WATCH: Kingsley Ben-Adir Taps Into The Life Of A Legend In ‘One Love’
The British actor discusses how he captured the essence of the reggae icon Bob Marley.
Transcript
00:00 I think Bob's complexity as a human being is not something that we shy away from in the film.
00:09 I feel like we have many discussions about the whole picture of Bob.
00:15 But we want to celebrate his life and we want to celebrate his music.
00:19 And the movie, to me, felt like a love letter from the family to their father.
00:24 And a love letter that says, "We see you and we see what you went through."
00:29 [crowd chanting "Bobby"]
00:34 Where do you want to start?
00:36 From the beginning.
00:40 [music]
00:44 Reggae is a people music.
00:46 People coming together.
00:48 [music]
00:54 You know you're a superstar.
00:56 [music]
00:58 I am a superstar.
01:00 [music]
01:02 Bob is such an iconic figure in popular culture.
01:04 And I know it's an honor to play him.
01:06 But I wanted to know, did you have any feelings of pressure or excitement more so in portraying this man the correct way on film?
01:14 Pressure and excitement and fear, sometimes they're all very mixed, aren't they?
01:18 It's like, I felt honestly...
01:25 Yeah, of course there's pressure, but being with Ziggy and understanding what the family's intention was,
01:33 and they want to try and share a more personal side to Bob,
01:39 and show some of his humanity and really the struggles that he went through.
01:46 Because we all have an idea of Bob.
01:48 We all know the poster and we all have an idea of him.
01:53 And he's an icon, he's a legend, but actually Bob went through a lot and he's a man from the ghetto.
02:00 And what it cost him, what it cost him to eventually arrive at that message of peace and love and unity,
02:09 it was a journey for him.
02:11 And so it was a joy and it was exciting.
02:15 Every day I'd learn something new and getting to spend time with Bob's friends in Trenchtown,
02:20 people who he grew up with, people who knew Bob before he was famous.
02:24 You know, there's legends from 12, 13, 14.
02:28 So I felt pressure, but no one made me do it.
02:31 I wanted to do it and I wanted to do it because the family were involved,
02:36 and I felt a deep trust and a deep responsibility, and I felt it was all of it together.
02:45 Bob was a man of the people, and he was selfless in many aspects,
02:49 but at times that selflessness didn't translate in regards to his wife and his family.
02:55 Can you speak to me, why do you think he struggled at times to find that balance between his career and his life?
03:01 It's like many great artists.
03:03 I mean, all the great artists, all the great people, they're great because they're complicated.
03:12 They're great because there's a lot about them.
03:16 And Bob's message and being able to communicate, being able to create something that makes you feel
03:23 a physical sensation in your body through playing an instrument and giving you words,
03:30 not everyone can do it because there are special things that we can't teach and learn.
03:38 Some people are just brilliant because there's a lot of pressure on these guys, and Malcolm as well.
03:45 They were under a lot, a lot, a lot of pressure when you have a whole country, a whole people who are looking to you.
03:51 How many employees did Bob have? He was responsible for so much,
03:57 and when I start checking him as a man, you go, "Yeah, it's a lot, man. It's no wonder you weren't sleeping."
04:02 No wonder you weren't sleeping.
04:04 And they didn't have therapists and all that, right? That's not what they did.
04:07 They played football, and they cracked on.
04:10 So I love him for that. I love him for that, and I identify with it as well.
04:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]