Avengers: Endgame Star Tessa Thompson Shares Swimsuit Photo of "Sweater Weather"

Avengers: Endgame star Tessa Thompson doesn’t rely on the seasons to dictate when she can or can not don a swimsuit. Thompson, 40, shared a picture of herself wearing a sparkly bronze bikini, posing against a wall as she glowed in the bright sunshine. “Sweater weather,” she captioned the post. Thompson put on 15 pounds of muscle for her role as Valkyrie in the movie—here’s how that made her feel, and what else makes her feel happy.

1. Putting On Muscle

Thompson put on muscle for her role as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok. “I gained about 15 pounds of muscle mass, which yeah, it was a lot for me,” she says. “I like sort of bucking this conventional idea of a woman is beautiful or sexy if she’s sort of thin. She’s felt, but you can’t really see her strength. I like the idea that she can just be ripped, like Valkyrie is in the comics. Yeah, I found that sort of essential, that not really caring about how I looked, but caring more about how I felt. I felt so strong, and in my skin.”

2. Loving Those Muscles

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Thompson loved how strong the muscle made her feel. “It felt great!” she says. “Yeah, it felt great. Particularly for the five months that I was there, and I was working on the stage where did all the stunt choreography and the likes of folks like Chris Hemsworth. It felt good to be able to be on par with everyone around me.”

3. At-Home Beauty Masks

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Thompson learned how to make at-home face masks during the pandemic. “I would take goat yogurt and put turmeric in it,” she says. “It stained my fingers, which was fine because I had nowhere to go. I would use that as a mask, which was amazing. I have also newly discovered how incredible apple cider vinegar is. It's amazing for your hair, for your skin — I recently had a bunch of mosquito bites, it helped with that. I also use it as a toner sometimes.”

4. No-Makeup Makeup

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Thompson loves the no-makeup makeup look. “I think makeup should enhance what exists,” she says. “I put my foundation on with my fingers, although sometimes I'll use a sponge. I don't like to wear a ton of foundation in my everyday life. I wear so much makeup when I'm working, that it's really nice to give my skin some time to breathe. Typically, I like to use moisturizer and then mix a little foundation into it and make a little cream. That's what I'll use all over my face. Sometimes, I want to cover up areas of hyperpigmentation, so I'll go in with a little foundation. Sometimes I'll cheat and buff it in with a little blending brush, like one that you would use for eyeshadow so it's really, really blended.”

5. Reinventing Valkyrie

Thompson is proud of her reinvention of Valkyrie. “We had lots of conversations about diversity and inclusion,” she says. “It shouldn’t all be rhetorical. I think it’s important the films that we make reflect the times that we live in, to realize that big movies have the power to also shift culture. I think it’s really great that young comic book readers that look like me can see themselves in a film. I think it’s about time.”

Manifest star Ellen Tamaki had a beautiful few months spent with friends and family, posting highlights on her social media. Tamaki, who plays Drea Mikami on the Netflix show, shared pictures of herself from video phone conversations, including a snap of her posing in a brown bikini in a beautiful little yard. “It’s been real,” she captioned the post. Here’s how Mikami lives her best life, and what she’s hoping for next career-wise.

1. Beauty Maven

Tamaki swears by specific beauty products for her gorgeous complexion. “Laneige lip sleeping mask- at all hours of the day,” she says. “Weleda Skin Food single handedly changed my skin. It’s very thick, so perfect for winter dryness. Supergoop glow screen SPF every day, but sometimes I use this as my foundation! There’s a little tint and shimmer to it. PawPaw ointment- for problem areas, I have had an ongoing feud with a dry patch under my nose for as long as I can remember. One of my makeup artists on manifest introduced me to pawpaw and I slather it on. I rarely wear makeup when home for the holidays, so my favorite beauty look is glowy skin! Sometimes my siblings line up and I do all of their skin care, too.”

2. Not Just a Love Interest

Tamaki is appreciative about playing a strong, complex character who isn’t just the romantic interest. “I love seeing women on TV who have more relationships than just romantic ones, and I think there can be something so dynamic and professional about female friendships and that’s kind of what we have been discovering throughout the season is the way that these two characters get along and learn from each other,” she says. “Drea comes in at the beginning and is just so infatuated with Mic and is trying to get Mic to warm up to her a little bit.”

