“Wrinkle In Time” is the first time Mindy Kaling has felt truly “welcomed” in a movie

Mindy Kaling is no stranger to the small screen (or our hearts), having starred in both The Office and The Mindy Project, which she also just happened to create herself. We’ve certainly seen the funny lady pop up in movies before, too, but never in major, leading roles — rather, Kaling’s always filled that token part of the “best friend.”

But at a Wrinkle in Time press day in Los Angeles, California, Kaling explained that while her comedy, and television, has always been a place for diversity to shine, she’s largely been absent from big, blockbuster movies. Thinking back to her time as a child, Kaling noticed that there weren’t people that looked like her in her favorite science fiction and fantasy movies.

However, Wrinkle in Time is about to change that. With an incredibly diverse cast — Kaling! Oprah! Reese Witherspoon! Gugu Mbatha-Raw! Chris Pine! — representation is front and center in this magical world, but it’s not trying to be front and center. It just is, and that’s something Kaling loves.

"I loved science fiction and fantasy growing up, but it was a genre that largely did not love me back," she told the crowd of reporters. "I never saw any representation of a dark skinned, Indian woman in anything I saw. And it's a really peculiar thing when you grow up loving something that shows you no love back. It's such a pure love, because you're not getting anything from it."

"To be part of this movie, and — I broke on TV, which was so welcoming to me, and comedy which was so welcoming to me — and part of this, on a green screen stage in harnesses because you're doing a science fiction fantasy movie, it's so fun. I finally feel welcomed with open arms [in a genre movie]. I think that there could be a miniature version of me [watching], and be excited by it. I think that's insane."

Kaling, now with a lil baby at home of her own (shout-out to Katherine Kaling), knows that her daughter can already look to her mom’s own movies and see someone that looks just like her up on the screen — that’s not insane, that’s beautiful.

Wrinkle in Time tessers into theaters on March 9th.

Filed Under