Daniel Kaluuya Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters

For me, it was like realizing it's not a impersonation,

it's an interpretation.

I am!

[Crowd] [in unison] I am.

A revolutionary.

[Crowd] [in unison] A revolutionary.

I am!

[Crowd] [in unison] I am.

A revolutionary!

I'm not him, you know what I mean?

That's alright, and that's okay.

But it's embodying what he represents.

[upbeat music]

Black Mirror.

That was like my first lead role I ever had on TV.

Euros Lyn is a great director.

He kind of did, me and Jess,

he sat us down and did hot seating,

and then we'd basically talk about our backstory,

whatever we've been through.

We did it for like half a day and got really deep,

and at the end he was just like, alright,

cool, forget about it.

Like, what do you mean forget about it?

I'm working, I'm doing my job.

He said, anything that makes sense will stick.

In my process, before I act,

I read the script every day,

and I'd take that on for everything I do.

I refuse to do the rehearsal, I never do that.

I was even being on a diva one,

but I just knew I only had a couple bullets on this one,

'cause of how intense it was.

He was like, do you want to rehearse it?

And I just spoke it through,

and I wanted to kind of have the energy in the take.

And then, yeah,

I think I had two and a half takes,

'cause I messed up the second take,

and I think they kept the one that,

I was pissed 'cause they kept the one that I messed up.

But then I realized it added the literal layer of,

'cause I ran out of breath, I forgot to breathe.

I was so in it, I just forgot to breathe.

And I'm like, and I caught myself.

Fuck you and your spotlight,

and your sanctimonious faces,

and fuck, fuck,

fuck you all, for taking the one thing

I ever came close to anything real about anything.

For oozing around it and crushing it into a bone,

into a joke, one more ugly joke in the kingdom of millions,

and then fuck you, fuck you for happening!

And then there was one time I learnt the lines,

and it was something I learned

from this amazing actor Johnny Harris

when I did this show called The Fades.

When I worked with him, I realized that,

rah, you don't have to be miserable to be serious.

You know what I'm saying?

So he took his job so seriously,

and he's like a local guy, so I identified with him.

And then in that scene when I messed up,

I just told them not to cut.

Don't you cut.

I told everyone, don't you dare cut.

And I just kept in there,

and it made it much more of a pressure cooker.

Farewell forever.

[tense music]

Till the same time next week.

Anyone to tell us the truth,

to the power, or to the powers that be,

the power has a choice.

Either you destroy it or you absorb it.

The choice that Charlie took was the absorption of it.

Like, that's what happens.

That's the cycle.

I don't judge anyone for doing it,

but just the cycle of the game

that some people choose to play.

[upbeat music]

Judas and the Black Messiah.

Shaka King, the director,

really supported me in that.

He did a workshop probably like a year before

where I basically hadn't done any dialect coaching,

or I hadn't worked on the voice yet.

And I just said the speeches and he filmed it,

and it was so important because it

was like we had a conversation.

It was like the scary thing had been done.

I'd said it out loud in front of people.

You're at where you're at,

and it was a safe space to just create and build.

But then also it was important,

'cause I knew what level I was at.

With Audrey LeCrone, with the dialect coach,

I just, all right,

cool, let's go for it.

And I had all these different strategies.

I took up opera singing coach,

'cause I knew that my,

'cause I'm not formally trained,

and when I do plays, sometimes I lose my voice.

With Chairman Fred, I was doing speeches all day.

That's like sprinting all day.

It's like any muscle,

and you have to get very, very strong,

but it's not like the film process allows that to happen.

Do you know what I'm saying?

The theater, process you have a month of rehearsal,

it allows that to happen.

But I really saw that these speeches were like

the talking version of singing,

as opposed to the singing version of talking.

And if I treat them like songs,

I feel like it will resonate deeper.

'Cause that's how it felt to me watching Chairman Fred,

watching Malcolm X, watching Martin Luther.

It's not a question of violence or non-violence.

It's a question of resistance to fascism,

or non-existence within fascism.

[crowd cheering]

You can murder and liberate 'em,

but you can't murder liberation.

You can murder revolutionary,

but you can't murder revolution.

And you can murder a freedom fighter,

but you can't murder freedom!

I went to Chicago,

went all the places that Chairman Fred went to,

read dissertations about that time,

spoke to the people at the spots that were from that time.

That was the beginning bit,

and then I read the books of The Black Panther,

the six weeks education, read all those books.

Then I went and did the detail character work,

which was just a month before,

just locked myself in a room

and just worked on the character,

and just filmed myself,

and just made sure the detail was right,

you know what I mean?

We might not be in this funky ass ghetto right now.

I'm not talking about the west side or the south side.

I'm talking this filthy ass motherfucker right here.

Shit.

We almost got into it with a rat over a parking space.

I bet y'all babies getting the same bullshit education.

For me, it was like realizing it's not an impersonation,

it's an interpretation.

I'm not him, you know what I mean?

That's alright, and that's okay.

But it's embodying what he represents.

