Oscar-Winner Daniel Kaluuya: Why You Should Reject Others' Opinions & Bet On Yourself

He describes being laughed at as a child while stuck in a narrow “pothole” obstacle and choosing to keep moving forward until he got out, at which point the same kids stopped laughing and clapped. He says the point isn’t getting applause; it’s focusing on getting to the end for yourself.

He says he was repeatedly told he couldn’t act or build a career, including at 15 when people told him “you ain’t gonna make it,” and he simply didn’t accept that as truth. He frames a lot of limitations as people “deciding” what’s possible and him choosing to decide differently.

He explains that keeping his dreams private let him “fail in private,” develop at his own pace, and form his own definition and style for acting/writing. He says it helped him make the work “mine” rather than borrowed from others’ expectations.

He credits improv with training him to let go of control, follow “yes, and,” and stay out of self-consciousness: “once you’re in your head, you’re dead.” He also describes learning how to “drive” a scene by listening closely and shaping character through real-time interaction.

He distinguishes colorism he experienced in a predominantly Black secondary school from racism he later encountered in more middle-/upper-class spaces and the workforce. He says people often didn’t believe his diagnosis of racism until validated by someone outside his identity, which he compares to having “symptoms” but not being “allowed to diagnose.”