Eddie Karanja calls 'Washington Black' a story he had to tell
NEW YORK, July 23 (UPI) -- Halo and Sandman actor Eddie Karanja says he hopes audiences feel inspired and see themselves in his epic new miniseries, Washington Black.
"First of all, I want them to think Wash is awesome because he is," Eddie told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
"Even though I can't predict, I think young viewers are going to really love a lot of the characters that we meet along the way and they're going to find identity within the show," he said. "It's such an amazing story to hear being told from my character's perspective and through the eyes of an 11-year-old, enslaved boy who goes on this whirlwind journey. It was something that I knew that I had to tell."
The eight-episode series premieres on Hulu Wednesday and co-stars Sterling K. Brown, Ernest Kingsley Jr., Tom Ellis, Iola Evans, Billy Boyd, Rupert Graves, Edward Bluemel and Ntare Mwine.
The adaptation of Esi Edugyan's best-selling novel follows the titular, 19th-century hero, who was born a slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, but whose brilliant scientific mind enables him to go on extraordinary adventures.
"It started with the book, then went to the script, and my amazing dialect and acting coach really helped me zone in on the internal conflict in Washington," Eddie said.
"You really begin to feel the emotion inside before you show it outside. And, then, it was [listening to] music, as well. All those things really helped create this character that I really love."
Eddie said playing chess helped him bond with Kingsley Jr., the actor who played the adult version of Wash.
"There were conversations had and there were subtle things," Eddie explained. "Hanging out with each other, we really picked up similar mannerisms, so it was almost as if the same person was portraying this character at different points in his life."
The project also afforded Eddie the opportunity of working with Emmy-winner Brown, who was a producer in addition to a cast member on Washington Black.
"Sterling was an amazing collaborator. He really made you feel like an active part of the collaboration," Eddie said. "It was good to have him around."
The actor said the period-accurate costumes and locations in Mexico, Iceland and Nova Scotia where the series was shot helped him immerse himself in this world.
"It really did a lot of the work in the character circumstances," he added. "There was never a moment that I felt the set was taking me out of [the story] in any way."
Showrunner Selwyn Seyfu Hinds said he and executive producer Kimberly Ann Harrison tried to create a "safety net" so the cast and crew had what they needed to make the most authentic and emotionally rewarding series possible.
"They were forces throughout the show in really cultivating and honing in on this story," Eddie said.
"Selwyn really took a lot of himself and his own culture and really put that into the show. Kim really honed in on those ideas, as well, and, really, the finished product speaks for itself."
Hinds felt immediately drawn to the beloved novel.
"I love the core of what the book is about -- the idea that the best of us can come from the worst of places, right?" he said.
"If that's not emblematic of Wash's journey, I don't know what else you can say," Hinds added. "Once we got that sort of core idea of this kid who was going to go on a journey that will metaphorically and literally lead to him flying, everything else became: 'Well, what best supports that? How do we challenge that journey? How do we make it more interesting? How do we take some of the clues in the book and what sort of secret chambers are here to explore?'"
Hinds thinks the tale will resonate with 2025 viewers unsettled by real-world division and unrest.
"When the world's on fire, it'd be nice to find some wings and flowers," he said.
"An evergreen journey for humans is to find hope and find kindness and joy, and it just feels extra-relevant in times that feel tough," Hinds added. "It's not just empty-calorie escapism. It's sort of like escapism with a thematic purpose."
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