Daniel Kaluuya
Daniel Kaluuya joins an all star British cast as Chatroom hit’s the big screen this week, directed by The Ring filmmaker Hideo Nakata.
The twenty one year old actor is best known for his role as Kenneth in Skins and has mixed and matched his TV and movie roles in recently.
I caught up with him to talk about Chatroom, working with such a high profile filmmaker and what lies ahead for the actor.
- You are back on the big screen next week with you new movie Chatroom so can you tell me a little bit about the movie?
Yeah it's about these kids who log onto this chatroom as they are trying to escape their real life world and become who they want to be - online gives you that space to be what you want to be and be in control of how you are perceived.
So it's about these five kids and what happens when William takes it to another level.
- You take on the role of Mo so can you talk about the character? And what was it about this role and the script that drew you to the project?
I had heard a lot about Chatroom and the great cast that was being assembled so when the script came in I wanted to be part of it.
Mo is this hopeless, yet partly loveable, guy who is facing this dilemma and he goes online to get away from all that. But William takes advantage of him.
- The film is directed by Hideo Nakata, who is obviously famous for The Ring, so how did you find working with him?
He was cool man (laughs). He’s a very… he knows what he wants. To me he was such a legend and this was a challenge for him because English is his second language and had to direct this bunch of kids hat were just jumping around on set - that’s a challenge for a teacher let alone a Japanese director (laughs).
But he was great to work with and he has a got a great way of working with people and sense of direction. But it was really cool!
- And you say that he knows what he wants so how much freedom does that give you as an actor and were there any moments when you weren’t on the same page?
He did have certain ways that he wanted things but in rehearsals he was very open to your interpretation of the character.
But in terms of the shot and how he saw the world and the difference in the tone and the look between the real world and the cyber world he definitely had a vision for that and we had to go with it - which was cool.
- I suppose cyber bullying, chatrooms and social networks are very relevant at the moment so do you do any research for your role?
Yes and no (laughs). I suppose I’m part of the internet generation so it’s not that far away in terms of when I was sixteen I was going in chatrooms with my friends and we would try and cause trouble and stuff (laughs).
So I knew that world because I had been a part of it and I wasn’t necessarily going in and talking to strangers but you had friends bringing in their friends that you didn’t know and I would start talking to them.
So it was a world that I was very familiar with and had been a part of - so it didn’t take too much.
Also you want to keep it fresh and you want to just be in the character and that side of things you don’t always want to think about the whole world.
- Obviously you are best known for your role in Skins so how have you found the transition into movies?
I don’t know, I suppose that I have never really seen it as a transition. I think that we are just going to have to see what happens and I’m just lucky to be working.
You don’t see it as a definite change into movies it’s just something that happens - you just get the part and you go up for it and just go with the flow. But I do find movies very cool (laughs).
- I read that you had done some writing in Skins so is that an area of your career that you would like to develop?
Definitely, definitely, definitely, and it’s something that I’m doing at the moment, I have a couple of things that are different development stages, and it’s definitely something that I am looking to pursue next year.
With all of my acting I have been busy this year but I am looking to go back to that side of things.
- It’s been a very busy year or so for you with the likes of Psychoville and now Chatroom so how do you go about picking your projects and roles?
Well it’s more to do with risks you want to take risks as a performer and being part of productions that are exciting. A movie such as this is hard work, we were doing twelve hour days, and for it to come out and for people not to even have an opinion and that’s kind of like ‘Oh man all that work’ I want to evoke emotion and reaction ‘Oh I love this’ or ‘Oh I hate it’.
I just want people to talk about it and strike a debate about it and that is what I love and what is very important to me.
- Chatroom boasts a great cast of Aaron Johnson, Imogen Poots and Hannah Murray so what was the feeling like on set?
It was fun man; we had a laugh (laughs) we were just buzzing around on the set. I had met Aaron before and of course I knew Hannah (the pair worked together on Skins) and it was really cool there was this good vibe and we just had a laugh.
The best day ever was when we shot at the zoo, it was absolutely the best day I have had in my life, because we got there early and we got to run around the zoo and look at all the animals before everyone else.
And in between takes we would go off and see the parrot shows and this that and the other and it was just wicked.
- Finally what’s next for you? Is Johnny English on the cards?
Yeah I just finished that yesterday.
- Great cast
It was just insane (laughs). I was doing this one scene and I had Gillian Anderson, Dominic West and Rosamund Pike all around me and I was like ’I don’t really deserve to be here but I’m just going to pretend that I do and go along with it.’ (laughs)
Chatroom is released 22nd December.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Daniel Kaluuya joins an all star British cast as Chatroom hit’s the big screen this week, directed by The Ring filmmaker Hideo Nakata.
The twenty one year old actor is best known for his role as Kenneth in Skins and has mixed and matched his TV and movie roles in recently.
I caught up with him to talk about Chatroom, working with such a high profile filmmaker and what lies ahead for the actor.
- You are back on the big screen next week with you new movie Chatroom so can you tell me a little bit about the movie?
Yeah it's about these kids who log onto this chatroom as they are trying to escape their real life world and become who they want to be - online gives you that space to be what you want to be and be in control of how you are perceived.
So it's about these five kids and what happens when William takes it to another level.
- You take on the role of Mo so can you talk about the character? And what was it about this role and the script that drew you to the project?
I had heard a lot about Chatroom and the great cast that was being assembled so when the script came in I wanted to be part of it.
Mo is this hopeless, yet partly loveable, guy who is facing this dilemma and he goes online to get away from all that. But William takes advantage of him.
- The film is directed by Hideo Nakata, who is obviously famous for The Ring, so how did you find working with him?
He was cool man (laughs). He’s a very… he knows what he wants. To me he was such a legend and this was a challenge for him because English is his second language and had to direct this bunch of kids hat were just jumping around on set - that’s a challenge for a teacher let alone a Japanese director (laughs).
But he was great to work with and he has a got a great way of working with people and sense of direction. But it was really cool!
- And you say that he knows what he wants so how much freedom does that give you as an actor and were there any moments when you weren’t on the same page?
He did have certain ways that he wanted things but in rehearsals he was very open to your interpretation of the character.
But in terms of the shot and how he saw the world and the difference in the tone and the look between the real world and the cyber world he definitely had a vision for that and we had to go with it - which was cool.
- I suppose cyber bullying, chatrooms and social networks are very relevant at the moment so do you do any research for your role?
Yes and no (laughs). I suppose I’m part of the internet generation so it’s not that far away in terms of when I was sixteen I was going in chatrooms with my friends and we would try and cause trouble and stuff (laughs).
So I knew that world because I had been a part of it and I wasn’t necessarily going in and talking to strangers but you had friends bringing in their friends that you didn’t know and I would start talking to them.
So it was a world that I was very familiar with and had been a part of - so it didn’t take too much.
Also you want to keep it fresh and you want to just be in the character and that side of things you don’t always want to think about the whole world.
- Obviously you are best known for your role in Skins so how have you found the transition into movies?
I don’t know, I suppose that I have never really seen it as a transition. I think that we are just going to have to see what happens and I’m just lucky to be working.
You don’t see it as a definite change into movies it’s just something that happens - you just get the part and you go up for it and just go with the flow. But I do find movies very cool (laughs).
- I read that you had done some writing in Skins so is that an area of your career that you would like to develop?
Definitely, definitely, definitely, and it’s something that I’m doing at the moment, I have a couple of things that are different development stages, and it’s definitely something that I am looking to pursue next year.