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In the two-plus decades since his big screen debut at age 19 in Steven Spielberg’sAmistad, Chiwetel Ejiofor has carved out a successful and wide-ranging career. He’s starred in more than 40 films, playing a variety of roles from a newlywed inLove Actually, to a drag queen inKinky Boots, a sorcerer inDoctor Strangeand the lead in 2013’s12 Years a Slave, for which he earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
“I’ve always felt very fortunate with the work that I’ve been able to do,” Ejiofor, 43, tells PEOPLE in the latest issue. “Always wanted to try a lot of different things, and to put on a lot of different kinds of costumes.”
The actor, who was born in London to Nigerian parents, says he’s grateful for the opportunities he’s had in the entertainment industry so far and is feeling hopeful about its future in pushing for more diverse and inclusive storytelling.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anne Hathaway in Locked Down.Susie Allnutt / HBO Max
“What I think is really great is when the films being made are reflective of the world that you live in,” he says. “It sounds like it’s something that should be simple and straightforward and it’s proved to be much harder to achieve.
“It’s not just about numbers,” he continues. “It’s also about the nature of content. The nature of whose point of view is represented, and how. And whether that’s accurate and whether it’s empowering or not. It’s moving in that direction.”
For much more about Chiwetel Ejiofor, pick up the latest issue ofPEOPLEon newsstands Friday
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“It gave me a little uplift, a morale boost,” he says. “The twist is, in this pandemic, you can’t even go to the theater or have a collective experience, and that’s something we need as human beings.”
“It’s that thing when you fall into great literature, a great story, you feel a sense of peace because you’re on somebody else’s journey for a little while,” he explains. “You’re just hitching onto somebody else’s thing. And it’s showing you the world in a slightly different way.
“It’s still the thing that is the most thrilling thing about the profession,” he adds. “To get the opportunity to go into a different psyche, to see the world from a different viewpoint.”
Locked Downis now available to stream on HBO Max.
source: people.com
