Daniel Kaluuya was 'kind of retired' before Misty Green
Chris Rock has revealed how he cast Daniel Kaluuya in Misty Green.
Daniel Kaluuya was "kind of retired" before he was cast in Misty Green.
The 37-year-old actor stars in Misty Green, the new comedy-drama film, alongside Rosalind Eleazar, Adam Driver, and Anna Kendrick - but Daniel had to be convinced to board the project by director Chris Rock.
Chris, 61, told Variety: "Daniel was kind of retired.
"We hung out when I was on tour with Chappelle. I had to beg him. He was the only one I had to beg. Everybody else was like, 'I can’t wait to do this movie!' Daniel, I had to go to his hotel. I definitely tap-danced. It was worth it."
Asked why Daniel was hesitant, Chris replied: "Well, we had no money. People want to get paid!
"This is a good time — all these streaming services and diversity and whatever. Everybody’s getting paid on some level. But this movie was like …"
By contrast, some of the other stars needed no convincing at all.
Chris shared: "Adam really liked Top Five, so he would call me periodically.
"I was like, 'Dude, I did Top Five 10 years ago. But every six to eight months, I get a call from Adam Driver. 'What are you working on?' I’m sure he’s got a long list of directors that he’s checking with, so when he gets down to the R’s, he calls me. And this time I happened to be working on something.
"Similar with Anna Kendrick. It was Top Five love, and I loved her movie [Woman of the Hour]. She’s a great director. And there’s something about her [dating] Black men [onscreen] that’s kinda like, 'Hmm! OK …'"
Daniel enjoyed a meteoric rise in Hollywood in his late 20s, when he collected a host of accolades. But the Oscar-winning star previously admitted to feeling unsatisfied with fame and success during his younger years.
Speaking to GQ magazine, Daniel explained: "It really felt like, look at me: I’ve got everything that you’re supposed to get. I’ve got everything that people would die for. And then I wasn’t happy."
