• Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK WOMEN COME FIRST

Every day we're serving Black women deeply. Come get a plate of goodness! Sign up for daily content and exclusive offers you'll love!

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and that you have read our Privacy Policy
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
British Star Kingsley Ben-Adir Honors Malcolm X In Regina King’s Next Film
By Candice Frederick · Updated December 7, 2020
Home · Entertainment

British Star Kingsley Ben-Adir Honors Malcolm X In Regina King's Next Film

By Candice Frederick·Updated December 7, 2020
Meet the English actor embodying the civil rights icon in the stage-to-screen adaptation "One Night in Miami."

Just eight short years since his screen debut, Kingsley Ben-Adir has catapulted himself into a bonafide threat in movies and on TV. In 2020 alone, the 34-year-old actor graced us with staggering performances in Soulmates, The Comey Rule, High Fidelity and One Night in Miami. But it’s only now in the middle of a pandemic that Ben-Adir finally had time to reflect on his grandiose achievements thus far.

“I think I’m deeply, deeply ambitious,” he told ESSENCE on a call from his native London, where he had just settled down at his home for dinner and a glass of wine ahead of a night of movie-watching. Interestingly, Ben-Adir, who’s earning raves for his performance as Malcolm X in director Regina King’s One Night in Miami (in select theaters Christmas Day and available on Amazon Prime Video January 15), didn’t grow up with the dream to become an actor.

“When I was 15 or 16, I really found performing terrifying,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy it at all.”

British Star Kingsley Ben-Adir Honors Malcolm X In Regina King’s Next Film
Director Regina King and Kingsley Ben-Adir on the set of ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI Photo: Patti Perret/Amazon Studios

His trepidations evaporated once he began to really engage with the characters he played, mostly in productions he did on stage at school. It came down to “the adrenaline and the fear of going into the space, sharing and then coming out of it,” he explained after contemplating his ambition for a long while. “There’s an exhilaration about it that gets really addictive.”

That elation intensified after watching the “transformative energy” of performances like Samantha Morton’s in In America and Daniel Day-Lewis’ in in the Name of the Father.

“I had so many experiences of feeling so gripped and filled with emotion in these films and I’ve just been obsessed with trying to figure out what that is and how to do that for quite a long time,” Ben-Adir continued. “My ambition is linked to a really deep curiosity about: How the f**k people do that? Because I think it can be really transformative.”

British Star Kingsley Ben-Adir Honors Malcolm X In Regina King’s Next Film
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 11: Kingsley Ben-Adir attends the “One Night in Miami” premiere during the 64th BFI London Film Festival at BFI Southbank on October 11, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for BFI)

Clearly, he’s cracked the code, since his metamorphic performance as Malcolm X has entered the 2021 Oscar conversations. His portrayal of the icon in the fictional piece offers a rare glimpse into Malcolm X’s humanity, giving the actor a chance to give back to the audience what people like Morton and Day-Lewis gave to him—a transformative, magnetic energy from which you can’t peel your eyes away.

“I just find that all of the footage of Malcolm that we have—on the podiums in Harlem, Los Angeles, on chat shows—is in reaction to the most despicable instances of racism a day or two before,” Ben-Adir considered. He added that One Night in Miami is “Malcolm outside of the media, a private Malcolm. That was what was really exciting and nervy about it and exhilarating to play and discover.”

British Star Kingsley Ben-Adir Honors Malcolm X In Regina King’s Next Film

It was easy to tell even over the phone how ebullient he still is about the fact that he played one of the most fascinating figures in history and that he has cultivated a career that fills him with immense joy.

“Having the luxury to read scripts, explore stories, figure out characters [and] whether I’m the best person to service story this last year was such a treat—and to be so busy and work with such f**king cool people,” he said excitedly. “I learned so much about process. I feel like a lot of things, particularly playing Malcolm, finally came together.”

COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now