Daniel Kaluuya claimed there is “less hierarchy” on UK productions compared to the US while speaking at the BFI London Film Festival (LFF) today (October 9).
The UK actor, writer and director spoke of the key differences between working in the two countries, notably the impact of the lack of free healthcare in the US.
“I feel like there is much more anxiety in America because there’s a lot on the line. Here [in the UK], I think there’s a better work-life balance,” Kaluuya said.
“When you finish [a work day] you finish and the crew go to the pub and sometimes the cast will go the pub. There’s less of a hierarchy here. In America there’s a star system.”
Kaluuya, who won a best supporting actor Oscar in 2021 for Judas And The Black Messiah, was in conversation with fellow actor and filmmaker Ashley Walters, and added that the hierarchy in the US meant “you work a bit more by yourself”.
“You work with the director and your cast, there’s very much a cut-off,” he said. “And if you then move like that, like you’re cool with everyone, everyone looks at you like you’re a bit weird.”
Celebrating Chadwick Boseman
Kaluuya also spoke fondly of working with the late Chadwick Boseman on 2018’s Black Panther.
“Meeting Chad was a pivotal moment for me,” said Kaluuya, who was gearing up for the Get Out press tour while shooting Black Panther. “He could see my life was changing and I didn’t know.
“He saw I needed help and I needed guidance and I didn’t know how to ask… He gave me [advice] without me asking. He told me what to say, what not to say.
“He kind of big bro-ed me, he helped me out,” Kaluuya said of the actor, who died in 2020 aged 43. “He gave everything, he led in a noble way. He always brought people together. He always gave you time even though he was going through so much.”
As well as starring in Get Out, Black Panther and Judas And The Black Messiah, Kaluuya co-directed his first feature film The Kitchen with Kibwe Tavares, which closed last year’s edition of LFF.
No comments yet