• Daniel Kaluuya is a 30-year-old British actor and writer
• He initially focused on improvisational theatre and later starred in “Skins”, "Black Panther" and Jordan Peele’s “Get Out”
• He won 17 awards, from a total of 55 nominations
• He lives in West London and is an avid supporter of Arsenal F.C.
• His net worth is approximately $5 million
Contents
- 1 Who is Daniel Kaluuya?
- 2 Early Life and Education: Growing Up in London
- 3 Career Beginnings: Shoot the Messenger, Skins and Silent Witness
- 4 Making a Name for Himself: Doctor Who, FM and More
- 5 Superstardom: Johnny English Reborn, Black Mirror and Sicario
- 6 Refusing to Stop: Get Out, Black Panther and More
- 7 Personal Life: Is Daniel Kaluuya Married? What Does He Like?
- 8 Body Measurements: How Tall is Daniel Kaluuya?
- 9 Net Worth: How Rich is Daniel Kaluuya?
- 10 Social Media Presence
Who is Daniel Kaluuya?
Born on 24 February 1989, in West London, England, under the water sign of Pisces, Daniel Kaluuya is a British actor and writer.Initially, his birth name was Joseph and his middle name was Daniel, but he switched them. First focusing on improvisational theatre, Daniel realized that he wanted to focus on more than just stage productions. His first notable venture was the role of Posh Kenneth in the “Skins” TV series, which attracted positive reviews – the producers loved him so much that they even let him write a couple of episodes of the show.
Afterwards, he returned to the world of theatre, starring in “Sucker Punch”, a hit show at London’s prestigious Royal Court Theatre. However, his true claim to fame was the starring role in “Fifteen Million Merits”, an episode of the hit science fiction show, “Black Mirror”. Daniel’s ability to handle such a difficult role echoed around the world of show business, resulting in more offers than ever. He went on to play prominent or lead roles in “Sicario”, “Black Panther” and Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed “Get Out”. Known as one of the most prolific British actors, he’s won 17 awards, from a total of 55 nominations.
Early Life and Education: Growing Up in London
Daniel was born into an immigrant family on the outskirts of London. His parents, Damalie Namusoke and Stephen Kaluuya are originally from Uganda, but moved to England. Life wasn’t easy for young Daniel, as his mom and dad divorced when he was still a toddler. To make things worse, he barely had the chance to see his father, who was forced to spend most of his time in Uganda because of visa-related issues. After his parents had separated for good, Daniel, his older sister and their mother moved to a council estate (a form of public housing, similar to housing projects in the US) in Kentish Town, a suburb in north London. They never had much money, but Damalie always made sure her kids studied and stayed off the streets. Even as a child, Daniel was infatuated with literature and acting. Apparently, he wrote his first play at the tender age of nine, an early success being a sign of things to come. His first experiences with acting included classes at the Anna Scher Theatre School and WAC Arts. In 2011, graduated from St. Aloysius College, an all-boys school in Highgate.
Career Beginnings: Shoot the Messenger, Skins and Silent Witness
An already trained actor, Daniel gained most of his initial experience from stage productions, mostly adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays and other classics. This impeccable track record, along with his talents as a playwright, allowed him to enter the world of television and film acting at the age of 17. His debut came as Reece in “Shoot the Messenger”, directed by Ngozi Onwurah, a renowned British director who immigrated to England from Nigeria as a child. Afterwards, young Daniel landed roles in “The Whistleblowers”, “Comedy: Shuffle” and “Much Ado About a Minor Thing”, a critically acclaimed short movie. However, his big breakthrough came in 2007, just a year after his debut, when he was cast as Posh Kenneth in the massively popular primetime drama, “Skins”. In addition to the 11 episodes he appeared in, he was also a contributing writer during the first two seasons, and was also head writer of “Jal” and “Thomas”, two fan-favorite episodes. The then-teenager amazed everyone, and he still remains one of the youngest writers to ever contribute to a primetime drama. In 2008, he landed a guest role in “Silent Witness”, too.
Making a Name for Himself: Doctor Who, FM and More
Kaluuya remained busy, not wanting to become complacent because of his early success. After his tenure in “Skins”, he went on to appear in “Inspector Lewis” and “FM”, a comedy show about a DJ who is absolutely inept at finding love. Afterwards, he stole the show in “Planet of the Dead”, a “Doctor Who” special. By this time, Daniel already had a number of differing roles and experiences under his belt. Directors and producers all over the world noticed his potential, but he still wanted to hone his craft in Britain before moving onto more serious projects abroad. Therefore, he made prominent appearances in “10 Minute Tales”, “Bellamy’s People”, “Comedy Lab”, 2010 saw him assume one of his best roles to date, as Mo in “Chatroom”. The thriller chronicles the lives of five teens who meet in a Chelsea chatroom; something goes wrong and one of them shows intentions to kill the others. With “Psychoville” and his role of Tealeaf, Kaluuya also showed that he can maintain a part for a longer period of time, and develop the character accordingly. His name became an important one in show business, and he was aware that big things were on the horizon.
