Malachi Kirby

“When I was in school, my first acknowledgement of 'Roots' was Kunta Kinte.”

“My roots go back to West Africa, but my last name is Kirby, which is not an African name.”

“I was taught about slavery, but it was the ancient Egyptians. That's the closest I got to African history.”

“When my dad passed, I felt like I had to grow up very quickly.”

“I haven't experienced a lot of prejudice in my life, but I'm not naive to what goes on in the world.”

“Playing Kunta Kinte is an emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental journey.”

“My mum is... interesting. So, like, she's very expressive and loving, but even if she does get excited about any of my achievements, she won't show it... There's something about her that wants to keep me humble.”

“I was 22 when my mother gave me the original box set of 'Roots' and she said, 'I want you to watch this.' I watched the whole thing back to back in the span of 24 hours. It had a profound effect on me. It felt like my story.”

“I believe it's important to have equal opportunities as a black actor. My way of fighting for it is through my art, by not accepting that there are roles that aren't for me.”

“Kunta Kinte is the closest thing I've ever seen... to a superhero. He's amazing. He's inspirational.”

“You're always going to have typecasting, especially with TV.”

“One of the biggest things that I took from playing Kunta Kinte was where his strength came from in knowing where he was from.”

“If you're good enough to play a role with emotion and universal human elements, then you'll get others coming to you.”

“'Roots' focuses on a particular group of people who defy the odds and win, eventually, even if it isn't in their lifetimes. This is, for me, a very positive story and a very empowering one, if only we have that perspective on it.”

“I was the shiest person you could think of. I didn't really speak. I was an only child, so most of my life I spent in my bedroom playing with toys by myself, speaking through them.”

“Even around my family, I hardly spoke. I was very reserved.”