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Jordan Peele Says He Doesn't See Himself Ever Casting A White Lead

Jordan Peele Says He Doesn't See Himself Ever Casting A White Lead

The director's latest movie focuses on an African-American family and has been a smash hit at the box office

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Jordan Peele has said he doesn't see himself ever casting a white actor for a lead role in a film.

In his latest interview, the 40-year-old director explained that he wants to focus on stories where black actors are at the centre.

Speaking to CBR, he said: "The way I look at it, I get to cast black people in my movies. I feel fortunate to be in this position where I can say to Universal, 'I want to make a $20 million horror movie with a black family.' And they say yes.

"I don't see myself casting a white dude as the lead in my movie. Not that I don't like white dudes, but I've seen that movie."

The writer's latest movie Us focuses on an African-American family and has taken the US box office by storm, raking in a whopping $70 million (£53.1m) in its opening weekend.

Us has been a smash hit at the box office since it was released last week.
Universal Pictures

This financial success means that the film received the biggest ever opening for an original horror.

As well as holding a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Us passed 2018's A Quiet Place which bagged $50m (£37.9m) in its first weekend, according to NME.

The new release follows the story of a woman called Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) and her family, who, following a trip to the beach, are met by a group of menacing figures who are identical mirror images of the happy family.

Peele says facing oneself and everything that brings with it is something he wanted to tap into with his latest movie.

"You always have to start with something that scares you. The idea of encountering myself with no warning always just dropped my stomach out from under me, so that was the first thing I thought of," he told the BBC.

"When you're writing a horror movie, you want to take something like that that works on a primal level.

Peele says he wants to focus on putting black actors at the centre of his movies.
Universal Pictures

"The fear of the doppelgänger is really the fear of self - the fear of that which we suppress as individuals. What is the shadow version of ourselves?"

Reviewing the film, Joe Morgenstern, from The Wall Street Journal, wrote: "It's compulsory seeing for everyone who loves the horror genre, the movie medium and the notion of saying sage things about contemporary life without straying from entertainment's twisty path."

Steve Crum of Video-Reviewmaster.com echoed those thoughts, saying: "You know a movie is really scary when audience members at the preview keep yelling at the screen, 'Don't open that door!' and 'Look out!' (I didn't say such, but I sure thought it.)"

It comes off the back of 2017's hit Get Out, which left audiences reeling in their seats and saw Peele pick up an Academy Award for best original screenplay.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: TV and Film, Horror, Interesting, US News, US Entertainment