Superstardom: Johnny English Reborn, Black Mirror and Sicario
2011 was perhaps the most important year of Daniel’s career. After roles in “Coming Up” and “Random”, he was cast as Agent Tucker in “Johnny English Reborn”. His performance next to Rowan Atkinson was a special one, as he showed everyone that comedies too were a part of his “acting arsenal”. The film garnered rave reviews, and gave Kaluuya some much needed publicity on a global basis. Just a few months later, he excelled as Bingham “Bing” Madsen in “Fifteen Million Merits”, one of the best “Black Mirror” episodes to date, impressing both fans and critics as a nobleman who tries to help a woman (played by Jessica Brown Findlay) enter a singing competition. They live in a dystopian world where people ride exercise bikes in order to gain credits. Next, we saw Daniel in “Kick-Ass 2”, and the TV mini-series “Babylon”, both of which were praised by critics. His role as agent Reggie Wayne in “Sicario” was hailed as one of the best of the year, beginning a series of appearances in blockbusters for Kaluuya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00wE7vAkraQ
Refusing to Stop: Get Out, Black Panther and More
In 2017, Daniel assumed one of his personal favorite roles ever, as Chris Washington in Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning hit “Get Out”. It tells the story of a young African-American man who visits his girlfriend’s parents. At first, he isn’t worried by their weird behavior, as he thinks they’re just nervous because their daughter never had a boyfriend that isn’t white. However, strange things start happening and he fights for his life – the movie was proclaimed as perhaps the best horror title in the last 20 years. In addition to scary scenes, it deals with topics such as racism, tradition, patriotism and much more.
The next year, Daniel remained in the headlines by playing W’Kabi, an enemy and former security chief of King T’Challa in the film “Black Panther”. With a budget of $200 million, the movie grossed over $1.3 billion at the box office, making it one of the best-earning films of all time. Kaluuya played an instrumental role, and soon entered the ranks of Hollywood’s elite. Currently, he’s finishing up his voice part in “A Christmas Carol”, right next to Martin Freeman and Carey Mulligan.
The Impact of His Role in “Get Out”
With his impressive performance in “Get Out”, Daniel garnered a lot of attention. He and Jordan Peele were outspoken and unyielding when they said that the movie was a direct attack on the prevalent climate of racism in today’s world. ‘Racism is like a horror movie. Black kids die because of racism. I don’t know what’s more horrifying than that.’, said Kaluuya of the matter. However, he is also objective, as he realizes that black people are quick to enter “the Sunken Place” (a symbolic state of oppression, coined by Peele) and let themselves be slowed down by their environment. ‘There’s a lot of black men running around with crazy trauma scars, and they should be going to therapy’, Daniel remarked.’If you’ve got the armor of being a man, and the armor of being a black man, that hyper-masculine thing can make those scars deeper.’ Ever since the movie came out, Daniel has been an active spokesperson for several organizations which have devoted themselves to battling discrimination against African-Americans.
Awards and Nominations
With a series of appearances in blockbusters and his impeccable skills, Kaluuya is seen as one of the Brightest stars of this century. Even though he’s won a BAFTA award, an AAFCA Award and many others, the pinnacle of his career must be the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in “Judas and the Black Messiah” in 2021; he was also a contender to win an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his role in “Get Out”.
Personal Life: Is Daniel Kaluuya Married? What Does He Like?
Daniel has been the center of attention for the majority of this decade; as a result of his fame, many were wondering about his relationship status. Despite multiple instances of reporters inquiring about this matter, Daniel has refused to reveal anything but his better half’s name – Amandla; they live in West London, which is pretty much everything that’s known about their relationship. Kaluuya is a private person, so don’t expect to find out more in the near future. However, we know a lot about his personal interests. He is an avid supporter of Arsenal F.C. in the Premier League, in fact he loves them so much that he even refuses to utter the name of Tottenham, their arch- North London rivals. He is an avid fan of Stormzy, a British grime artist, who is also the man behind Kaluuya’s favorite song – “21 Gun Salute”, also featuring Wretch 32.
Body Measurements: How Tall is Daniel Kaluuya?
Daniel Kaluuya is 5ft 9in (175cm) tall, and weighs approximately 167lbs (76kg). His hair and eyes are both dark brown. On some occasions, he was also seen sporting a goatee beard.
Net Worth: How Rich is Daniel Kaluuya?
Have you ever wondered how affluent Daniel Kaluuya really is? According to several credible sources, his net worth is approximately $5 million, as of August 2019, accumulated by working incessantly since the age of 17. Refusing to give up, he rose up the ranks of Britain’s acting elite before becoming a household name in Hollywood. Given the fact that he’s still only 30, it’s highly likely that we will be seeing his fortune increase as the years go by.
— Daniel Kaluuya (@KaluuyaDani) April 4, 2017
Social Media Presence
Thanks to the ever expanding grasp that social media has on worldwide audiences, it is in the best interests of most celebrities to keep their fans informed about their activities and thus maintain and potentially increase their ratings and profit. However, it doesn’t appear as though Daniel is at all preoccupied with maintaining his involvement in this trend, seeing as his presence on social networks is all but ubiquitous at the moment. He only has an Instagram account, on which he’s followed by 270,000 people; however, he recently deleted all his photos.
