Interviews
Backstage with ‘NOPE’ stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer
NOPE stars Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya sit down with Dave Morales to talk about filming the sci-fi thriller and the hilarity that ensued whilst working with their horse co-stars.
In the film, Palmer and Kaluuya portray a brother and sister working as caretakers on a horse ranch in California. The sibling’s live’s get turned upside down when a mysterious force begins affecting everyone around them, even the animals.
Reuniting with director Jordan Peele, Daniel Kaluuya describes what he took from reading the script for NOPE the first time. “I saw the ambition, I saw the goal and what he wanted, the aspiration, and I wanted to watch it,” Kaluuya told Morales.
His co-star Keke Palmer praised Peele for allowing the actors to explore their characters and being open to improvisation. “Jordan actually did let me improv a lot which is really cool. He kept bits and pieces here and there but what was written of the character Emerald was so much what I like to play with in terms of my comedic wheelhouse,” said Palmer.
“He had me in mind and it that was clear when I read it but I just had fun with it, definitely in the comedy areas and as we got more serious and had to make some of those more difficult transitions”
Universal Pictures: NOPE – Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya
It’s about Family
Known for their shocking plot twists, trying to explain the plot of a Jordan Peele film without any spoilers can be difficult even at the best of times. However, Daniel Kaluuya did his best to describe what is at the heart of the film.
“It’s about a brother and sister who have this ranch in Agua Dulce and trying to keep the ranch. It tells a story of this narrative between the two and how much they have each other’s back whilst this thing up in the sky is um…looking to I can’t even say that I’m bad at describing,” joked Kaluuya.
“I just don’t want to spoil it but basically, it’s about spectacle and looking at how you get allured by something that doesn’t really want you as much as you want it.”
Working with Divas
Working on a film can be rough with the long hours and location shoots but nothing is worst than working with a diva. Daniel Kaluuya tells his charming tale of working with his diva costars, the horses.
“They were divas, they like to leak whenever they want to leak. In the middle of the tape, they were like I’m gonna take it over there,” said Kaluuya
Nope: Daniel Kaluuya
“There was one time when I had to let Lucky (his horse in the film) go, and then I was like a really emotional scene and I’m letting Lucky go and then Lucky just decided to [use the restroom]. It was a recorded take. I just had to wait there till he finished and I’m like yeah I appreciate you too,” laughed Kaluuya.
Closing out the interview Palmer described what made ‘Nope’ so different from any other project that she has worked on before. “Jordan makes the difference, his perspective, the things that he pulls from, and the way that he creates just a unique and fresh narrative from the character aspect to also the spectacle and just the creativity that it took to put into this new horror sci-fi adventure,” noted Palmer.
Nope: Keke Palmer & Daniel Kaluuya
“The scale of it all, I’ve been in the industry for 20 years and this movie is huge, this is really what you call a summer blockbuster, I mean we filmed in Imax. It’s just exciting to be part of something new with a director and writer like Jordan Peele and Daniel, I really love working with Daniel.”
NOPE starring Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer is in theaters on July 22. For all of your movie news be sure to follow BackstageOL on Twitter.