Marvel stars Tom Holland and Daniel Kaluuya recently engaged in a virtual chat as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series to discuss each other’s careers and techniques. While Peter Parker is undoubtedly Holland’s most iconic role, Kaluuya is much more renowned for his Oscar-nominated lead performance in Jordan Peele’s terrifying social thriller Get Out than his supporting turn in Black Panther. One interesting revelation from the two actors’ conversation is that Holland is interested in joining Kaluuya in the horror genre.
When Kaluuya asked Holland if his future holds more big-budget blockbusters or smaller-scale indie fare, he said, “I think I will try and do both [big and small movies]. I’d like to do a horror film, but I’m so terrified of it. Get Out is one of the only horror films I’ve ever really seen, and I love that film, but I can’t tell you how much sleep you stole from me.” Horror is one of the only genres left with the freedom to tell sharp, thought-provoking original stories like Get Out – and with films like Hereditary, The Witch, and It Comes at Night, horror cinema is enjoying something of a renaissance – so it’s hardly surprising that Holland is interested in jumping on the scary movie bandwagon.
Much like Holland, Kaluuya isn’t automatically drawn to horror films, but was happy to make an exception when it came to Peele’s fiercely original script. He said, “I had babysitters who used to play Nightmare on Elm Street to me, and I used to watch that as a kid, and that gave me nightmares. So, I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch a horror movie, but Jordan Peele killed it.” Kaluuya received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance as Chris Washington. Peele won Best Original Screenplay and the movie was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.
During their discussion of Get Out, Holland and Kaluuya mentioned one scene in particular. In the movie, Chris is hypnotized by a spoon slowly stirring around a teacup. Holland said that after the movie came out, “We had a joke in my house, because, obviously, being English, we drink loads of tea. And you’d be stirring the tea. ‘Why are you doing it like that? Are you trying to hypnotize me?’” Kaluuya said, “Bro, going to London and getting a cup of tea after Get Out was interesting.”
A Tom Holland-starring horror movie could be very interesting. The actor’s most recent movie, the Netflix psychological thriller The Devil All the Time, was far from a straight horror film, but it did have creepy characters, shocking twists, and ominous overtones, which are usually found in horror movies. Holland is currently shooting the third Spider-Man movie and will next be seen as an opioid-addicted war veteran who resorts to robbing banks in the Apple TV+ crime drama Cherry from Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo. Kaluuya, on the other hand, will be seen in the role of Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton opposite Lakeith Stanfield and Martin Sheen in the Sundance-bound ‘60s-set biopic Judas and the Black Messiah.
Source: Variety