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Kingsley Ben-Adir Reveals the Work and Preparation Needed to Become Reggae Legend Bob Marley


November 7, 2024

Kingsley Ben-Adir is no stranger to taking on larger-than-life icons. After winning acclaim for his portrayal of a vulnerable Malcolm X in One Night in Miami, he has once again stepped into the spotlight, taking on the title role in Bob Marley: One Love, which delves into the reggae legend’s life and legacy during a pivotal period from 1976 to 1978.

Empire Magazine praised the film for featuring “a soaring performance” from Ben-Adir, noting that “he gets the easy, languid presence and the electric, energetic on-stage persona.” Rolling Stone echoed this sentiment, stating that the actor “clearly put in the work” to authentically inhabit the iconic figure.

At a recent press conference attended by Casting Networks, the British-born Ben-Adir shared insights into the extensive preparation required for the role. He emphasized the importance of mastering Jamaican Patois, the language Marley grew up speaking, as well as perfecting his stage movements. It was far from straightforward.

Insights: Lessons From Kingsley Ben-Adir

  • Actors should immerse themselves in the language and culture of their character to provide an authentic portrayal.
  • Even after thorough preparation, actors should continue to engage with their character throughout the filming process.
  • Actors might need to adapt their physicality and lifestyle to match their characters.

The actor, now 37, revealed that Cedella Marley, Bob’s daughter and one of the film’s producers, provided him with hours of unreleased recordings to get to know a more intimate side of her father, as well as a feel for his voice. It was the latter that Ben-Adir admitted he had a hard time initially understanding. 

“There were things that I was massively misinterpreting, and not getting the sense of at all, which means that you’re not understanding Bob’s social, political, spiritual, personal point of view,” Ben-Adir explained. “Until you understand everything he’s saying in all of those interviews you have no business trying to play him.”

Over months of dedicated study, he learned to comprehend the accent before mastering it, aided by a Jamaican language team that included family members, language coach Fae Ellington and friends such as Marley’s art director, Neville Garrick. 

“It was, like, nine people who, every day, would reconstruct these scenes…in terms of the language and the detail of the Patois,” he recalled. “That allowed me to be able to drop into Bob because, without the language, it’s nothing. It’s just me with a wig. What made the difference (for me to tap into the character) was the language –
understanding where Bob was at and who he was as a man and a father and what he was going through at this time.”

By the time he arrived on set, Ben-Adir felt he had an “encyclopedic knowledge of how Bob would express himself and respond in all kinds of different situations.” However, he acknowledged that the learning process never truly ended, even as the cameras rolled. “You could spend five years trying to learn all of this, so I just kept that process going throughout the shoot,” he explained. “If I wasn’t watching him, I was listening to him. If I wasn’t listening to him, I was thinking about him. It didn’t stop.”

Physicality presented another significant challenge. Ben-Adir, accustomed to a 4,000-calorie diet, had to drastically reduce his intake to 1,500 calories a day. “It was really hard because you lose your mental energy,” he noted. To enhance his physical performance, he collaborated with movement director and choreographer Polly Bennett, known for her work with stars like Austin Butler (Elvis) and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody). Ben-Adir discovered that Marley, who often sang with his eyes closed, was deeply engaged in a spiritual experience during his performances. 

“He’s kind of singing for himself, in a way,” observed Ben-Adir. “He’s singing to have an experience, which is the vibration we pick up on. He’s not singing with his eyes open, out to the crowd. It’s not sharing. He’s trying to go into some sort of fugue state…He wasn’t performing. He was trying to tap into something higher.”

Ben-Adir also learned to play guitar and sing for the role, which provided him with further insight into the man behind the icon. “I don’t think there’s any song of Bob’s that doesn’t, in some way, shape or form, explore the aspect of God and who God was to Bob,” he stated. “All his songs are so deeply religious and biblical, even in ‘Jamming.’ By the time you get to the third verse, he’s talking about God and being in service to God.”

Understanding the music was crucial to grasping Marley’s essence. “You come to understand how deeply spiritual he was and how much God meant to him,” Ben-Adir concluded. “It’s one of the most important parts of understanding him and where he was coming from and where that spirituality came from. That’s how we get the music. That’s where the music comes from.”

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