First-Time Nominee Spotlight: Daniel Kaluuya
For this installment of First-Time Nominee Spotlight, we’re featuring a recent Oscar winner who just received his first Emmy nod for hosting Saturday Night Live (SNL). Daniel Kaluuya received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work hosting episode 16 of the 46th season of the long-running sketch comedy series. The actor just won an Oscar earlier this year for his work in the biographical drama Judas and the Black Messiah, but his performance on SNL showed that he also has some serious comedy chops.
Kaluuya’s opening monologue for SNL mentions his early start in the business. “When I was nine years old, I wrote a play that got performed at Hampstead Theatre with real actors and everything, and — this is a true story — that play was based on Kenan & Kel,” he shared. “And that play led me down a path that got me to this stage tonight with Kenan backstage right now.” But how did Kaluuya go from a child writing plays inspired by Kenan Thompson’s Nickelodeon show to performing with the long-standing SNL cast member? We thought you’d never ask.
The North London native grew up in Camden on a council estate and detailed to The New York Times how “being young, working-class, and Black” meant “everything you do is policed.” He found solace in improv classes at the Anna Scher Theater, where “there was no pressure to be anything except honest, and that made me happy.” It was there that the actor “caught the bug,” and his first film credit came at the age of 16 when he landed the role of Reece in the David Oyelowo-led BBC drama Shoot the Messenger. He then did a two-season stint as Posh Kenneth on the BBC series Skins, picking up some writing credits for the show as he went. He shared during a BAFTA Guru interview that his mom had pushed for Kaluuya to go to drama school and get a degree, but he deferred after getting the opportunity with Skins.
While Kaluuya may not be classically trained, Jordan Peele told Deadline that his work in the “Fifteen Million Merits” episode of Black Mirror “feels like a Greek tragedy.” It was that performance — from an episode that aired in 2011 — that made Peele want him for the lead in his 2017 directorial debut, Get Out. It turned out to be Kaluuya’s breakout role, and his work in the social thriller earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Next Kaluuya entered into the Marvel Cinematic Universe via Black Panther, playing W’Kabi, and joined the star-studded cast of Steve McQueen’s Widows. He went on to lead Lena Waithe’s Queen & Slim in 2019 opposite Jodie Turner-Smith. And then came Judas and the Black Messiah. Kaluuya earned rave reviews for his portrayal of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter, in Shaka King’s sophomore feature endeavor, leading up to his win for Best Supporting Actor at this year’s Academy Awards.
It’s Kaluuya’s first Oscar, and you can find out when this year’s Emmys air on September 19 if he’ll be adding another first-time award to his trophy case, one that reflects his ability with comedy. But in the meantime, we certainly think he’s earned his place in the spotlight.
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