Malachi Kirby | Actor

Malachi Kirby | Actor

Malachi says he didn’t have the confidence for acting when he was younger and felt shy about being up on stage in front of people. At 14 his mum took him to a theatre group at Battersea Arts Centre, and when people told him his first ever performance was good, he got a confidence boost to carry on through school and then college. Following his early success on the stage, Malachi shifted his focus to film, working on Gone Too Far, Offender and My Brother the Devil all in the space of 12 months, building a momentum that hasn’t ceased since.

Malachi doesn’t think of himself as very good at acting, saying “I’m no good at pretending. I have to get myself to a place of truth where I actually believe what’s happening.” When cast as the lead in a major US remake of Roots alongside Paul Giamatti and Anna Paquin, Malachi found himself on expansive sets and locations so real that he could get to that place of truth. After building to his breakthrough, Malachi recently took his first holiday in seven years, reminding himself that “life can be very short, so remember what’s important and always invest in your family and friends.”