Though heâ??d had roles in EastEnders and Doctor Who, landing the role of Kunta Kinte in the History Channelâ??s new production of Roots was the last thing Malachi Kirby expected. The twenty-six year old English actor was reportedly chosen by executive producer LeVar Burtonâ??who played Kunta Kinte in 1970s production, a runaway hit in the United Statesâ??for the role.
But as Kirby tells the story, his casting is all Godâ??s doing. And in taking on the physically and emotionally demanding role of a young man captured in Gambia and brought in chains to a plantation in Virginia a hundred years before the Emancipation Proclamation, Kirby learned more than heâ??d bargained for. The newly reimagined show covers the same ground as the 1977 series, but incorporates several decades of research done since the previous version aired. Along with Kirby, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anna Paquin, and others star.
Kirby spoke to Christianity Today from London by phone about his botched first audition and what followed, and what he learned from playing the character.
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