How does he make me feel when watching him,

and how do I make others feel like that?

I mean, and occupying that space,

'cause anytime I did an impersonation,

it sounded false, 'cause I'm just not him.

And so you wanted to have the essence of him,

especially with the narrative as well,

just worked on the tune, and certain words,

and his accent's very specific.

It's very different to other Chicagoans

of that time that I came across, and now.

What is the party line in regards to our sisters, comrade?

Um...

Anybody?

[Student] Do not take liberties with women.

Come on, now.

I mean, I ain't taking no liberties--

These aren't just your sisters,

they're your sisters in arms.

Act like it.

LaKeith's dedicated, LaKeith's dedicated,

so it's great, it's great for that,

like we're growing together.

I mean, that's what it's about.

Do you know what I'm saying?

Seeing someone that's,

I'm a fan of his work in Atlanta

and Sorry to Bother You.

He's gone off and done his things,

I did my things, and then we came back together,

and it was like we was in a certain point in our careers,

and we wanted to honor Chairman Fred's legacy.

Do you know what I'm saying?

And he had a hard task sitting on

the other side of that moral spectrum.

We gave all that we could.

[upbeat music]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider Verse.

I've done a lot of voiceover work back home for KA,

you know what I mean?

You don't know about that drink, big boy drink.

19p, legendary,

black grape.

It was interesting to kind of build something with Kemp,

and Chris, and Phil,

and when you don't really have the actors in the room

and the animation's half finished,

that you're exploring,

but you have none of this situation around you,

and you're just having to kind of give an attitude,

and hopefully it cuts through to what they're building.

You're building it with them, you know what I mean?

It's like a different sort of thing.

But they gave me a lot of freedom,

and they trusted me to kind of

add certain words, change things.

I mean, they did the thing that,

like Steve said, and I felt like I did in the kitchen,

where we're kind of like, you tell me,

and I brought a lot to it.

Do you know what I'm saying?

And I really appreciate him partnering

up with me on that one, yeah.

[Hobie] That is when I'm not playing shows,

antagonizing fascists,

staging unpermitted political action

slash performing art pieces,

or having a laugh at the pub with the mandem.

I'm not a role model, I was briefly a runway model,

I hate the AM, I hate the PM,

I hate labels!

I'm not a hero,

because calling yourself a hero

makes you a self mythologizing,

narcissistic autocrat.

You want art to be representative

of the world that's outside.

And if art doesn't do that, then it's not art.

It's not a representation of beingness,

and it loses something.

And some people are prepared to lose it.

Those things don't really speak to me anymore.

It's wise of Chris, and Phil,

and Kemp and Sony to get this world,

and also the the original comic book creators

of Miles Morales to create this character

that is representative of the world they see outside.

The New York they see outside.

And how being someone that is of half Black, half Latino,

what does that mean in terms of how they navigate the world

and what are the obstacles that are fresh,

or that just haven't been explored,

that have different dynamics, have different layers.

That's interesting.

I want to watch that, everyone wants to watch that.

And I think, like,

story telling has been kind of like

not reflective or accurate to what the true struggles

and obstacles that can really open people's mindsets

and perspectives on other people's lives.

Do you know what I mean?

I think it was wise for them to grow it

into a way that's more honest.

[upbeat music]

Widows.

I feel like what I found that was scary was

that he found murder mundane and he was bored of it,

then he found some quirks and play within it,

and it made you go, oh,

how many has he done,

if that's how he feels about that one?

But also it's coming from love.

That's scary as well.

It's like, well,

he's willing to do anything if you fuck with his brother.

And also it's just,

I just don't want to play him like scary guy.

The act is scary.

If you commit to the act, then that will come.

I say, what the fuck is up?

This my script, get it.

[beatboxing]

Yo.

I say, what the fuck is up.

This my script?

Get a couple bucks, get some rubber.

That's the shit.

Pick a couple up, a 35,

put the telescope.

And Steve, it's like his trust in

people around him and his team.

I saw that on the first day I was in the car

and I saw Viola coming out the bowling alley

and I was like, oh man,

I'm in a film with Viola, this is crazy.

So I got a bit nervous,

and I was like, Steve,

what do I do?

I'm in a film with Viola, what's going on?

He was like, well,

I don't know, you tell me.

He said, surprise me,

surprise yourself.

And he empowered me, do you what I'm saying?

He said like, I trust you.

And it's always inspiring talking to

someone like Michelle Rodriguez or Viola,

or seeing Colin Farrell on set,

that these people have done incredible work.

I just felt blessed.

And so I think when I got on set of The Kitchen,

it was just like everyone, I trust them,

no matter how much they've done,

no matter how experienced they are.

If they got to this point, I trust you.

Any head of department, I trust you.

You're the expert,

and then let's shape it, let's build it together.

He was always speak about having them

setting the boundaries and then playing within it.

So I really adopted that in terms

of on the set of The Kitchen,

just going, this is the boundaries.

Alright cool.

Do you in that space.

They're gonna surprise you.

