"Get Out" star Daniel Kaluuya responds to Samuel L. Jackson's comments about casting a black British actor over a black American.
Jordan Peele's box-office sensation "Get Out" continues to draw in audiences, as the movie over the weekend crossed the $100 million mark. But with success comes criticism, and actor Samuel L. Jackson made headlines last week when he criticized the casting of black British actor Daniel Kaluuya in the lead instead of an American black actor (Jackson later clarified that he wasn't just pointing out Kaluuya, but the casting of British black actors in general).
In a recent interview with GQ, Kaluuya responded to Jackson's comments.
"Here's the thing about that critique, though," Kaluuya said. "I'm dark-skinned, bro. When I'm around black people I'm made to feel 'other' because I'm dark-skinned. I've had to wrestle with that, with people going, 'You're too black.' Then I come to America and they say, 'You're not black enough.' I go to Uganda, I can't speak the language. In India, I'm black. In the black community, I'm dark-skinned. In America, I'm British. Bro!"
The actor added of his frustrations, "I resent that I have to prove that I’m black."
Kaluuya (who also starred as a black American in "Sicario") addressed the racial hostility that he has experienced in the UK in his life, including the Brixton riots and Tottenham riots.
"Let me say, I'm not trying to culture-vulture the thing. I empathize," he said. "That script spoke to me. I've been to Ugandan weddings, and funerals, and seen that cousin bring a white girl. That's a thing in all communities. I really respect African-American people. I just want to tell black stories."
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