A Few Thoughts About British Actors Playing American (and African-American) Roles

Samuel L. Jackson made the news for something other than his acting two weeks ago when, in a radio interview on Hot 97, he talked about Jordan Peele’s movie “Get Out” and its star, the British actor Daniel Kaluuya. “I tend to wonder what would that movie have been with an American brother who really understands that, in a way, because Daniel grew up in a country where they’ve been interracial dating for, like, a hundred years,” Jackson said. “What would a brother from America have made of that role? I’m sure the director helped, but some things are universal, but everything ain’t.”