Jordan Peele made his directorial debut with Get Out, and became an overnight success. The tense horror movie addressed complex issues like racism, while also entertaining and terrifying countless moviegoers. The movie earned Peele an Oscar win for Best Screenplay, and made him a filmmaker that plenty of actors want to work with. Peele followed up his debut with with another horror movie: Us. But were the original Get Out stars like Daniel Kaluuya ever up or a role in Us?
Daniel Kaluuya became a household name following his lead role in Get Out. He's gone on to start in plenty of other projects since, including Black Panther and Widows. His newest release is the upcoming drama Queen & Slim, and he recently appeared on our very own ReelBlend podcast to promote the upcoming project. Eventually the conversation turned to his collaboration with Jordan Peele, and whether or not he was up for Winston Duke's role in Us. He answered honestly, saying:
No, I was too young.
Well, that seems pretty cut and dry. Despite a stellar performance as Chris in Get Out, he wasn't offered the opportunity to play Gabe/Abraham in Us. And the reason is simple, he was to young to play the character required.
Daniel Kaluuya's comments from ReelBlend were simple, and seemingly show how cut and dry show business can be. He simply reads too young to be the father of characters Zora and Jason. By comparison, Winston Duke looks more age appropriate, and really killed it in his duel role in the thriller.
Of course, it's also important to note that there's only a two year age difference between the Black Panther co-stars. Winston Duke is 32 years old at the time of writing, while Daniel Kaluuya is 30. But it's not really about the actors' real ages, but about how they read on screen. And Kaluuya believes he simply appears too young to have starred in Jordan Peele's sophomore directorial venture.
Related: One Get Out Scene That Daniel Kaluuya Really Related To
You can hear Daniel Kaluuya's full appearance on ReelBlend below. He dives in with the hosts Sean O'Connell, Kevin McCarthy, and Jake Hamilton about Queen & Slim, Get Out, Black Panther, and everything in between.
Given how successful Get Out was, it seems only logical that Jordan Peele might begin collaborating with the same artists over and over again. While Get Out and Us have totally different casts, there's no telling what the Oscar-winning filmmaker will do as his directing career continues. He's got some exciting projects coming down the pipeline, including writing the Candyman reboot. Hey, he knows horror.
As for Daniel Kaluuya, he's got three movies heading to theaters: Queen & Slim, A Christmas Carol, and Jesus Was My Homebody. But first up is Queen & Slim, hitting theaters November 27th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies. And our 2020 release list to plan your movie dates in the New Year.
