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Actor Daniel Kaluuya says he is growing tired of always talking about race.
Kaluuya, 30, went on to explain that he doesn’t want his race to define him or his work, reported The Independent.
“I’m not going to ignore that I’m surrounded by (racial issues), but I’m not defined by it,” Kaluuya said. “I’m just Daniel, who happens to be black.”
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Kaluuya has acted in a string of wildly successful and award-winning films, from Get Out and Black Panther to last fall’s Queen & Slim. He went on to tell Radio Times that he has no desire to serve as the “race guy,” or some type of spokesperson for Black actors. He simply wants his film and TV work to speak for him.
“What is there to talk about race?” Kaluuya said. “It’s just boring to me. What’s the debate? I’m more of a doer. I’m just going to do what I want to do.”
Plus, Kaluuya said he has played many roles that had nothing to do with race.
“The Fades ain’t about race, Psychoville ain’t about race, Skins ain’t about race, Chatroom ain’t about race, Johnny English Reborn ain’t about race. But that almost gets erased. There’s a narrative that is pushed,” Kaluuya said, according to The Independent.
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This isn’t the first time Kaluuya has spoken out about the topic. In 2018, he told The Guardian that he finds it frustrating how successful Black actors are called upon to speak for their entire race, yet white actors are never asked to do this.
“I’m not a spokesperson; I’m an individual,” he explained in that earlier interview. “Who’s the spokesperson for white people? There isn’t one. No one’s expected to speak up for all white people. I’m just living my life. I’m a black man, I’m proud of it, but I’m just living my life.”