He empowered me to surprise myself in that,

do you know what I mean?

[upbeat music]

The Kitchen.

I was at a barbershop.

This guy was talking about a smash and grab in a barbershop.

They basically did a million pound heist in a minute.

And I sat down there and was like, I wanna watch that film.

I wanna watch that film.

I didn't see that guy again.

And I was like, what happened to him?

And everyone was a bit cagey.

Then I did a bit more research

and realized they were doing

a million pound heist in a minute,

and they were getting paid 200 pound.

And I'm like, what's that?

What's that?

That says a lot about class.

It says a lot about value.

That says a lot about self-worth.

It's kids risking their lives,

they're risking their freedom for 200 pounds.

How extreme is the world that we're in

that people will risk losing their lives for 200 pounds?

For a million.

So they don't even know the value of what they have.

They don't even know how to sell it.

In the same barber shop, we did a taster tape.

Me, Kibwe Tavares,

and the producer did it in the barber shop,

and then we did like a taster tape,

and we went to Film Four,

and they saw what we was doing

and they wanted to build it with us.

That was like 10 years ago.

We had the aspiration of making like a seminal film

that represents London on a global scale, though.

The way we do the rap thing represents New York,

the way we felt La Haine represents Paris.

The way the city of God represents the streets over there.

Do you know what I'm saying?

So there was a certain kind of

vibe that we was aspiring for,

and there was a London that we were

looking around that we didn't really see,

but there was a lot of children and men that we looked to.

Paper Moon was another film that we looked at.

By the end of the process,

this film called Return to Seoul,

that was something that really spoke to me in the process.

Spike Jones's Her.

That was something that we really looked towards.

There was a lot of stuff.

[Interviewer] You know the old saying with filmmaking

is that the movie is made three times?

I tell you now,

it was made like 10 million times, I failed so much.

But it's good, it's good.

It's not a loss, it's a lesson.

You feel me?

I think we did lots of drafts of the script.

On set, that happened again.

You have an idea,

you realize the location can't make that happen.

So you have to change the idea,

and change the form, and change it again.

Then in the edit, you have the same thing.

It's continuous.

It's like, I don't think you finish,

I think you just run out of time.

This is a reflection of the time that we had,

and all the brain power, all the energy,

all the effort that we put in,

we all came together, made this,

and we wanted to tell the truth.

And this is how honest that we can make this right now.

Here you go.

[upbeat music]

Skins.

I was writing plays at Hampton Theater,

Heat and Light Theater Company.

And then there was someone that was in the youth organism

that was looking for young writers,

and I joined the writer's room

before anyone got cast or anything.

Yeah, wagwan!

Rah, you get me?

[Kenneth laughing]

This brah lubed up, man.

White man got bare shit on his forehead, and ting.

[Kenneth laughing]

Sorry.

Got a bit carried away there.

There was an open audition.

I didn't know it was for Skins.

My friend told me, and then I got a role in it,

and I was only supposed to be in one episode,

and I got into more off the back of the readthrough,

My little pony getting whacked off big time,

you know what I'm saying?

Posh Kenneth.

I learned how to act through improv,

then I was in the writer's room more than I was on set.

I was just in the writer's room for the first series,

wrote a couple of the shorts of the MySpace pages,

and in the second series, I got to write an episode,

and the third series, I co-wrote an episode.

To be in a scene that I had written,

to kind of see everyone saying

your words that you wrote at 18,

that was pretty surreal.

I can't even lie to you.

I was cocky, man.

I already get intimidated like that.

I was kind of like overwhelmed

that Brian had offered me the opportunity,

'cause I was still at sixth form, I was still at school,

but then I was like,

if it's for me, then it's for me.

For me, I want to represent.

I want to make sure that I want to honor

the opportunity that's been put forward.

Do you know what I mean?

And the trust that Brian put into me.

So I just wanted to step up, man.

So I just, I did all I could.

All these amazing actors,

you got Dev Patel in it, Nicholas Hoult,

Kaya Scodelario, Joe Dempsey,

and then off camera you had Jack Fore, Lucy Kirkwood,

all these incredible creatives all involved

at a certain point in their career,

whether it's like the first or the second.

Someone like Nick, who's been around since About a Boy,

it was this big moment when he became a teenager, and adult.

I do remember how much we were all in it together,

and we was like a wave of people that were coming up,

and just wanted to make and tell great stories.

To grow with that group of people was special.

[upbeat music]

Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.

I think it just kind of like, for me,

Honk For Jesus was just someone that understood a world

and wanted to kind of scratch it,

and kind of speak about things that

no one wants to speak about in a way,

that mockumentary tone,

I hadn't seen that in that world,

and I just thought it was really

interesting a piece of work.

And then the Ebo twins are amazing partners within that.

I saw their love for each other,

and their dedication to the story.

I thought the short was great,

and I thought like, yeah,

they'll be able to get it to the place.

And having Regina and Sterling involved,

giving them incredible roles,

and Nicole Beharie,

it was amazing, an amazing thing to champion.