David Oyelowo: I knew I’d play Dr. King

David Oyelowo “just knew” he would play Martin Luther King, Jr. before he died.

The British actor takes on the role of the late pastor and humanitarian in Selma alongside Oprah Winfrey and Cuba Gooding Jr. But despite growing up across the Atlantic, the 38-year-old had a strong belief that he was meant to take on the role at some point in his life.

“I’ve never read a script and more importantly, looked at a role and just felt such a keen knowing that this was going to be part of my life,” he explained to BBC London News. “I just knew that before I die I was going to play Dr. King in this film.”

The movie, which is directed by Ava DuVernay, is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches. And to prepare for the role, David spent as much time as possible observing the activist.

“I had time to study him, I had time to talk to people who knew him, I had time to watch so much footage, known and rare footage of him,” he added.

Some of the scenes in the movie require David to deliver the rousing speeches Dr. King was famous for. But being in the same environment as him was an additional tool that helped him get into character as well as understand the work that he did all those years ago to get equal rights for black people.

“[It] absolutely [was poignant], not least because we shot the film in some of the exact locations where these events took place with some of the people who were there,” he revealed. “The people who did that march are in their 60s and 70s now but they marched with us and it was very cathartic for them.”