This is a sponsored article on behalf of Discover Leicester Square.
A brand new statue has been unveiled in Leicester Square, depicting actor and Londoner Daniel Kaluuya in a dramatic scene from 2017 horror/comedy film Get Out.
The statue is part of the Scenes in the Square free trail, which was first installed four years ago, recreating iconic scenes from the past century of cinema, and featuring characters including Batman, Wonder Woman, Mary Poppins, and Gene Kelly in his iconic Singin' in the Rain pose.
In Kaluuya's case, the statue depicts the 'Sunken Place' scene in Get Out, in which his character Chris is hypnotised into a trance, spiralling into a symbolic void. Director Jordan Peele’s invented terminology created ripple effects throughout culture as it came to be seen as a metaphor for Black people's experiences with marginalisation and objectification. Kaluuya was chosen in a poll of 5,000 British film fans conducted by Show Film First, as the actor they most wanted to see added to the trail.
Get Out earned four Academy Award® nominations — including for Kaluuya as Best Actor — and an Oscar® for Original Screenplay, and was instrumental in furthering Kaluuya's career. He has since starred in Marvel film Black Panther, and heist film Widows, as well as biographical Judas and the Black Messiah, for which he received an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. And now he's been immortalised right here in his home city.
It's timely that the statue is being unveiled during October, coinciding both with Halloween and Black History Month, a nod to the film's horror genre and themes of the lived experiences of Black Americans.
Find out more about the Scenes in the Square trail, including the new addition, and plan your visit. It's free! Follow Discover Leicester Square on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X for updates.
