Daniel Kaluuya is set to be immortalised in a new statue in central London celebrating his performance in in the 2017 psychological horror movie Get Out.
The London-born actor and filmmaker, 35, earned a Best Actor nomination at the 2017 Oscars for his starring role in Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, which has been applauded for its satirical commentary on racism in America.
Kaluuya was chosen from a poll of 5,000 British film fans as the actor people would most like to see recognised with a new statue in Leicester Square, winning one fifth of the vote.
The Judas and the Black Messiah actor will be in good company as he joins statues of Harry Potter, Batman, Wonder Woman, Marry Poppins and Gene Kelly as part of the “Scenes in the Square” trail in the capital.
Recent additions have included the Game of Thrones iron throne, Indiana Jones and Clifford the Big Red Dog.
Kaluuya’s statue is slated to be unveiled in October and will depict the “Sunken Place” scene in Get Out where the actor’s character falls into a fugue state.
According to US publication Variety, the artwork will represent modern cinematic success and homegrown talent.
Mark Williams, deputy chief executive for Heart of London Business Alliance, which runs Scenes in the Square with support from Westminster City Council, told the publication: “We are excited to welcome Daniel Kaluuya and Jordan Peele’s Get Out to our Scenes in the Square line-up as a celebration of a modern cinematic success and homegrown British talent.”
Launched in 2020, the impressive art installation is a joyous celebration of much-loved big and small screen icons from the Twenties to the present day.
Sally Regis, the director of 3D Eye, one of the companies that helped deliver the project, has spoken of the importance in capturing the true spirits of the characters they have created.
“We were fortunate to work directly with Gene Kelly’s wife Patricia, achieving a wonderful likeness and also allowing us to hear many great stories and tales,” she says. “We have felt a great responsibility to ensure we achieved a good resemblance of each of the characters … ensuring their personalities shine through.”
Describing the trail as “London’s own walk of fame”, Regis has noticed excitement through the area. “It has transformed the Square and has created a wonderful buzz with regular queues of people waiting to take selfies with the sculptures. The most exciting thing is that it is the intention of Heart of London Business Alliance to keep adding more sculptures in partnership with film studios and other entertainment IP owners, creating an evolving sculpture park for visitors and locals.”
