Daniel Kaluuya’s Acting Is Inspired by Bob Marley and the Jackson 5
Daniel Kaluuya is an immensely talented actor who looks beyond Hollywood for inspiration. In a recent interview, the Judas and the Black Messiah star revealed that when honing his craft, he likes to reflect on some of Bob Marley and The Jackson 5’s most famous lyrics.
Daniel Kaluuya is an Oscar-winning actor
Kaluuya is a British actor who started his career in 2006 with the BBC series, Shoot the Messenger. As a rising star, he appeared in several British television shows, including Skins, That Mitchell and Webb Look, Harry & Paul, and Sneakiepeeks.
In 2010, Kaluuya turned to theater and starred in a leading role in Sucker Punch at London’s Royal Court Theater. In the following years, he started landing feature roles and appeared in films like Chatroom, Johnny English Reborn, Kick-Ass 2, Welcome to the Punch, and Sicario.
The actor caught the attention of Jordan Peele when he appeared on the “Fifteen Million Merits” episode of Black Mirror. Kaluuya’s performance so enthralled the filmmaker that he cast him in his directorial debut, Get Out.
The 2017 hit movie propelled Kaluuya’s career and earned him several accolades, including Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor. He was then cast in a supporting role in Marvel’s Black Panther. And he went on to star in movies like Widows, Queen & Slim, and A Christmas Carol.
In 2021, Kaluuya played Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah. For his brilliant work in the film, he won an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Daniel Kaluuya finds inspiration in Bob Marley and The Jackson 5
In a recent interview with Sean Evans on Hot Ones, Kaluuya talked about making intellectual content versus movies made solely for entertainment. And in sharing his perspective, the actor revealed how performers like Bob Marley and The Jackson 5 inspire him.
“It’s like Bob Marley [said] if you want to say something so a baby can understand it,” Kaluuya explained, referring to Marley’s famous quote. “So I think it’s a symptom of understanding if you say it simply — it’s all good knowing all this stuff, but can you translate it?”
“That’s why Michael Jackson’s a genius,” he added, before quoting lyrics to The Jackson 5 hit “ABC.” “‘ABC, as easy as one, two, three.’ Or like Bob Marley says, ‘No woman, no cry.’ It’s like, say it simply. And so I want to translate that into cinema. You have to understand so much and understand the person that you’re speaking to.”
Daniel Kaluuya has new projects on the way
Kaluuya may be inspired by Marley and The Jackson 5’s simplistic messages, but the actor keeps busy. And he’s now branching out into production and writing.
Via his production company, 59%, Kaluuya is gearing up to make a new film for Netflix called The Kitchen. He co-wrote the movie with Kibwe Tavares, who is also slated to direct.
Kaluuya is also making waves for his performance in Peele’s latest movie, Nope. In the horror comedy, the actor plays OJ Haywood, a ranch owner who encounters a UFO. The film, which also stars Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun, opened in theaters nationwide on July 22.
