\n<\/p>\n
When Kirby accepted the role of Ruby \u2014 a Bondish M-meets-Q foil to a Los Angeles private detective played by Colin Farrell \u2014 in the Apple TV+ series \u201cSugar<\/a>,\u201d she found herself among kindred spirits.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of us sort of bounce,\u201d she said about the ability of her co-stars Farrell and Amy Ryan to move seamlessly between drama and comedy. \u201cAs an actor, you are always looking to engage your audience and excite them, but at the same time, you want to feel excited by the material yourself. For me, it comes from the richness of being able to dip my toe in many worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n Kirby\u2019s own bouncing has taken her to TV shows like \u201cKilling Eve,\u201d \u201cBarry\u201d and \u201cThe Sandman.\u201d She stars as a commercial cleaner in her latest film project, \u201cWe Strangers,\u201d an observation on assimilation, code switching and belonging in Gary, Ind.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is sort of my pride and joy, I think the best piece of work I\u2019ve done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In a video call from Los Angeles, Kirby (who last year dropped her surnames Howell-Baptiste) explained why Doc Martens, a Starbucks cup and Solange\u2019s \u201cA Seat at the Table\u201d made her list of cultural necessities. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1<\/p>\n My new best friend. The lacrosse ball is basically a Thai massage that you can take around with you everywhere. Super easy, but it\u2019s fantastic. I just roll it around on my back or my foot. It\u2019s instant pain relief.<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n They\u2019re these incredible Chinese sauces by this chef called Jing. You can put them on everything and anything \u2014 from boiled eggs to ramen noodles. I buy these sprouted peanuts from the farmers\u2019 market. And then I just chop up some shallots, do some black sesame seed and mix the Fly by Jing sauce in. It is truly a winner.<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n I\u2019ve only had a couple of facials in my life, and I don\u2019t always make as much time as I should for those things. But a good body scrub \u2014 I feel renewed, and you can do it at home. I would love to have one that I could tell you that\u2019s my go-to, but I actually don\u2019t. Maybe someone can read this and become my favorite brand.<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n That\u2019s one of the things I actually miss the most when I\u2019m not in Los Angeles. Every meal I make from the farmers\u2019 market feels so much more nutritious and delicious than anything I could ever make from the supermarket with the exact same ingredients.<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n I drink vast amounts of water, so much so that my boyfriend tells me that I\u2019m diluting my blood. I just think that he and most people are dehydrated. I keep them everywhere. I feel like what happens is, if you don\u2019t drink enough water, you get to the point where you feel like you\u2019re almost dying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 6<\/p>\n Probably one of my big London tells is that I\u2019m a girl who loves Doc Martens. I\u2019ve worn them in lieu of heels on red carpets multiple times. It doesn\u2019t feel like you phoned it in, and you get to be the only woman who\u2019s comfortable all night.<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n I\u2019m sort of a magpie. I love shiny things. I\u2019m not really like a diamond girl, but I do love if there are beautiful old gems. My boyfriend recently bought me an absolutely stunning gold ring that looked like branches, and it had emeralds in it. It was probably one of the greatest gifts I\u2019ve ever been given. Certainly the best gift that man has ever given me.<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n My mom has always been a market trader in London. She did Portobello Road for a long time, and that\u2019s largely a vintage market. I kind of joke when I say this, but I love other people\u2019s stuff. There\u2019s a life behind it, a story. I also feel very passionately about recycling and reusing the resources that we have here. I feel like we have everything we need. We just have to distribute it better.<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n I\u2019m pretty English in that I\u2019m a tea girl. So coffee becomes kind of my treat. I\u2019ll find a coffee shop, I\u2019ll sit down perhaps with a book, sometimes with nothing, and look and think with a good flat white and a really good croissant. It resets me.<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n If someone said you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, I think it would be that one<\/a>. I remember listening to it when it first came out. I was filming in Pittsburgh, I had a couple of days off and wanted to go to Washington, D.C., because the National Museum of African American History and Culture<\/a> had just opened. I did the drive on my own, and I played that album the entire way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nD.I.Y. Massage Therapy With Lacrosse Balls<\/span><\/h3>\n
Fly by Jing Sauces<\/span><\/h3>\n
A Good Body Scrub<\/span><\/h3>\n
Farmers\u2019 Markets<\/span><\/h3>\n
Filling Giant Reusable Starbucks Cups With Water<\/span><\/h3>\n
Doc Martens<\/span><\/h3>\n
Vintage Gold Jewelry<\/span><\/h3>\n
Thrift Stores<\/span><\/h3>\n
A Flat White and a Good Croissant<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018A Seat at the Table\u2019 by Solange<\/span><\/h3>\n