The short one-hour drive from Detroit to Flint is the metaphorical bridge between two worlds that have shaped Ryan Destiny’s past and future. The Motor City native recently took on her biggest role in The Fire Inside as Claressa Shields, a young woman from Flint that went on to become one of the most decorated Black woman boxers in the sport’s history.
The emotional drama is one Destiny’s most ambitious and, according to her, has forced her to tap into parts of herself she hadn’t ever touched.
“I really liked being stripped down and having people see me in a whole new light is something that I’m really excited for,” Destiny tells ESSENCE. “I know that it’ll shock a lot of people, even my family.”
The film follows the life of Shields as a teen grappling with poverty, growing pains and inequities while working her way up the ranks of professional boxing. Also starring Academy Award-nominee Brian Tyree Henry who portrays Shields’ coach and surrogate father, the story is a bit of a departure from Destiny’s typical roles. One of the most followed young startlets online, she is the face of countless beauty and fashion brands.
“[This change of pace] was something I really wanted,” Destiny says. “I know how people perceive me, and I am aware of the box I was starting to be put in. I’ve always known I was capable of so much more, but other people didn’t realize that, and that really bothered me.”
Destiny first came on the scene as one-third of the girl group Love Dollhouse and eventually turned to acting, finding success as the perpetually-coiffed Alexandra Crane on Lee Daniels’-produced series Star. After the series ended in 2019, the multi-hyphenate has since shared that she wanted to continue to be a part of projects that mean something.
“This was something I sought after for sure,” she says. “No one approached me for this.” She explained that the campaign process for the role began an entire year before auditions even began. Despite all of her effort, Destiny says she was still taken by surprise when she got the call for the coveted role.
“I was just completely shocked,” she shared. “I was like, Oh, my God. Wait. Can this actually happen? because I knew it was also something a lot of people wanted to be a part of.”
The Barry Jenkins-directed film (he’s behind Hollywood heavyhitters like Mufasa, Moonlight, and If Beale Street Could Talk among many others) is already generating awards buzz.
“I’m definitely honored to be a part of something like this,” Destiny says. “It’s just so layered.”
To prepare for the role, she was put in contact with Michael B. Jordan’s boxing trainer Robert Sale, who whipped the actor into shape for the award-winning Creed franchise.
“Michael is the one who suggested him, and I was really thankful for that because it was such an experience having a trainer like that. I couldn’t have done this without him.”
She also said Michael B. Jordan was very supportive throughout this entire process, often offering words of encouragement.
“We got to spar a little bit at one point when they were doing Creed 3 because we were both being trained by the same boxing coach. He’s a great friend.”
The film delves into Shields’ efforts to become the best, but also what happens when that’s just not enough.
“She’s a Black girl from Flint, so she had [inherent] challenges to overcome,” Destiny explains. The film highlights the pay disparity women, particularly Black women athletes face when going after livable wages, brand partnerships and corporate sponsors. Shields, a staunch advocate for gender pay parity, fought for equal wages even as a teen when she was first exposed to the vast gap.
“I just can’t believe Clarissa, at that young age, was even in that mindset to want to push and fight that hard for other women,” Destiny says. “Although this happened over a decade ago, it’s still very relevant to what’s current right now. It’s important that people get to learn about these things through the film because it isn’t spoken enough about.”
To her point, the pay gap in women’s sports affects both professional and amateur athletes. In 2022, Black women earned 70 percent as much as White men.
“I really wanted this, because it gave me the opportunity to be completely raw and super vulnerable. It scared me, definitely. But it was very freeing.”
The Fire Inside premiered in the Special Presentations section of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2024, and is scheduled to be released in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios on December 25, 2024.
This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
