Entertainment
Daniel Kaluuya’s career from Skins to Get Out, winning an Oscar and retirement plans
Daniel Kaluuya’s journey to the Oscars 2021 has been a long yet fruitful one.
The 32-year-old actor made history at last night’s Academy Awards as the first Black British star to win best supporting actor, scooping the accolade for his role as Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah.
Awkward sex jokes aside, Daniel used his speech as an opportunity to honour the real life Hampton’s work as a civil rights activist in the Black Panther movement.
However in light of his historic win, it’s only right that we look at Daniel’s own achievements over the years – including his humble beginnings.
Daniel Kaluuya in Skins
Those in their late twenties and early 30s will likely remember being introduced to Daniel as Posh Kenneth in the British teen drama Skins.
Posh Kenneth was a secondary character and known as the best friend of Anwar, played by another famous Brit – Dev Patel. When he wasn’t putting on a faux well-spoken accent, hip hop fan Posh Kenneth was partial for spitting a rhyme or two whenever he felt inspired.
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Off-screen, Posh Kenneth’s talents extended beyond acting as Daniel actually wrote two episodes in the first two series.
From there, he landed roles in TV shows and movies such as Doctor Who, Black Mirror, Johnny English Reborn alongside Rowan Atkinson, and blockbuster Sicario alongside Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro.
Get Out and first Oscar glory
Then in 2017, Hollywood came calling and Daniel scooped his breakout role – the Jordan Peele-directed Get Out.
Nobody quite knew what to expect from the mind-bending horror when the trailer dropped, but we certainly got more than we bargained for as Get Out seamlessly tackled social issues such as racism while also revamping horror and spawning a whole new subgenre of woke thrills.
However, it couldn’t have worked without Daniel, who served us with an understated yet effective performance as the easygoing yet tormented Chris Washington.
His performance earned him the best actor Oscar nomination and of course, Daniel was as humble as ever.
‘I’m very happy that people feel it,’ he said on Popcorn with Peter Travers.
‘These nominations, they’re like amazing. As a human being, you want to be recognised for what you do by your peers. It’s a nice feeling. It’s nice that that’s happening, especially with people that I respect.’
Daniel didn’t win the Oscar that time but, as we now know, finally got his Academy Award win later down the road.
He later went on to join the star-studded cast of Marvel’s Black Panther, starring alongside the late, great Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Angela Bassett and Lupita Nyong’o, while also starring in Widows alongside Viola Davis and Liam Neeson.
In 2019, Daniel took the lead alongside Jodie Turner-Smith in the Bonnie & Clyde-inspired Queen & Slim before finally claiming his well-earned Oscar for Judas and the Black Messiah.
When will Daniel Kaluuya retire?
It might seem like Daniel has just hit his stride with the Oscars win but, enjoy his talents in front of the screen while you can as he may be taking a step back in the next few years.
Hinting at his retirement plans, Daniel said during a BFI panel last month: ‘I don’t see myself acting very long.
‘In terms of directing, I can see that’s the road, I think it’s going in that direction. I’m just not sweating it like that, there’s time.
‘I can see it’s all leading to that, I don’t see myself acting for very long if I’m being honest.’
He continued: ‘I’ve just been doing it since so young and I feel like it’s essentially, when I’m 36 that’ll be 20 years. That’s a long time. A long time to be doing something and you’ve got to challenge yourself and keep going as a creative. That’s all.
‘I don’t think I’ll walk away forever ever. I do care about the quality of my work and there isn’t always that level of quality. That’s just life. So why would I compromise the quality that I love just to do that. If I’ve worked this hard to be in the position to do that. It’s just different intentions.
‘At this current moment in time that’s just how I feel.’
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