fun day at work when people around you are just doing things that are hilarious and are going to make for great comedy in the film.

You, like Eloise, have quite an eclectic background. How much of your own experience did you bring to this role?

What’s interesting for me is that this is the first time I’ve ever worked in London and my first time playing a British character. Obviously, as I’m talking to you, you hear that I have mostly grown up in the US. So culturally there is that part of me that’s very American. Having said that, my mother, who’s from Ghana, moved back to the UK years ago, so there’s this British aspect to my upbringing. Multicultural family dynamics are interesting to me, and what was really satisfying for me was that I hadn’t really seen depictions of any family that looks even remotely close to my own. It’s an area where I still feel like we’re playing catch-up in film and television. And, in fact, there’s a lot of comedy and drama in these cross-cultural mix-ups, which is something I can attest to!

What’s it like working on something more independent and smaller-scale after the cultural behemoth of The Rings of Power?

I’ve been really lucky to get to hop from project to project, and with each experience to feel like I’m gaining something new. I think I was longing to do something lighthearted and something that I felt would bring a smile and a chuckle, and luckily this was a project that came to me, I didn’t seek it out. I finished on The Rings of Power and went immediately to filming The People We Hate at the Wedding which was nice in terms of keeping me on my toes, keeping things fresh, even having that bit of trepidation, because I definitely thought, “Okay, I haven’t really been asked to play a role like this before”. That little bit of nervousness was good for me because it really focuses you. I really credit Claire Scanlon for giving me the confidence to be able to keep up alongside all these comedic stalwarts. So the environment on set, and just in general here in London, was great. I just felt really lucky that I got the opportunity to be part of something like this.

Matthew McMillan

The People We Hate at the Wedding is released on Amazon Prime Video on 18^th November 2022.

Watch the trailer for The People We Hate at the Wedding here: