Daniel Kaluuya currently stars in the blockbuster “Black Panther,” but before then, he made his mark on the American big screen in Jordan Peele’s thriller, “Get Out.” Yet the comedian-director was hesitant to cast the British star in a film centered on the American Black experience with racism.
During a panel for the nominees of the Bafta Rising Star Award Saturday, Feb. 17, “Call Me By Your Name” actor Timothee Chalamet tells Kaluuya he “thought it was fascinating when you said Jordan really wanted to cast you but the only thing he was nervous about was you weren’t American, and that you were British.”
“Yeah, it was a lot of that,” Kaluuya responded. “Because I think in America they don’t really know stuff which happens outside of America.”
As the audience erupted in nervous laughter, Kaluuya adds, “Is that bad to say? I’m gonna get in trouble for that. It’s gonna be a long week,” he jokes.
“Basically, [Peele] didn’t know the Black British experience,” he continues. “Because a lot of people don’t. I think a lot of people in England don’t. So then, he just asked me a couple of questions and I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, I know. I know what’s happening.'”
When asked if the experience of growing up in diverse London influences his acting, Kaluuya says it’s about adopting “different perspectives.”
“My next door neighbors were Turkish, the next ones were Irish … You just have to see the world different,” Kaluuya responds. “I was brought up to see the way I live my life isn’t the way everyone else lives their life. So when you see characters you’re able to take on other perspectives and empathize.”
