26-05-2025
Peter Andre says he faced a 'hard challenge' filming Jafaican movie amid race row backlash
Peter Andre said he faced a 'hard challenge' filming controversial movie Jafaican - which has been branded 'profoundly disrespectful' amid an ongoing 'race row' backlash.
The All About Us singer, 52, has now discussed how he prepared for the 'challenging' role, which required him to wear dreadlocks and adopt a Jamaican accent to play con artist Gary Buckle.
The Mysterious Girl hitmaker also plays Denton 'Kill Man' Powell in Fred Nwaka's blockbuster, which was released at Odeon cinemas on May 20.
'I think that with the Jamaican side of it, the Patois parts were dubbed over by a Jamaican actor but instead of me miming over the Patois, I had to learn all the [words] that were delivered on screen,' he told the Daily Star in a recent interview.
'They dubbed over me, so that was a real challenge but it was one that I absolutely loved doing.'
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The British-Australian TV star revealed he 'loved' playing Gary because he 'really felt the character'.
He added: 'Playing Denton I found really a great challenge, I absolutely loved that character.
'I loved the seriousness of him, the tone changes and it was a brilliant part to play.'
The I'm A Celebrity alum has under fire publicly, and defended his choice to take on the controversial during a recent appearance on This Morning.
Peter appeared on the sofa alongside director and friend Fredi to chat to Alison Hammond, 52, and Dermot O'Lear y, 51 - with plenty of fans raising complaints.
During his appearance on This Morning, Peter and Fredi opened up about the three-year process of creating the film, and how much thought had gone into it and how surprised they have been over the negative comments about it.
Peter said to Alison and Dermot: 'If at any point where anyone said "This is not right, we shouldn't do it"...
'That's why we were shocked. We had approval from everyone, we laughed. Laughed so much doing it. We were a little bit like...'
'They dubbed over me, so that was a real challenge but it was one that I absolutely loved doing,' he told the Daily Star recently (pictured on This Morning last week)
He added: 'I've always said if someone is genuinely offended by something, you need to hear them.
'The problem is when you get people that are offended, but they you go "What are you offended about?"
'And they're like...'
The pair urged viewers to go and watch the film for themselves to make their own opinion on it, rather than just viewing the trailer.
Those watching at home flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts on it all.
Last week, Peter accused the critics of 'not knowing what they're offended by' after they condemned his Jamaican accent in the 'profoundly disrespectful' new movie.
In his first interview since the film's UK release on Wednesday, Peter defended his first starring role and accused critics of 'not knowing what they're offended by.'
Peter told Judge Rob Rinder and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown on the Jeremy Vine show: 'I think there are three types of people.
'There are people that get offended about anything.
'There are people genuinely offended and their voices should definitely be heard - I always think that - but you've also got an area of people that are offended, but when you ask them what they're offended about, they don't know.'
Peter too mentioned the fact that he suffered racism during his younger years as a Greek boy emigrating Down Under.
'I'm a Greek kid that grew up in Australia in the late seventies,' he said.
'We were picked on, we were called greasy s**t. I mean, even our teachers used to call us that. We went through horrific racism.
'Now when I watch a film about someone playing a Greek guy with the curly hair, the big nose, the medallion, the hairy chest, and he's coming up and he's doing the Greek accent, I find that hilarious.
'If someone is saying something horrific about our culture, I find that racist. So for me, I feel things are a bit muddied. You know, this is comedy. I'm acting in a film. I loved it. It's the kind of films that I loved watching when I was growing up.'
Despite the negative opinions, many have shared their love on Instagram, after Peter shared some footage from the world premiere of the film in Australia earlier this month.
Earlier this month Peter was supported by his older children Princess, 17, and Junior, 19 - who he shares with ex Katie Price - as they attended a special screening of the movie in London on Tuesday.
Jafaican's IMBD synopsis reads: 'Gazza, a small-time crook, seeks £35,000 for his gran's care. He overhears a tip, devising a scheme.
'In 21 days, he must master Jamaican culture to execute a fraud in London and Jamaica, facing life-threatening risks.'
It stars Peter as Gary Bucke, Wil Johnson as Winston, Oliver Samuels as Uncle Godfrey, Sizzle Kalonji as Sizzla, Jamie Lomas as Johnzie and Bradley Turner as Kevin.
