Daniel Kaluuya Biography

Born in London, England, Daniel Kaluuya is a writer/actor best known for his role on the British television drama Skins from 2007 to 2009. He not only starred on the series, but wrote two of the episodes.

Daniel wrote his first play when he was just nine years old. The play was performed at the Hampstead Theatre, where he was a member of the Heat&Light Young Company.

Daniel's big screen debut was in the film Shoot the Messenger (2006). He has also appeared on popular TV shows such as Doctor Who and Black Mirror.

While Daniel has spent much of his career on television, he has been slowly transitioning to the big screen. Daniel has had a variety of roles in films such as director Hideo Nakata's 2010 thriller Chatroom (2010), and starred alongside British acting legend Rowan Atkinson in Johnny English Reborn (2011). Daniel also played Black Death in the quirky superhero flick Kick-Ass 2 (2013), and starred opposite James McAvoy in the action movie Welcome to the Punch (2013). More recently, Daniel played a supporting role as Reggie Wayne, Emily Blunt's FBI sidekick, in Denis Villeneuve's Oscar-nominated film Sicario (2015).

In 2017, Daniel moved into a starring role in the horror flick Get Out, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination, as well as nominations from the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, SAG Awards and many more. He also won Best Actor awards at the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards, and National Society of Film Critics Awards.

Daniel has gone on to play W'Kabi in the Black Panther (2018) stand-alone film from Marvel studios. He also starred in Widows (2018) and Queen & Slim (2019).

For his role as real-life activist Fred Hampton in the critically acclaimed Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), Daniel won Best Actor at the Oscars, Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

An experienced stage actor, Daniel made his theatrical debut in 2008 in Levi David Addai's play Oxford Street, directed by Dawn Walton. In 2010 Daniel won a Circle and Evening Standard theatre award as outstanding newcomer for his role as a boxer in the Royal Court play Sucker Punch.

Daniel's other theater credits include Trelawny of the Wells at the Donmar Warehouse and A Season In The Congo opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor at the Young Vic (both in 2013), as well as a starring role as Chris in the 2016 production of Joe Penthall’s Blue/Orange, directed by Matthew Xia (also at the Young Vic).

Filmography:

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Widows (2018)
Queen & Slim (2019)
Black Panther (2018)
Get Out (2017)
Sicario (2015)
Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
Welcome to the Punch (2013)
Johnny English Reborn (2011)
Chatroom (2010)
Cass (2008)
Shoot the Messenger (2006)