British actor who was mocked as Kunta Kinte by school bullies will now play him in the remake of Roots 

  • Malachi Kirby plays the African warrior sold as a slave to U.S. plantation owners
  • Bullies at his South London school teased him with the insulting nickname 
  • The 27-year-old appeared in EastEnders and Doctor Who before landing the role

By Jonathan Petre for The Mail on Sunday

Published: | Updated:

It was a landmark television series and one of the most watched programmes ever, despite its unflinching depiction of slavery.

But the first introduction to Roots for the British actor who stars in a new version of the drama was when bullies at his South London school teased him with the insulting nickname Kunta Kinte.

Malachi Kirby, who plays the African warrior sold as a slave to plantation owners in America, says: ‘I knew of [Kunta] because when I was in primary school people used to call me that as a dis [insult].

Malachi Kirby plays the African warrior sold as a slave to plantation owners in America

Malachi Kirby plays the African warrior sold as a slave to plantation owners in America

‘It was like a common thing and it was a negative thing to be him. That was my first understanding of him.’

It was not until he was 22 that Kirby discovered who Kunta Kinte actually was. His mother gave him a DVD of the 1977 mini-series, the final episode of which was watched by more than 100 million viewers in the US and millions more around the world.

Malachi as Kunta Kinte and with his on-screen love Jinna (Simona Brown)

Malachi as Kunta Kinte and with his on-screen love Jinna (Simona Brown)

Kirby has described the impact of the film, based on Alex Haley’s shocking bestseller about the brutality and suffering endured by slaves, as ‘profound’ and said it was ‘my story’.

One of the original cast was former American football star O. J. Simpson

One of the original cast was former American football star O. J. Simpson

The 27-year-old actor, who appeared in EastEnders and Doctor Who before landing the role of Kunta Kinte, is one of two black British actors who star in the new four-part adaptation, which starts on BBC4 on Wednesday.

Jinna, Kunta Kinte’s childhood crush, is played by Briton Simona Brown, while American stars in the series include Forest Whitaker and Laurence Fishburne.

Historians say the updated Roots is more accurate than the original and the violence is more graphic, echoing popular series such as Game Of Thrones.

One of the original cast was former American football star O. J. Simpson, who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole in 1994, but was later convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery. He is serving a 33-year prison sentence. 

 

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