Daniel Kaluuya Says Racism Prevented Him From Landing Some Roles in England
Written by SOURCE on January 13, 2020
Before Daniel Kaluuya became a household name for his award-winning performance in the 2017 film Get Out, he was like many other people who have pursued a career in acting. But that road to success was initially stalled by his home country’s racism, according to him.
“I was going for a lot of stuff [in England],” Kaluuya told the Sunday Times. “But I wasn’t getting roles because of the color of my skin. It wasn’t fair. It was a trap.”
Kaluuya cites an instance where he auditioned for a leading part that was between him and “a white guy,” who appeared to be getting preferential treatment.
“It was 10 rounds of auditions,” he recalled. “There was me and a white guy for the lead. It was about aliens. And I realized as I was going to one audition that the other guy had been given an acting coach. They didn’t love me like they loved him.”
“In any other profession, that would be weird, but it was accepted in mine,” he added. “It happened a few times, and I went, ‘Nah. I’m not an idiot.'”
Kaluuya’s account of being treated differently in England over the color of his skin comes less than a week after the British Academy Film Awards have been called out for their lack of diversity in its major categories. Shockingly, a prestigious actor like Denzel Washington has never received a single BAFTA nomination despite receiving nine Oscar nods.
