Zendaya breaks down her Emmy win and what gives her hope in Timothée Chalamet interview

Like every award show that has taken place post-March 2020, this year’s Emmy Awards looked very different. The physically distanced show featured hundreds of feeds coming directly from nominees’ homes, which meant Euphoria (streaming now on Crave) star Zendaya was surrounded by her friends and family when she became the youngest winner of the Lead Actress in a Drama Series category. The celebrated actor appears on the latest cover of Elle and in an interview with her Dune co-star and friend Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya remembers the historic moment.“I was nervous about the possibility of having to get up and speak,” said Zendaya, who accepted the award in her home. “So I was like, ‘Okay, let me just write down a few little bullet points.’ Usually I would just go up there and say what’s in my heart, but everybody was like, ‘No, I think you should definitely write something down.’”

 

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Fresh off a historic Emmy win, @zendaya shows no sign of slowing down. This December, she returns as Rue Bennett in ‘Euphoria’ season 2—the role that made her the youngest-ever Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Soon, she’ll appear in ‘Malcolm & Marie,’ a love story filmed during quarantine, and ‘Dune,’ an adaptation of the best-selling sci-fi novel alongside Timothee Chalamet @tchalamet. “I was very nervous [at the Emmys], but I’m glad my family was there,” she told Chalamet for ELLE’s December/January issue. “Everybody was there and screaming, as my family does! We are a very loud family, and I was worried that they were going to be screaming for too long. And the little clock would start ticking, and I’d be like, ‘Ah, thank you.’ And then it would be over.” Read more from Zendaya’s conversation with Chalamet at the link in bio. ELLE December/January 2021⁣ Talent: @Zendaya⁣ Photographer: @micaiahcarter⁣ Stylist: @luxurylaw⁣ In conversation with: @tchalamet⁣

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Zendaya said that she was nervous that writing down a speech would be bad luck and jinx her chances of winning. Even with minimal preparation, Zendaya’s speech was one of the highlights of the night. "I know this feels like a really weird time to be celebrating, but I just want to say that there is hope in the young people out there," said Zendaya, who took home her first Emmy for playing teen addict Rue on the first season of Euphoria. "I know that our TV show doesn’t always feel like a great example of that but there is hope in the young people. And I just want to say to all my peers out there doing the work in the streets, I see you, I admire you, I thank you.”Speaking to Chalamet, Zendaya said she was grateful to have her family with her during such a big moment. “We are a very loud family, and I was worried that they were going to be screaming for too long. And the little clock would start ticking, and I’d be like, ‘Ah, thank you.” And then it would be over.’”Thankfully, Zendaya and co. go to celebrate the monumental win and deliver a powerful message. Zendaya told Chalamet that her intention with her speech was to be honest and provide some hope at a time when so many are feeling hopeless. “I know a lot of my peers feel enraged and exhausted and tired of living and growing up in a system that feels like it wasn’t built for us,” said Zendaya. “At this moment in time, it is hard to find joy and beauty in things, and I really think that is important. Right now, we as Black people need to embrace joy and not let it be taken away from us.”

 

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In ‘Dune,’ @zendaya and @tchalamet star in the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel about a feudal intergalactic empire of the distant future. “I had a great fricking time,” Zendaya says. “I felt like such a bada**, just wearing that suit and walking around on these beautiful rock formations.” Chalamet adds, “There was a super legit f*cking wrap party at the end there. We were with some of the cast, and then Javier [Bardem] came in and we were all dancing.” Click the link in bio for the full interview. ELLE December/January 2021⁣⁣⁣ Talent: @Zendaya⁣⁣⁣ Photographer: @micaiahcarter⁣⁣⁣ Stylist: @luxurylaw⁣⁣⁣ In conversation with: @tchalamet

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Zendaya told her Dune co-star that seeing her peers and her family engaged in activism continues to give her hope and bring joy. “I find hope in my peers, the people who are out there on the streets doing the work—people I admire and I go to for advice and information on what’s happening, so that I can make sure I’m using my platform in the most strategic way I can to help,” said Zendaya. “There is so much hope in young people, and when I say young people, I do mean myself—people my own age—but I also mean younger. These really young kids are so smart and have such a clear understanding and plan for how they want this world to change. Even my little nieces! They are so aware, and I mean, I can take credit for some of that, because I’ve been schooling them. But they also have their own point of view. We have discussions about [the world]. They know what’s up, and they want to be part of that change.”Season 2 of gritty drama Euphoria has been delayed due to COVID and likely won’t begin production until Zendaya wraps filming on the next Spider-Man film but fans will be able to see Zendaya reprise her role of Rue in the upcoming capsule episodes of Euphoria. Two new episodes are set to premiere on Crave in Canada by the end of the year, with the first arriving December 6. The first episode is a Christmas-themed special titled “Trouble Don’t Always Last” and is expected to star Zendaya and Colman Domingo, who plays Ali. “I can’t really say too much about the in-between episodes, but I’m excited for people to see them,” Zendaya told Chalamet. “We’re doing a little Christmas special to check in with everybody on Euphoria, until we can get back to [full production].”In addition to the capsule episodes of Euphoria, which will act as a bridge for the Season 2 storylines, Zendaya also reunited with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson to film Malcolm & Marie. Zendaya co-stars with John David Washington in the romantic drama, which was acquired this past fall by Netflix.As for Zendaya and Chalamet’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, Dune has once again been delayed and is now expected to open on October 1, 2021. Hopefully. Until then, the two gave us a little peek at what went on behind the scenes after filming in 2019. "There was a super legit f--king wrap party at the end there. We were with some of the cast, and then Javier [Bardem] came in and we were all dancing," Chalamet remembered. "You have Polaroids of that moment, right? That was a full-on dance party." Ah, those were the days.

 

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@zendaya on the importance of Black joy: “I know a lot of my peers feel enraged and exhausted and tired of living and growing up in a system that feels like it wasn’t built for us. At this moment in time, it is hard to find joy and beauty in things, and I really think that is important. Right now, we as Black people need to embrace joy and not let it be taken away from us.” Click the link in bio for the full interview. ELLE December/January 2021⁣⁣ Talent: @Zendaya⁣⁣ Photographer: @micaiahcarter⁣⁣ Stylist: @luxurylaw⁣⁣ In conversation with: @tchalamet

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