Nyong’o heard a speaker (Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) with a neurological order that makes the larynx spasm involuntarily – and then, of course, she worked with a vocal coach to inject the emotions that inspire the character. Her director, Jordan Peele, didn’t know what she was doing until preproduction. “‘She sat me down and said ‘Are you ready?’’ the director recalled. He wasn’t.” – The New York Times