Say what you will about the state and trajectory of the entertainment industry, but the future of thespianism is in very, very good hands. From Florence Pugh to Austin Butler to Anya Taylor-Joy, Hollywood’s young players positively ooze exciting talent.
At 35, Daniel Kaluuya still absolutely qualifies as a youngster, even if the Academy Award winner has since expanded his professional creative chops to writing, directing, and producing; a sign of profound creative maturity since his breakout role in Jordan Peele’s 2017 horror flick Get Out.
It’s that very role, however, that has earned him his latest honor seven years later; a statue in his likeness that’s to be erected in London’s “Scenes in the Square” trail, per Variety.
Here’s the kicker, though. The statue, which will be unveiled in October, will stand alongside the likes of, among others, Harry Potter, Batman, Wonder Woman, Mary Poppins, and Gene Kelly.
This is, of course, perhaps the strangest assembly of Avengers that Kaluuya could possibly join up with.
For one thing, sans Kelly, Kaluuya’s statue would be the lone actual person standing alongside a swath of cartoon characters (or, in the case of Mary Poppins and Mr. Bean, live-action characters that qualify as cartoon characters). For another thing, Get Out very directly and very incisively deals with some extremely heavy topics pertaining to racism and fetishization, whereas Bugs Bunny deals with ruining Elmer Fudd’s day, and Paddington deals with what can only be described as transcendent pleasantness.
So, of all the places to honor the star of the thoroughly challenging Get Out as one of the most singularly prominent British talents in the acting world, an ensemble of fictional characters whose success is predicated upon their age and theme-specific accessibility, might not be the best one.
That said, a few too many people seem to be missing the point of this honor, believing that the statue is only pertaining to Kaluuya’s role in Get Out.
To be clear, Kaluuya himself is the icon in question, rather than his Get Out protagonist Chris Washington. That’s not to discredit the film’s role in his professional journey, of course, but since Get Out, Kaluuya has gone on to Black Panther, Judas and the Black Messiah, a Peele re-team with Nope, the Spider-Verse franchise, and his directorial debut The Kitchen. And that’s not even getting into the awards and nominations he’s scooped up in his time.
So yes, it’s very strange that Kaluuya is counting Clifford the Big Red Dog and the Irone Throne as his monumental contemporaries, but what’s not strange whatsoever is his prestige as an artist being recognized in such a way remarkable way. Hats off to you, Kaluuya; we can’t wait to see what you do with Barney.