Daniel Kaluuya is “the Robert De Niro to Jordan Peele’s Martin Scorsese”, his cast mate has echoed, as the pair reunite for the highly anticipated horror film Nope.
US actor Brandon Perea said Kaluuya and Peele were “juggernauts” in the industry and production had been an “incredible experience”.
Details about Nope, which is set on a Californian horse ranch, are scarce, though trailers suggest there is a sinister and supernatural element to the film.
The film is Peele’s follow-up to acclaimed features Get Out and Us, the former winning him the Oscar for best original screenplay.
His thought-provoking films are known for dealing with issues of race in the US and further afield through the lens of horror.
Nope stars Perea, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Donna Mills and Kaluuya.
Speaking to the PA news agency about Peele as a director, Perea said: “In the Martin Scorsese sense, Daniel is his De Niro.
“Me, I’m like ‘let me be your Leonardo DiCaprio then,’ because Scorsese and him collaborate.
“I’m trying to be the second runner up, you know, that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Of working on the film he added: “It was an incredible experience.
“I learned so much but my favourite part was working with all these incredible people. Working with Danny Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun… Jordan Peele was behind the lens.
“These are all juggernauts so what they do is the best of the best.”
Peele has also previously described Kaluuya as “my De Niro”, though the actor said it was necessary to “actualise your career” before being mentioned alongside “those legends”.
“It’s cool but for me I always stay focused and it’s an absolute honour and a blessing that he sees me in that way, but it’s like, what are we doing?” he told BBC’s The One Show.
“You have to actually do it. You have to actualise your career in order to be mentioned with those legends.”
Speaking at the Nope premiere in London Kaluuya told PA it was “really cool” to be a part of the project and to help Peele “build another world”.
The 33-year-old actor wore black sunglasses with a white shirt and camel-coloured suit as he posed for pictures outside the Odeon in Leicester Square.
Rappers Stormzy, AJ Tracey, and Mercury Prize-nominated singer Joy Crookes were among celebrities to join the cast on the blue-carpet at the star-studded event.
Stormzy, 29, cut a casual figure in a dark top, black trousers and grey trainers as he stopped to take selfies with a huge line of fans.
The Big For Your Boots hitmaker is a long-time supporter Kaluuya’s work, having name-checked the actor in a tweet after he won a Bafta “Rising Star” award in 2018.
– Nope is due for release in the UK on August 12.
