Why is Ian Wright in The Kitchen? Director explains role

Wright has a fairly substantial role in the film as Lord Kitchener, the resident DJ and de facto leader of an endangered social housing community known as The Kitchen, where the bulk of the action is set.

And, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about why Wright – who previously appeared as himself in an episode of Ted Lasso – was the right fit for the role, co-director Kibwe Tavares credited casting director Aisha Bywaters with suggesting the idea.

"That role came in a little bit later in the process, in the script, and we wanted someone that was sort of the voice of the community," he explained.

"We wanted someone that could really sort of, like, weather The Kitchen through the storms they were going through.

"And then we started to sort of think about him more in terms of looking at his background, the community work he's done.

"He's quite an advocate for different communities and different people, and then that's a thing that he could build on in finding that as his first sort of acting role."

Read more:

• The Kitchen’s Kibwe Tavares on co-directing with Daniel Kaluuya
• Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares unveil dystopian trailer for The Kitchen

Tavares added that while they by no means wanted Wright to simply play a version of himself, he was encouraged to draw on his public persona when it came to bringing Lord Kitchener to life.

"He's not playing Ian Wright, but we weren't asking him to sort of look for things that were outside of him," he explained. "It was feeding into who he is as a person, like what his belief systems are.

"And that's why, actually, on set, I think it was very comfortable and easy for him to find, and for us to work with him. It wasn't sort of like playing make-believe… he could sort of understand the emotions and where we were coming from."

The Kitchen is currently showing in select UK cinemas and will be on Netflix from 19th January 2024. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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