Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, says Lupita Nyong'o, Helen of Troy from 'Odyssey'

"A lot of people didn't think like that [that I was pretty enough], so I asked myself if I could see myself that way", continues the actress, with remarkable humor and kindness, who filled the hotel room where the film's cast received journalists from all over the world the week before last, before the premiere in London.

A character considered the most beautiful woman in the world, according to poems attributed to Homer, Helena is more present in the "Iliad" than in the "Odyssey". Still, Nolan decided to anchor much of his adaptation in the traumas and ghosts generated by the Trojan War, making it a central piece in his film.

When the Oscar winner for "12 Years a Slave" was announced, however, comments with a racist and sexist content, or those discussing the film's historical fidelity, invaded social media, questioning whether Nyong'o was beautiful enough to play the woman capable of starting a war because of her appearance.

Elon Musk, conservative trillionaire at the helm of Tesla and SpaceX, participated in the digital outcry. After political commentator Matt Walsh said that "no one on the planet thinks Lupita Nyong'o is the most beautiful woman in the world," and that Nolan had chosen her to avoid being called a racist, which would make him a "coward," Musk took to social media to agree.

"He [Nolan] wants the awards", he also said about the diversity of the production, extending his criticism to the presence of trans actor Elliot Page in the cast. In "The Odyssey", the Oscar nominee plays the soldier Sinon, who in this version is notable for his courage and nobility.

"When they announced that I would be in the film, I was very intimidated by the character," says Nyong'o now, a few months removed from the culture war that her casting generated. "But what really matters is the person Helena is beyond her appearance, and I felt I had the freedom to investigate that."

Helena was precisely the trigger for the Trojan War. Daughter of Zeus and the queen of Sparta, Leda, her title as the most beautiful woman in Greek mythology was confirmed by Aphrodite. The goddess promised the prince of Troy, Paris, the love of the most beautiful woman on the planet if he chose her as the most beautiful goddess on Olympus.

He then took her from Sparta to Troy -either kidnapped or willingly, depending on the version-, forcing Helena's husband, Menelaus, to summon his army and those of his allies to look for her. In the film "The Odyssey", the war leaves physical and emotional marks on the character and her twin sister, Clytemnestra, also played by Nyong'o.

"We are not used to seeing a lot of depth in Helena, but she is accused of having caused a war", says the actress, who seeks parallels between adaptation and the violence taking place in the world today. “Nobody really wins a war,” he says.

"In 'The Odyssey,' we finally see what this dispute did to her, which made me very excited about the role. I felt liberated as soon as I let go of the worry about being the most beautiful woman in the world."

After a trip to Italy, Vini Jr. goes to Virginia's house in Goiânia

The couple arrived in Goiânia this Sunday after days of rest in Italy. After celebrating the striker's birthday, the two are expected to remain together in Brazil until the end of the week, before the player returns to Real Madrid