This interview took place prior to the SAG-AFTRA union strike.

Teyonah Parris takes her hoop earrings off for a minute for a not-so-brief break at The Edition in Miami, Florida. Shes had a busy few days at the American Black Film Festival promoting her latest project, They Cloned Tyrone, which she stars alongside John Boyega and Jamie Foxx.

Every minute of They Cloned Tyrone is a ride. It blends and bends genres, taking from sci-fi, action, blaxploitation and comedy. The film follows a pimp, a sex worker and a drug dealer as they uncover a conspiracy to keep the hood and the Black folks residing there in perpetual ruin premiered opening night of the festival. It debuts on Netflix Friday and is in select theaters. The energy and laughs stayed consistent throughout the watch, with the audience showing a bit of extra love when Foxx, also an executive producer, had a special moment on screen.

It was an exhilarating moment for Parris, 35, because it was her first time seeing it with an audience. And as a new mom, this was also her first press run away from her daughter.

Im very grateful for this being the space that I was able to do it, she said.

A Juilliard graduate, Parris boasts critically acclaimed titles under her belt, including If Beale Street Could Talk, WandaVision and Dear White People. With They Cloned Tyrone, Parris said the script, written by director Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier, stood out to her. It didnt hurt that the film occupies several lanes, giving the actors ample room to play.

You have sci-fi, you have mystery, comedy, horror, all of it its challenging. But its also freeing because youre not really tethered to boundaries. You can break them, the actor said. Its Juels job to figure out where we have to stay inside, what those boundaries may be, but we really got to create our own. Its Juels job to figure out where we have to stay inside, what those boundaries may be, but we really got to create our own.

The actor sits at a table in the hotel suite across from me with gentle strength. One that she brings to her character, Yo-Yo, in the film. Yo-Yo is the groups backbone, keeping Boyega and Foxxs characters grounded in their mission to take down an underground government-backed lab experimenting on Black people. Parris knows shes not the hero folks expect, but theres more than enough room to stretch beyond the traditional suit and cape.

Even though these start off as stereotypical characters, they evolve into fully fledged, thought-about characters that we get to go into their journeys with, Parris said. They didnt just make Yo-Yo a one-dimensional character. We got to follow her and watch her evolve. Our initial assumptions of who she is are quickly broken down when you realize she is smart, she is determined and she really is truly the one who mobilizes these men to fall in line.

For I Run This, Parris discusses breaking stereotypes with her character, going toe to toe with Jamie Foxx, and her role in the forthcoming The Marvels.