2022 NAACP Image Awards: 5 Times Daniel Kaluuya Stole the Spotlight
Ask most fans where they first saw Oscar Award-winning star Daniel Kaluuya, and most might say the cultural phenom and Jordan Peele’s directorial debut with Get Out. However, the British actor got his start years before in quirky dark comedies, some probably never even heard of, including the class Skins and Babylon.
Kaluuya’s onscreen performance and every evolving determination to fully embody whatever role he takes on have earned the rising star several opportunities in a feature film alongside some of the greats in Hollywood. This year, the star is up for a nomination at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards for “Outstanding Guest Performance” for his appearance in Saturday Night Live. Check out five more times the actor stole the spotlight
Slim – Queen & Slim
Kaluuya stars as Slim in this 2019 romantic road crime drama alongside actress Jodie Turner Smith Jackson as Queen. The movie follows the events after the pair meet up for what they later thought would be their first and last date, but things quickly turn fatal after a white police officer stops the two.
Jatemme Manning – Widows
It’s not often we get to see Kaluuya play a villain. However, in the Steve McQueen-directed heist thriller Widow, the English actor effortlessly executed the role of mob enforcer Jatemme Manning. One of Kaluuya's most memorable scenes is when he confronts two low-level henchmen who let thieves steal $2 million because they were too busy rapping. Curious to hear the bars which led to the mishap, Manning requested both men perform the song. He hypes them up with every line, eager for the next bar, before shooting them dead.
Chris Washington – Get Out
Kaluuya set the bar high for himself with his breakthrough performance as Chris Washington, a Black man who discovers a slew of chilling secrets when he meets his white girlfriend’s family in Jordan Peele’s critically-acclaimed horror-thriller Get Out. The role earned the actor a nomination for Best Actor at the 90th Academy Awards.
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Skins
Though Kaluuya appears in only a hand full of episodes as Posh Kenneth in this critically-acclaimed British drama which finds a group of teens trying to navigate love and life, and everything in between, it shows fans another side of Kaluuya’s ever-dynamic acting skills. The star not starred in the popular series but served as a writer as well.
Babylon (mini-series)
Unknown to some, however, Kaluuya’s acting career started well before his role in Jordan Peele’s feature directorial debut. The actor stars in this quirky crime comedy that follows front-line police officers and those in charge of those in uniform.
Watch the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, February 26, 2022, at 8/9c.
