'I'm a Virgo' Star Carmen Ejogo on Being a 'Helicopter Parent' in Prime Video Series (Exclusive)

I'm A Virgo is one of the most unique shows of the summer as it tells the story of a 13-foot-tall young Black man, Cootie, who ventures into the outside world for the first time in his life. Because of this, his parents, Martisse (Mike Epps) and Lafrancine (Carmen Ejogo), are expecting bad things to happen to their 19-year-old son. PopCulture.com spoke exclusively to Ejogo who explained her role on the Prime Video show. 

"I think she is someone that comes from activism," Ejogo exclusively told PopCulture. "And Lafrancine is somebody that really wants to create a leader in Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), but she's also full of the fears that I think most parents are, or some parents certainly are, that it is once they leave the house, what are they walking into? Have we really got them ready for that?"

"And it's a fine line between preparing somebody and protecting them and getting that right. That's what she struggles with and has to work through, and maybe a little too often and a little too much. She's a bit of a helicopter parent and doesn't know how to really give space or have enough faith that is going to work itself out, so she keeps him at home and with the intention of keeping him at home till he's 21. But Cootie quickly has different plans."

I'm A Virgo comes from the mind of Boots Riley who directed the 2018 film Sorry to Bother You. This is the first television project for Riley, and he is a big reason why Ejogo wanted to be part of the series. "I knew that it was going to be a very inventive, creative journey that I'd be on board if I decided to do it," Ejogo explained. "And I actually workshopped Sorry to Bother You with him out in Utah at Sundance Director's Lab so I had a little taste of how he worked, and I was into it. And so when he asked me to do this and then told me a little bit about the story and just the tagline, a 13-foot Black kid in Oakland was enough for me to know that, okay, he's got his most creative hat on when he's trying to make this show, and I'm all in."

All seven episodes of I'm A Virgo are now streaming on Prime Video.