With over a dozen film and television projects under her belt, Laura Harrier is getting ready to play the role of her life as famed Motown exec Suzanne de Passe in Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic, Michael. But first, she had to step into another part: modeling some of fall’s most defining looks as part of Bazaar’s annual performance portfolio. The actor landed her breakout role in 2017 as Liz Allan, opposite Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming. She’s also appeared in films like Spike Lee’s award-winning BlacKkKlansman (2018) and in 20th Century Studios’ remake of the 1992 film White Men Can’t Jump (2023). Below, she talks to Bazaar about how being onscreen has changed her life.
I didn’t grow up thinking I was going to be an actor or anything, because it was really far from the world that I grew up in. But I was always making everybody look at me. My mom would record my baby brother being cute, and I would say, “Put the camera on me! Look at me!” So, that might have been an early sign.
Right now I’m playing Suzanne de Passe in Michael. Getting to hang out with her and get firsthand accounts of music being shaped forever—of her being in the room while the Jackson 5 recorded “ABC”—is insane to me. I get to dive into a world that I never thought I’d be able to be a part of. Suzanne and I are very similar. I literally got the job because we met at a dinner and she said, “You remind me of my younger self.”
I think through acting I became a lot more in touch with myself, emotionally. A lot of us are raised to not be so sensitive: “Don’t cry! Don't show your emotions!” It’s just the society that we live in. So, being able to connect with different parts of yourself—but in a space that feels safe because it’s not actually you—through acting, has helped me grow as a person.
My new thing to prep for a performance is qigong—the Chinese practice of moving your energy. I think a lot of performance is just energy—grounding yourself, knowing how to project yourself or conceal yourself. I like to live in the world of my character, so I make playlists for each one. This project is all Motown ’60s, ’70s—which is some of my favorite music. So, that’s been fun.
When I’m building a character, I’m super hands-on with the costume department and with figuring out who this person is. How does she feel at this moment? What would she wear? I love fashion so much because it can make you feel like the version of yourself that you want to show.
I feel like I am many different selves within one. Like, I feel great when I’m just lying in my bed with my dog. And then when I’m at a premiere on a red carpet, that is a very specific, small part of me, but it feels like me too. We’re all so multifaceted; to just be one version would be limiting.
Once, I sat next to Diana Ross on a plane, and I didn’t say anything, but I was texting everyone I knew frantically. For me, it was her, Eartha Kitt, Grace Jones—these women who really broke the mold of how Black women were viewed at their respective times. And as a kid, watching Halle Berry and other people onscreen who looked like me and I could connect to was huge. Also, Julia Roberts—I love her forever.
I had those people to look up to growing up, and if I can do that for someone else, it means everything. That’s literally the reason for doing this, right?
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Styling: Carlos Nazario; hair: Jimmy Paul; makeup: Yadim for Valentino Beauty; manicure: Dawn Sterling for Nail Glam; production: Day International; set design: Griffin Stoddard; special thanks to Please Space Studios.
