The important reason why Nia DaCosta cast Tessa Thompson in her thrilling update of Hedda

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Director Nia DaCosta recently shared why she chose Tessa Thompson to star in her upcoming film, Hedda. The movie is based on Henrik Ibsen’s famous play Hedda Gabler and follows a restless newly married woman whose comfortable life is disrupted when her husband’s academic competitor, Eileen Lovborg, enters the picture.

Eileen and Hedda reconnect at a glamorous party, and it’s clear they once had a romantic relationship. Throughout the evening, Hedda’s envy and controlling behavior cause a public scandal that deeply affects everyone present.

Thompson plays the main character, Hedda, in the new film, with Tom Bateman as George and Nina Hoss as Eileen. Director and writer DaCosta had long hoped to work with Thompson again, having previously collaborated with her on the 2018 film Little Woods.

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Director Nia DaCosta shared with Digital Spy that she’d envisioned Tessa Thompson in the role of Hedda Gabler for years. She actually suggested it to Thompson about seven years ago, gave her the script, and immediately knew Thompson was the perfect fit for the part.

The director explained why it was important to cast a Black actor in a role that was traditionally played by white actors.

Being a Black woman during that era presented numerous challenges, and I wanted to explore how those challenges contributed to her feelings of unease and alienation. While I considered placing her within a Black community, I was more focused on her isolation and how her race specifically fueled it.

I really wanted to create complex and authentic portrayals of Black women, showing their full humanity on screen in ways we haven’t seen much of before. This project, and getting to work with Tessa Thompson again, felt like the perfect chance to do that.

Hedda isn’t the only character who’s different in the movie. In the original play, her past love, Eileen, was actually a man named Eilert.

The actress playing Eileen, Hoss, said taking on the role as a different gender felt “very freeing” and felt natural to her.

She explained that suddenly, all her feelings – problems, fears, desires – felt much stronger. The challenges Eileen is dealing with are quite different from those Eilert Lovborg faced years ago.

As a fan, I have to say, it’s incredibly exciting knowing this hasn’t been done before! It really gave the creator complete freedom to experiment and explore new ideas, and that’s something I really appreciate.

Eileen’s role in the film is fantastic because, unlike the play, we actually get to see the party firsthand. Instead of just hearing about it, we’re right there with everyone, experiencing the moments and watching the interactions between the women.

I found it completely captivating and surprisingly original – I kept wondering why nobody had come up with this idea sooner.

Hedda is in select cinemas now, and is released on Prime Video on 29 October.

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2025-10-25 09:49