Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya spoke on the racism he faced in the British film industry before making it in the U.S.
In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Kaluuya discussed his days as a struggling actor in England, citing racism as a huge detractor from his success.
“I was going for a lot of stuff [in England],” Kaluuya stated in the interview. “But I wasn’t getting roles because of the colour of my skin. It wasn’t fair. It was a trap."
He continued, "For example, I went up for this show. It was 10 rounds of auditions. There was me and a white guy for the lead. It was about aliens. And I realised 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," the actor added. "It happened a few times, and I went, ‘Nah. I’m not an idiot.’”
Kaluuya made another revelation in the interview on his perceived British privilege in Hollywood.
“There’s Brand Britain, so there’s an awareness that I’m British, but they don’t know me. I’m just seen as privileged because I have an English accent,” he stated.
Kaluuya recently starred in the crime drama Queen & Slim as he was announced to play civil rights activist Fred Hampton in a biopic. His production company 59% will be adapting the children's series Barney and Friends for the big screen.