Actor Daniel Kaluuya doesnāt think he should have to prove his blackness.
In a new interview with GQ magazine, the āGet Outā star shared his thoughts on Samuel L. Jacksonās recent critique that black British actors may not be able to relate to black Americans. For Kaluuya, Jacksonās comments reflect his personal experiences of being ostracized in different settings for being dark-skinned.
āWhen Iām around black people Iām made to feel āotherā because Iām dark-skinned,ā he said. āIāve had to wrestle with that, with people going āYouāre too black.ā Then I come to America and they say, āYouāre not black enough.ā I go to Uganda, I canāt speak the language. In India, Iām black. In the black community, Iām dark-skinned. In America, Iām British.ā
The actor went on to add that similar to black Americansā vast range of social issues, the Londonās black community has confronted oppression, prejudice, and police brutality.
Since Jacksonās much-discussed statements ā which drew criticism from British actor John Boyega ā made headlines last week, Jackson later told the Associated Press that his comments were not necessarily a āslamā towards the performers, but rather an assessment about how āHollywood works in an interesting sort of way sometimes.ā
Despite Jacksonās commentary, Kaluuya says itās not his intent to be a āculture vulture ā of the black American experience, but rather focus on telling black stories.
āThis is the frustrating thing, in order to prove that I can play this role, I have to open up about the trauma that Iāve experienced as a black person,ā he said. āI have to show off my struggle so that people accept that Iām black. No matter that every single room I go to Iām usually the darkest person thereā¦I kind of resent that mentality. Iām just an individual.ā
Read more of Daniel Kaluuyaās GQ magazine interview here.