Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya is to be immortalized with a statue in London’s iconic Leicester Square, honoring his role in the psychological thriller Get Out.
Chosen by public demand, Kaluuya received a fifth of the votes from 5,000 film fans keen to see his contribution to the film recognized at the Scenes in the Square trail in Leicester Square.
The line, which features larger-than-life figures like Batman, Paddington and Wonder Woman, will soon include a tribute to Kaluuya as the latest movie icon. The London-born actor has been praised for his role in Jordan Peele’s Get Out, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 2018.
Kaluuya’s statue, which is scheduled to be unveiled in October, will capture the memorable “sunken place” sequence from Get Out, where his character is mesmerized into a paralyzed state. As the news spreads across social media, opinion seems divided, reports the Daily Star.
A skeptic on X, formerly Twitter, commented: “Really? If they give them out, can I get a statue too?”. Meanwhile, another user questioned the move. “Creating a statue for Daniel Kaluuya’s role in a movie seems excessive, especially when other actors have made more significant contributions to the industry,” they said.
A third user expressed doubt: “I mean this movie was good and everything but a statue next to Batman because the movie knew about it.” While another scoffed, “He’s not even close to the other characters and icons listed. Oh my god this has got to be a joke.”
Still, some enthusiasts rushed to the statue’s defense, with one saying, “Get Out is literally one of the best movies of all time and Daniel Kaluuya was phenomenal in it, but of course people in the comments are trying to convince us that he doesn’t deserve the statue, but Paddington does.”
Mark Williams, deputy chief executive of Heart of London Business Alliance, which runs Scenes in the Square told Variety: “We are delighted to welcome Daniel Kaluuya and Jordan Peele’s Get Out to our Scenes in the Square line-up as a tribute to a modern film success and homegrown British talent.
“It points to a bright future for our track, with Kaluuya as a chosen symbol of the future of entertainment, and it’s a pleasure to highlight such a groundbreaking film.”
Kaluuya is widely known as an original cast member of the E4 teen drama Skins. He has since gone on to star in major Hollywood productions Black Panther, Queen and Slim and Judas and the Black Messiah, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.