Daniel Kaluuya has revealed how he overcame ‘a bad accident’ to star in his latest film, which he has described as one “to be experienced, and not to be described”.
The 33-year-old actor, who gained widespread recognition in horror film Get Out, stars in upcoming film Nope, which is set on a Californian horse ranch.
Speaking to the BBC’s The One Show, Kaluuya discussed his upcoming blockbuster and revealed how he had to overcome a serious accident in order to immerse himself in his character OJ Haywood.
He said: “I had a bad accident a few years ago. I did a horse riding job and I had a bad accident.
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“And then I had three and a half weeks to prepare for this role.
“So then I had like a week to get over my PTSD in order to actually get ready to get good at horse riding.”
Looking at the positive side of the experience, Kaluuya added: “Then I realised it was a way to get through to the character. Because, basically, how you treat the horse is how you treat yourself.
“My character OJ is very still and he has this connection with the horses, so I had to get very still and as I was getting better at riding, I was getting closer to OJ as a character.”
When asked about how big an undertaking the role was by the show’s hosts Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas, Kaluuya replied: “You want to look at it and go, he knows horses, he has a connection.
“So I would even go on Saturday mornings and clean the stalls… Because he (OJ) would do that and I would want to be comfortable with the horses.”
In the film, which is due for release in Ireland on August 12th, Kaluuya stars alongside Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun.
The British actor previously worked with Nope’s director Jordan Peele on the multi-award winning film Get Out, for which he was nominated for the best actor Oscar.
Speaking about the experience of working with Peele and having the director describe him as “his (Robert) De Niro”, Kaluuya said: “It’s cool but for me I always stay focused and it’s an absolute honour and a blessing that he sees me in that way, but it’s like, what are we doing?
“You have to actually do it. You have to actualise your career in order to be mentioned with those legends.”
Kaluuya also spoke about his disappointment over not being able to star in the sequel to 2018 film Black Panther, in which he played W’Kabi, due to filming clashes with Nope.
“It was such a special moment in my life, and in everybody’s life,” he said.
He added: “You just want to be a part of it, but it just couldn’t work.
“There were certain scenes that couldn’t get moved just for me. So it was literally a direct clash, I just had to let it go.”
The One Show airs every weeknight on BBC One at 7pm.
