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Lupita Nyong’o 'didn’t know' she auditioned for 'Star Wars'


UPDATED FEBRUARY 7, 2019 8:53 AM EST

The force is clearly very strong with Lupita Nyong'o. The Oscar winner revealed on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday, that she auditioned for Star Wars: The Force Awakens the same week she snagged her first Academy Award — though at the time she did not know what movie she was auditioning for!

“I didn’t know,” Lupita told Ellen DeGeneres of her audition. "I didn’t really know what I was auditioning for. I knew I was going in for J.J. [Abrams], but I was so busy.”

Photo: Michael Rozman / Warner Bros.

She continued, "I was so busy I was working with adrenaline so I went in and out. I barely remember that audition and then two months later he called me.”

The actress, who plays Maz Kanata in the highly anticipated film, received a call from director J.J. Abrams expressing his interest in her for the motion capture role. In order to capture her expression for the part, Lupita explained that they had to place dots all over her face.

“More than a hundred I want to say definitely more than a hundred and twenty five,” she said. "I had these four cameras that were hooked to like a helmet on my head and they then put lights on those cameras LED lights and they can capture my movement and then they take my expression and put it on the avatar."

Lupita added, "I had dots on my lips and on my teeth and then at lunch time I would just eat the dots and then they would put them back." When asked by Ellen if eating the motion capture dots was good for her, 32-year-old replied, "I’m choosing my poison.”

VIEW MORE STAR WARS RED CARPET PHOTOS HERE

Lupita Nyong'o
Photo: WireImage

Photo: WireImage

Thankfully the dots didn't seem to have an affect on Lupita, who looked out of this world at the film’s world premiere on Monday night. The actress elected to wear an Alexandre Vauthier gown and accessorized her galactic look with Chopard jewels. In regards to her attire, the Star Wars star said, “I thought I’d bring the galaxy with me.”

WATCH LUPITA ACT OUT ANIMALS WITH ELLEN BELOW