Thuso Mbedu thanks co-star William J Harper for 'trusting' her as an actress

As the world continues to give The Underground Railroad star Thuso Mbedu raving reviews and praise for the work done on her Hollywood debut, the star has taken the time to express her gratitude to her co-stars. 

Thuso started her series of gratitude tributes in Instagram earlier this month with a lengthy post for her director Barry Jenkins. Last week she shone the spotlight on fellow co-star and child star Chase W Dillon, who plays Homer on the hit Amazon prime series.

This time she poured her heart out on paper in honour of co-star William Jackson Harper, who plays Royal. Thuso said it was a privilege for her to have worked with the actor, best known for his role as Chidi Anagonye on the NBC comedy The Good Place.

“What a great honour and privilege it was to work and play with you. You are so kind and gentle-hearted and goofy! Picking your brain was always great,” Thuso began.

The South African actress who is now based in the States expressed her heartfelt gratitude that William had become a safe space for her and someone she could trust as he went through the emotional journey of bring Cora to life.

“I, as Thuso, had to open myself up to connect with you, William, on a deeper level just as Cora had to open herself up to Royal — thank you for making yourself a safe space, a person worth trusting and opening up to. Thank you for trusting me as well: we share similar scars which made me feel very understood in the moment. You're awesome, William! Stay shining!” said the star.

Read the full heartwarming post, see the pictures and watch the videos of their time together on set below:

In her earlier IG post dedication to Chase, the actress said that Chase became like family to her. 

“My heart overflows when I think of all the memories we share. From the very first day we met I knew that we would be friends for life. We fast became family and there was no looking back,” she wrote.

Thuso also gushed about how the young actor's family welcomed her with open arms, sharing many of her American firsts with the family. Thuso also highlights how even though they were besties off-screen, their characters were definitely rivals. 

“I remember early in the shoot Barry (Jenkins) had to stop us from hugging because, as we know, Cora and Homer are NOT friends and could never be friends ... and boooooyyyyyy, did you play that Homer right to the tee,” said Thuso.

For Barry, she simply could not get over his brilliance and what a great person he was to work with.

“Working with Barry was amazing. It was one of the easiest things I've done. He makes it easy, man. It's like having a conversation — an easy, flowing, unforced conversation. We all knew and understood what we working towards and, through collaboration, we were able to help each other get there,” wrote Thuso at the time.