Pieces of Me: Samira Wiley’s Radiant LEGO Self-Portrait
A surge of excitement rushes as I sit down to interview actor and queer icon, Samira Wiley, about a collaboration made in my own personal gay heaven: a 5-foot tall portrait of Wiley, created entirely from LEGO bricks. The portrait was created to kickstart a campaign encouraging the use of play and creative expression, to explore who we are and celebrate our identity.
“There’s some fun visuals in there.” Wiley grins. “Things you wouldn’t know unless you were in the room with us.” Her smile is as electric as her personality, seamlessly switching between warm sincerity to playful joviality. As we’re troubleshooting audio for our video call—a remote conversational ritual in 2023—she oozes a zen-like charisma.
“One second,” Wiley holds up a finger before disappearing from the screen. Moments later, I hear her interacting with her daughter, George. Gleeful tones of toddler whimsy emanate from off-camera. Even in her search for a device with cooperating sound, Wiley holds time for her kid.
Just as quickly, Wiley is back on camera. Her video’s landscape orientation has been replaced by portrait framing, and the name “Lauren” displayed below suggests she’s swapped the unobliging desktop for her wife’s mobile.
“Okay, I can hear you.” She beams again.