TO CAPTURE A FIRE

Actor Kingsley Ben-Adir on playing Jamaica's most famous son, reggae icon Bob Marley-a role he embodies with the full support of the Marley family-in forthcoming biopic, One Love

- Nick Reilly

WHEN KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR was first approached to play Bob Marley by the late music icon’s son Ziggy, no less, the daunting prospect of immortalising the eternal reggae icon meant that he almost turned down the role completely. “It initially felt like a no from me,” he recalls. “I really felt like I wasn’t right for it. I don’t sing, I don’t dance, and there was nothing physically similar that meant I could really convince people I was him.”

After spending a weekend delving into the singer’s life, a “transcendental” experience occurred when the British actor found himself watching Marley’s legendary 1977 live shows at London’s Rainbow Theatre. This allowed him to forge a greater connection with the man who brought reggae to the world and, ultimately, to deliver an audition that won over Marley’s family. “When Bob Marley’s family are looking at you and saying they want you to play him, as an artist it feels dangerous to say no,” says the 37-year-old.

Ben-Adir is speaking to Rolling Stone UK in a London hotel in December 2023, two months before the film is about to hit cinemas. He’s calm and friendly, but the occasional grin that flashes across his face while talking about playing Marley suggests he’s only too aware that this is his biggest role to date, a chance to play a musical great and have that portrayal watched by Marley’s legions of fans across the globe.

Born in north London, Ben-Adir has become an increasingly ubiquitous face on the big screen in recent years. He first found fame playing a series of small-screen roles on cosy UK crime dramas such as Vera and Midsomer Murders