Samuel Jackson started a very interesting conversation when he brought up the idea that there have been a wave of British Black male actors who’ve come to the States and taken some major roles. In particular, they’ve played pretty prominent African-American characters. From playing Dr. King to Solomon Northup, it’s been brothers from across the pond who’ve had people talking over the last few years.
Of course, they’re not alone (think of Benedict Cumberbatch, Dominic West, Hugh Laurie, Emily Blunt, Thandie Newton, Kate Winslet, Tilda Newton and plenty of other Brits who’ve played Americans more often than not these days). But considering a lot of young African-American male actors aren’t getting some of these major roles, and many could use them, there has been a lot of talk of a “British invasion” in terms of Black male thespians these days.
I can’t say whether or not this is all fair or not, but here are 10 such actors, aside from Get Out‘s Daniel Kaluuya, who are taking all of the acting jobs — and for good reason. These men, the children of Caribbean, Nigerian and Ghanaian immigrants, are quite talented.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
From playing Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave and earning an Academy Award nomination to playing Huey Lucas in American Gangster and Dewey Hughes in Talk to Me, Ejiofor has picked up a lot of major roles as American characters since he started appearing in film and television in 1996.
