Exclusive: David Oyelowo talks playing a Nigerian character in new Netflix sci-fi 'The Midnight Sky'
The Hollywood star spoke exclusively to Pulse on recreating an originally white character and the relevance of proper representation in Hollywood stories.
David Oyelowo and co star, Felicity Jones in 'Midnight Sky' [RadioTimes]
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Oyelowo stars alongside George Clooney, Felicity Jones in newly released Netflix post-apocalyptic sci-fi directed by Clooney.
In the film which is based on the 2016 novel 'Good Morning, Midnight' by Lily Brooks-Dalton, Oyelowo plays Commander Adewole, a character that majorly contrasts from the original character.
David Oyelowo
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Certainly, character revamps happen every other time in book-to-film adaptations but there is something quite different and satisfying about the birth of Commander Adewole.
David Oyelowo recently spoke exclusively to Pulse on naming the character and how important it was for him to adequately represent his roots.
Speaking on his character, Oyelowo revealed that he had first proposed the name change to director, George Clooney while on the set of the film.
"I have almost never seen a black person being the head of astronauts in a movie and I had most definitely never seen a person of African descent, who is of Nigerian descent. So I went to George Clooney and I said look, 'My name is Commander Harper, I am one of five people tasked with saving the world, I think one of these people should be very clearly an African' and he agreed."
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For Oyelowo, his character's Yoruba name meaning 'the king has entered the room' was quite symbolic. "It was a little wink to us Nigerians to say we have arrived".
'The Midnight Sky' follows the story of Augustine Lofthouse, a scientist who attempts to save what's left of humanity by venturing into the arctic circle to warn a returning spaceship of the global catastrophe that happened in their absence.
According to Oyelowo, production wrapped up shortly before the Covid-19 outbreak which thankfully spared the cast and crew the challenges of filming while practising safety measures.
'The Midnight Sky' is currently streaming on Netflix.
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