Winner's acceptance speech by Daniel Kaluuya in the EE Rising Star Award category.
DANIEL KALUUYA: Evening. London city, hello. I have gone blank. Thank you. Tessa, Tim, Josh and Florence, let's thank the people for voting for us all, and texting and calling, and going on the Internet. I appreciate that, and I'm happy to - I feel so privileged to be in you guys' company. Facts.
I am a product of arts funding within the United Kingdom and I would like to thank people that financially support that. I mean, obviously the mainstream arts, but also grassroots levels. So I would like to thank Anna Scher Theatre. I would like to thank Evelyn Dewar and Marcus Rogers for teaching me how to act.
Michael Palmer, Weekend Arts College, WAC.
I would like to thank Heat and Light Theatre Company, especially Holly Hughes. I would like to thank... who else? I have been about. Also I would like to thank Conor McCaughan and Sam Fox at TROIKA. All you guys. Thank you for letting me think different, telling me I could think differently, and allowing me the space to do that.
There's a countdown. I wasn't supposed to say that, but I have said that now. We broke all the rules. No, levels. I would like to thank Sam for giving me an American agent. I would like to thank Carter Cohen. I would like to thank Andrew Curnan. I would like to thank my friends. I thank you for supporting me and I hope I support you as much as I feel supported by you. I would like to thank my sister, I would like to thank Critch, and I would like to thank my mum. Mum, mum, you are the reason why I started. You are the reason why I'm here and you're the reason why I keep going. Do you understand? Thank you for everything, and I would like to thank this award... and this is yours. Yours. Love.
Peace, let's get it.
