Before his directorial debut Get Out, Jordan Peele was well-known as an actor and comedian, though he recently revealed why he made the switch to filmmaking.
Peele, 41, made history by becoming the first Black screenwriter to win Best Original Screenplay for Get Out, which was a critical and commercial hit.
He opened up in a chat with Get Out star Bradley Whitford during a virtual fundraiser for the Georgia Democratic Party (via The Hollywood Reporter), where he revealed he does not like watching himself perform.
Filmmaking: Before his directorial debut Get Out, Jordan Peele was well-known as an actor and comedian, though he recently revealed why he made the switch to filmmaking
Filmmaker: Peele, 41, made history by becoming the first Black screenwriter to win Best Original Screenplay for Get Out, which was a critical and commercial hit
Whitford had asked if the reports were true that Peele had quit acting due to, ‘a total lack of interest,’ which Peele confirmed.
‘I like watching my movies. I can watch the films I direct [but] watching me perform just feels like, it’s a bad kind of masturbatory. It’s masturbation you don’t enjoy,’ Peele said.
‘I feel like I got to do so much and it is a great feeling. When I think about those great moments when you’re basking in something you said that feels funny. When I think about all that, I think I got enough,’ he added.
Lack of interest: Whitford had asked if the reports were true that Peele had quit acting due to, ‘a total lack of interest,’ which Peele confirmed
Get Out was a universal hit, earning $255.4 million worldwide from just a $4.5 million budget, with the film earning three more Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director for Peele and Best Actor for Daniel Kaluuya.
While the critical and commercial acclaim were certainly welcomed, Peele revealed he was only interested in how Black people responded.
‘”I knew I was making a movie for us. I knew I was making a movie for the me that didn’t feel represented in the genre and for everybody, for all the Black people who are screaming at the screen, ‘Have some sense, get the f**k out of the house, get some Black people in here so somebody can do the right thing,”‘ he said.
Get Out: Get Out was a universal hit, earning $255.4 million worldwide from just a $4.5 million budget, with the film earning three more Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director for Peele and Best Actor for Daniel Kaluuya
‘When that hit home and I felt that, it was just extreme warmth. Everything else after that was just gravy,’ Peele added.
He did add, though, that the film resonating with white audiences as well was rather encouraging.
‘The one thing I will say about the unconsciously racist white liberals is they’re ready to watch that movie and try to understand, there’s a penance that some people are ready for,’ he said.
Resonating: He did add, though, that the film resonating with white audiences as well was rather encouraging
‘I was happy that white people seemed to get it. It spoke to me about the power of story,’ Peele added.
While he did write and direct the film himself, he admitted that the story of the film was bigger than himself.
‘The biggest thing that gets into an artist’s way is his or her own ego. I truly believe that. I’m always trying to figure out ways to keep my ego in check because when that sneaks in there, it f***s shit up — almost always. I submit to this idea that the film, the movie, the story is important. I’m less important. It frees me up to be competent. It’s not about me and I just have to execute this thing,’ he said.
Happy: ‘I was happy that white people seemed to get it. It spoke to me about the power of story,’ Peele added