Daniel Kaluuya, star of Jordan Peele’s debut film Get Out, says he was not invited to the film’s world premiere. Kaluuya became a known quantity after appearing in two seasons of the British teen comedy Skins and an episode of Black Mirror, and then went on to become a household name after precursory roles in feature films like Kick-Ass 2 and Sicario before starring in the psychological thriller Get Out in 2017.
For his role as Chris Washington in Get Out, Kaluuya received an Oscar nod for Best Leading Actor. This led to perhaps his most well-known role to date, W'Kabi in Marvel’s Black Panther. Now, Kaluuya is again garnering Oscar buzz. This time it is for portraying a real-life Black Panther in Judas and the Black Messiah, in which Kaluuya has teamed up with his Get Out co-star LaKeith Stanfield. Kaluuya headlines the film as Illinois Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton, the film’s eponymous “Black Messiah,” while LaKeith Stanfield stars opposite Kaluuya as Bill O'Neal, the film’s “Judas.”
Related: Get Out's 2 Alternate Endings Both Saw Chris Lose
Despite all this, Kaluuya is now revealing that he was not invited to Get Out's world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017, per Uproxx. While there were rumors he did not attend the premiere, Kaluuya never publicly mentioned this massive snub before because he did not want to “ask questions.” Appearing on The Graham Norton Show to promote Judas and the Black Messiah, Kaluuya was asked why he was not present at the premiere of Get Out. Although he did not try to speculate why he was snubbed, Kaluuya had this to say:
They didn’t invite me. On the Sundance world premiere, I was in Atlanta because I was shooting (Black) Panther. I was chilling, I cleared my schedule. I was like, "I really wanna do it." And then just didn’t get the invite. I wasn’t invited, so I was just in my bed – someone texted me, "It’s done really well," and I’m like, "Alright, that’s cool." That’s the industry, Graham.
However, there does not appear to be any ill will between Kaluuya and Jordan Peele since the actor is in talks to star in Peele’s third film, which has already cast Keke Palmer and has a release date of July 22, 2022. Kaluuya and Peele were also photographed together at screenings of the film weeks after the premiere, so neither side seems to be holding onto any animosity.
Kaluuya was certainly not the star he is today in 2017, which might be an explanation, but certainly not an excuse for him not being invited to the premiere. Even if Kaluuya were utterly unknown at the time Get Out premiered, his snubbing would still be puzzling considering he plays the film’s main character. With this ordeal behind him, Kaluuya has certainly come a long way in such a short time since his breakout role in Get Out, and now his fiery performance as Fred Hampton can be seen in Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah.
Next: 10 Quotes From Get Out That Will Stick With Us Forever
Source: The Graham Norton Show