Daniel Kaluuya's career has taken him to the heights of cinematic success, but one of his earliest roles came in an episode of Doctor Who. Most ed for his Oscar-winning performance in the film Judas and the Black Messiah from 2021, Kaluuya's turn in 2017's Get Out introduced him as a new star on the rise in Hollywood. Known for his stern demeanor and impressive range, Kaluuya has appeared in massive critical and commercial hits while still finding time to leave his mark on television as well. One of the few stars with true crossover appeal, Kaluuya's appearance on Doctor Who was yet another feather in his cap.
First making a splash in the UK with his ongoing role in the series Skins, Kaluuya not only played the role of Posh Kenneth but also contributed his writing talents to several episodes as well. Kaluuya wasn't the only Skins cast member to become a star, but his career trajectory has taken him further than most who appeared on the show. Departing the series in 2009, Kaluuya landed a role in Doctor Who that same year that helped him further establish himself as a presence on British television by jumping from one important series to another. Though his Doctor Who role didn't make him a star, it allowed him to show off his star potential in a compelling guest role.
Daniel Kaluuya Played Barclay In The Season 4 Doctor Who Specials
Appearing in the episode "Planet of the Dead" Kaluuya played a minor role alongside David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. The episode saw the Doctor, and his temporary companion Lady Christina de Souza, trapped with a busload of people on a desert planet inhabited by deadly aliens. Though the episode was serviceable enough on its own, its main purpose was to establish the prophecy that would play out over the remaining specials involving the Tenth Doctor. Even if it was made to carry the story forward into other specials, the sci-fi action was quintessential Doctor Who during the Russell T. Davies era.
Kaluuya's Barclay character was a young and love-struck man whose expertise in fixing engines actually helped the Doctor win in the end. Though Barclay only appeared in that singular episode, the Doctor recommended him to UNIT for his help with fixing the bus, and it could be assumed that the character's life was improved by befriending the Time Lord. Kaluuya obviously had much more ahead of him as an actor, and though Barclay didn't give him too much to work with, he imbued the character with a charming and youthful naïveté that was a nice foil to the Doctor's humorous cynicism.
Daniel Kaluuya Enjoyed His Experience On Doctor Who
Though Daniel Kaluuya's best films have reached the absolute peak of what a professional actor can accomplish, he has repeatedly shown love to the smaller projects that shaped his early career. In an interview with KISS, Kaluuya explained that he thoroughly enjoyed his time working on the show, and even went as far as to declare the series an "incredible national institution." Proving the accuracy of his own statement, Kaluuya's continued success as a performer has shown the importance of Doctor Who and how it has always had the power to turn talent from the UK into bona fide international superstars.