'Get Out' director Jordan Peele says he's done with the acting game
Well Get Out fans, we've got some bad news -- and some good news.
First, let's start with the bad news: In a preview for his CBS Sunday Morning interview with Tracy Smith, the comedian and Get Out director announced he was done with acting.
"That’s the idea... Daniel Day-Lewis and I are both out," he said, referring to the legendary actor claiming that The Phantom Thread would (allegedly) be his last film. "Acting is just nowhere near as fun for me as directing."
To be fair, though, if Peele really was modeling his acting retirement off of Day-Lewis, that'd mean we'd see him in about half a dozen more roles claiming to be his "final" one.
Jokes aside, it sounds like Peele is running with the success of his directorial debut, which not only snagged some Golden Globe nominations, but is also expected to receive Oscar nominations. And, honestly, if this means we get more genre-bending, groundbreaking work like Get Out, then we won't lament his acting career for too long.
Peele first rose to fame as one half of a comedy duo with Keegan-Michael Key. The popularity of their Key & Peele Comedy Central sketch show even led to him writing and acting in his first film, Keanu.
But even when his feet were firmly planted in the comedy scene, Peele always showed a talent for biting, salient, yet entertaining social commentary. From the sounds of it, his new focus on directing stems from a desire to home in on that aspect of his creativity.
While expressing his sadness over the rampant racism of President Trump, Peele said, "What I am encouraged by is that the movie Get Out has been heard and received, and that I'm seeing many other examples of art and film and television that are expressing these pains, frustrations, love in new ways, and that they're being received. And that I think will create progress."
Aside from live action roles in Season 1 of FX's Fargo and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, Peele is also attached as an actor on the horror movie Abruptio (still currently filming). As an actor, he's better known for his voice work, which included repeat appearances on Bob's Burgers and Nick Kroll's Netflix series Big Mouth.
You can catch the full interview on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. ET.
Jess is an LA-based culture critic who covers intimacy in the digital age, from sex and relationship to weed and all media (tv, games, film, the web). Previously associate editor at Kill Screen, you can also find her words on Vice, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Vox, and others. She is a Brazilian-Swiss American immigrant with a love for all things weird and magical.
