We are face to face with Iman Vellani and… Iron Man. “This one travels with me,” comments the Pakistani-Canadian actor of the Iron Man film poster over her shoulder during our Zoom interview. “I’ve had to move so much in the last couple of years that I needed to bring something that makes it feel like home.” Vellani first fell in love with the Marvel Cinematic Universe when she was 13, feeling like she’d finally found a place where she belonged. A place of comfort. Fast forward six years, and she now gives life to new Disney+ miniseries, Ms. Marvel—portraying Kamala Khan, the first MCU Muslim superhero.

Vellani first heard about the open casting call for the role through a WhatsApp text from her aunt, but the role of Kamala means so much more than a chance encounter, “I didn’t know [representation] was something I wanted until I read the Ms. Marvel comics when I was 15,” Vellani reflects. “That was the first real time I got accurate representation, and I know how good that felt.” At present, Ms. Marvel has the highest viewership among Black, Hispanic, and Asian households, as well as the highest critical-rating among Marvel series—it would seem that what Vellani took from the show and hoped to share with others is definitely working.

**ALEXANDER MCQUEEN** coat, pants, shoes, and talent’s own jewelry worn and ear cuff. throughout.

The aforementioned comic-book series tells the story of a Jersey City high schooler—Kamala Khan—who admires the Marvel superheroes from afar until she herself is granted powers that allow her to fight alongside them. Ms. Marvel created Vellani’s screen acting debut, and she was awarded the role on her last day of school—the best graduation present ever given, perhaps.

Now, Vellani is wrapping up feature film, The Marvels, alongside Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris, due out next summer. Outside of Marvel, Vellani’s story speaks to the power of our own universe—where every now and again, hard work, luck, and a sprinkle of movie magic can turn hardcore, teenaged fandom into primetime entertainment for the world to share in. We caught up with the rising star during her busy production schedule.

**DIOR** jacket, shirt, skirt, shorts, and earrings.

Tell us about the experience filming Ms. Marvel?

It didn’t even feel like a job for me because I was just having so much fun. I think the main takeaway from this entire experience is that I built so many new relationships with people I never expected to see myself hanging out with, and I now have friends of all ages and of all different ethnicities. I have Muslim and Pakistani friends now, which is something I didn’t really have back home. I didn’t have people that I related to. My friends were from school, and they were from a different background, so they never fully understood what you go through. So, it’s just really nice to have that shared experience with someone who is also Pakistani. We were immediately bonding, and it was wonderful. I think that allowed me to reconnect with my culture because that was a part of myself that I was very dismissive about growing up.

In what ways has this show allowed you to reconnect with that culture?

I think I have a newfound appreciation for the Pakistani culture and just Brown people in general. It wasn’t necessarily something that I wanted to label myself as when I was a kid, because I was like, ‘None of the people I idolize are Brown.’ And I was obsessed with American pop culture and Hollywood, and those two things just never went hand-in-hand. I didn’t realize that representation was something that I was missing from my life. I didn’t know it was something I wanted until I read the Ms. Marvel comics when I was 15. That was the first real time I got accurate representation, and I know how good that felt, and so it feels really good that we can provide some of that representation in such a large scale within the MCU, and hopefully the show is super accessible for all those kids who haven’t gotten to see themselves represented in a positive way before. Just seeing all the color, and the culture, and the people, and the vibrancy, and the music. Our culture is really beautiful, and I never really acknowledged that before.

You are giving a voice to a lot of young girls who are perhaps seeing themselves reflected on TV for the first time ever—how does that feel?

It’s truly very heartwarming, and I am so glad that I can finally show people why the comics were so important because I really do hold those comics very dear to my heart. And when you normalize and humanize a certain group of people that have been so neglected in Hollywood and stereotyped for so long, it’s really a breath of fresh air for so many South Asians. They can finally have a mirror held up in front of them and be told that they can be in this role too, you know? There’s two billion Muslims and South Asians in this world—someone has to have superpowers.

How are you handling the success of the show?

Am I handling it? I don’t know. It’s the weirdest thing when you are an absolute no one from a small town in Ontario, and they are like, ‘You have a two-year countdown ’til fame. Use that time wisely.’ So just a lot of journaling, and therapy, and trying to figure out what is going to keep me grounded, and how to not get lost in all the noise because it is a lot. But I have a really good support system around me. My parents and my family have been my rock, and everyone at Marvel has been holding my hand throughout this whole process.

Brie Larson has supported you through this stage—what is the best advice she’s given you?

Honestly, it wasn’t so much as like, ‘This is some advice, take it or leave it.’ It was more like sharing stories, really. It’s honestly really nice to know that someone as successful as her, and as big of a name as she is, is also having similar problems as I am, and we are going through the same things. Brie was the start of me humanizing celebrities in general, but yes, she is a wonderful person to have around and just knowing I can text her whenever, and we can talk things through, eases my nerves.

What about yourself? What is a piece of advice you would give to young girls?

Be kind to yourself. I think especially as teenage girls we are very exposed to the internet and social expectations on what we should look like and how to act, and it can be very damaging. I definitely fell into that, especially when I started thinking about what superheroes should look like, but yeah, just being kind to yourself and trusting your instincts, and knowing that you have a place, and you can take up space, and you can have a voice.