Ashton Sanders and KiKi Layne Are Ready to Blow Shit Up in Hollywoo
When Ashton Sanders met KiKi Layne in 2012 during his freshman year at Chicago’s prestigious DePaul University theater program, she had a reputation. “Everyone was like, KiKi is the goddess of this school,” Sanders remembers.
Sitting to his left in a conference room at HBO’s midtown office, Layne doubles over in bashful laughter. “Oh my god, you did call me that,” she says, shaking her head. “She was like the queen of acting,” Sanders says. “But with us, it was just always super chill.”
The past year saw the rest of the world catching up to Layne’s allure, thanks to her breakout performance as the lead in Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, based on James Baldwin’s novel. As far as goddesses go, she proved herself to be one the most exciting ones Hollywood has to offer. And Sanders, who similarly saw his career skyrocket after being cast in a Jenkins film (he played Little in 2016’s Oscar-winning Moonlight) is right alongside her at the altar.
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