Written by Eve Katz, Photos by Mallory Chain
Daniel Kaluuya opened his masterclass with SCAD students by telling them about a talk he attended as a 15-year-old, before he even entered the industry. There, he learned one of the most important pieces of advice he’s ever received about the audition process: leave as quickly as possible.
“You can talk yourself out of a job,” Kaluuya said.
He went on to discuss the origins of his career, doing improvisational work for children. He loved this work because children are honest audience members. If they think a performance is “rubbish”, they let you know. A major focus of Kaluuya’s masterclass was just that: honesty.
The hour-long session consisted of Kaluuya speaking and answering questions on the acting industry. The crowd of dozens, situated in an intimately sized room, could feel as though they were each talking with the actor one-on-one. It’s as if he’s sharing special secrets of the industry with just them. In such a casual setting it seemed he might even grab Starbucks with them after.
Kaluuya went on to elaborate on his relationship with improvisation. When it comes to preparing for auditions, he makes sure he knows the scene. He “sketches out” how he wants to act it out in his mind but does not say the words aloud until the actual audition to make sure the performance is authentic.
“As a character, I don’t know that this scene is going to happen,” Kaluuya said. “This is now.”
While he was trying to learn the American accent, he discovered that he was being taught the “general white American accent.” He needed to discover who he would be if he were an American in order to pull off the accent correctly. He then maintained that accent for his entire time on set explaining that accents are not about how an actor sounds but is their attitude too.
He went on to explain that this helped if he wanted to improvise a line. If he always used the accent, he would not second guess it.
While describing a specific instance of improvisation, he brought up one of his most well-known scenes: the part of “Get Out” when Kaluuya’s character, Chris, shouts at Rose (Allison WIlliams) to give him the keys. That line was not from the script, but Kaluuya added it in as a visceral reaction to the emotions of the scene.
“I was like, ‘this guy needs to get out,’” Kaluuya said.
“Get Out” is a largely venerated film and Kaluuya has received widespread praise for his role in it. Many SCAD students want to find a role that launches their career as much as Chris Washington did for Daniel Kaluuya.
Kaluuya’s advice for getting into the industry is to know yourself and why you’re pursuing it. “My career changed when I knew who I was making films for,” he said. It is also important to keep working between jobs. “If you’re waiting for a phone call, you’re just getting good at waiting for a phone call.”
Lastly, once in the industry, how does an actor know when they have genuinely become their character? For Kaluuya this response was simple. “When I stop thinking.” It is then that Kaluuya surprises himself and knows he is being fully honest.
