Daniel Kaluuya kicked off the Golden Globes last night (Feb. 28) after winning Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his starring role as Chairman Fred Hampton in Judas & The Black Messiah. The British actor’s acceptance speech got off to a bumpy start, though, as the first few seconds of his virtual appearance were inaudible due to “technical difficulties.”
“You’re doing me dirty!” Kaluuya exclaimed when his audio was finally regained.
Continuing his speech, Kaluuya thanked his family and friends as he reflected on winning his first-ever Golden Globe award.
“It takes a village to raise a film,” he said. “So, I’d like to thank our leader, our general, [director] Shaka King for your vision and for your collaboration.”
“I’d like to thank the incredible cast,” he continued, before naming Lakeith Stanfield, who co-starred as William O’Neal, and Dominique Fishback.
“Lakeith Stanfield, I stand with you my bro,” he said. “Dominique Fishback, you’re a light. [To] the rest of the cast: you’re my comrades.”
Kaluuya also thanked Hampton’s widow Akua Njeri and her son Fred Hampton Jr., who gave the film their blessing and helped with casting.
“I’d like to thank Chairman Fred Jr. for partnering up with us and sharing your story with us,” he said.
Activist Fred Hampton rose to prominence in Chicago as the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. Kaluuya explained the high level of dedication he had to maintain to play such an important role and quoted the late great Nipsey Hussle.
“This took it out of me. I gave everything,” he said. “Like the great Nipsey Hussle says, ‘We’re here to give until we’re empty.’ I gave everything and I couldn’t give it to a more noble man — and that’s Chairman Fred Hampton. I hope generations after this can see how brilliantly he thought, how brilliantly he spoke and how brilliantly he loved.”
“There’s a lot of information about how he died, but I hope you people out there will grow and learn about how incredibly he lived,” he added.
See Kaluuya’s acceptance speech below.