We chat with YvonneOrji about her new HBO comedy special AWholeMe, and what it means to be proud but not perfect:
Yvonne Orji is back with a new HBO comedy special, Yvonne Orji: A Whole Me, and she's not kidding about that subtitle. Premiering October 1 at 10pm ET before streaming on HBO Max, her latest stand-up extravaganza explores everything from growing up as the child of Nigerian immigrants to dealing with the pitfalls of modern dating. While it's only been two years since Momma, I Made It!, the world has changed drastically since then—and Orji makes the most of that difference.
It's funny, I sold the special to HBO like, "Africa in living color," and they were like, "Okay!" So, in my mind, I was like, "We're gonna do a ton of these skits!" And then they were like, "But where's the stand-up?" Oh, yeah. The stand-up. "Okay, guys. Pivoting!" You've already worked with HBO on Momma, I Made It! and Insecure. What is it that you like best about this partnership?
I love what you said about the things that speak to you, because while the stories that you're telling are true to your experience personally, I think they resonate with so many children of immigrants. As a child of a Latin American immigrant, I'm like, "Yep, that was my mom. That is exactly her but with a different accent.
Yvonne Orji: I think it's bringing the most authentic version of myself, that's why it's called A Whole Me. To be honest, the you that you are is always in you, but it's fighting to be the best version of itself. There's things in my character and my personality that, like, it is what it is. Now, there are better ways for those things to come out, and there are easier ways for those things to be achieved and seen and done.
You obviously can do it all: acting, stand-up, executive producing. What is next for you? Is First Gen still happening and what can you say about it?