3. Ocean Swimming

Tamaki went on a magical trip to Bali earlier in 2023 where she swam and snorkeled in the ocean. “To my Bali baddieeees- thank you for the trip of a lifetime. From spirituality and support, to morning bintangs and debauchery, I’d like to think that all of our little islands formed a perfect archipelago. Thank you @adawsss for bringing us all together. This insane jet lag was worth it,” she captioned an Instagram post detailing her adventures.

4. Superhero Dreams

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Tamaki wants to explore more physically challenging roles in the future. “When I think into the future and the projects I want to work, I feel like I love and gravitate toward roles that are super grounded and driven and moral,” she says. “I’ve read some scripts recently that are really fascinating about incoming new Congresswomen who want to evoke change in the government. Or maybe even in the vein of a detective, but the scrappy detectives who figures out that there’s something wrong with the system and she goes on and tries to fix it. I’d love to work on something really physical. My training is in physical acting, and I once played Billie Jean King, the tennis player, and so I think that if there were something where I could use my physical acting training, maybe like a superhero that I would love to dive into.”

5. Love On Set

Tamaki genuinely loves her co-stars and enjoys spending time with them. “I mean, that’s the judicious answer, right? To be like ‘everyone’s amazing,’ but it’s true, this is one of the greatest shows I’ve worked on, cast and crew and you know everybody involved, but the person who actually came to mind is Parveen [Kaur], who plays Saanvi,” she says. “I ended up getting close to her hanging out in New York and we were able to have like a couple of days on set together, but we didn’t have to get to have a big story-arc. Our characters have two totally separate situations going on and they’re really complicated stories, but I think it would be really cool to work with her and to see how these two women could maybe start figuring stuff out together.”

Game of Thrones star Gemma Whelan is having fun at the beach, much to the envy of her friends and social media followers. Whelan, who played Yara Greyjoy on the HBO megahit, shared a very cute picture of herself doing an impressive handstand on the beach, wearing a blue and lilac bathing suit. “Seaside upside,” she captioned the post. “Handstand envy Gem 🙃 Could never master the art 🤷‍♀️😍,” a fan commented. Here’s how she feels about her time on GoT, and taking on high-intensity roles.

1. No Crazy Stunts

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Whelan considers herself to be a fit, active person, but draws the line at doing her own stunts. “I think I used to be quite gung ho about it like ‘Of course, I’ll try anything’ whereas now I’m very much appreciative of the help from the stunt doubles,” she says. “I’m fit, I love running, I think there are a few I definitely could but it’s not my job. There are people properly trained to do all the extreme stuff, I think I’ll leave it to them… As I said, it’s a necessity and they’re expertly trained. I’m not a method actor by any stretch, I leave work at work. There have been some roles that are quite consuming and then a lot to get over but I’ve never really been at the point where I couldn’t shake them off. I’d think I’d be concerned if that was the case.”

2. Costume Dramas

Whelan enjoys the immersion she gets from period and costume dramas. “For period dramas, the costumes and the words do a lot of the heavy lifting,” she says. “When the writing is so good but also so much different than the modern way of speaking, and then these costumes that are perfectly engineered to fit you in this setting, the character feels more natural than anything. I’ve loved them all for different reasons, they’re all a part of me but I do always miss going to Game of Thrones because the rhythm of my year became such as going to Belfast and meeting up with the—we were like a family, so meeting up with them over there. And Gentleman Jack as well, I was really sorry that didn’t go ahead for a third season.”

3. Working Mother

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Whelan was thankful to return to Game of Thrones with the support of the team when she had a baby. “I thought I’d be on the shelf for a little while after having the baby, which is fine, but I was very lucky,” she says. “It was similar with Game of Thrones, actually. I went back with my daughter and she was six weeks old and they allowed for breastfeeding… That should just be a normal thing – you have a child and you have to feed it but you’re working as well.”

4. Swimming In the Sea

Whelan loves swimming in the sea, especially in beautiful Cornwall, UK. “Happiest most beautiful relaxing time with friends in this stunning little place. Thank you so much @portwrinkleholidays for the most extraordinary home for the weekend and the freshest air and the warmest hot tub and the coolest sea swim - we will be back. Highly recommend for a complete escape and switch off,” she captioned an Instagram post.

5. Friends Forever

Whelan is still friends with her Game of Thrones costars—research shows close, ongoing friendships are incredibly beneficial for health. “Alfie [Allen] and Emelia [Clarke] are dear pals and I see Iain Glenn around here because he lives not far from where I live,” she says. “It was a long time. We knew each other for a span of about 10 years and it was a family… I just loved every single moment… it was very, very special.”