Blacklisted Conversations

BAFTA-nominated actor Paapa Essiedu's latest role is in the Sky Original drama   The Lazarus Project . Written by Joe Barton ( Giri/Haji ). Paapa plays George, an app developer who wakes up reliving a day from the past. Soon after he meets Archie who recruits him to a secret organisation working on preventing world ending catastrophes via time travel. All good for George until he loses a love...

The wonderful Nella Rose is one of the UK's most prolific and talented influential presenters. Funny, down to earth and relatable, it makes perfect sense that was announced as the new co-host of Catfish UK alongside Oobah Butler. Starting out with a YouTube college set vlog Nella's been on a brilliant journey. Celebrating her we discussed her supportive parents, why she was always destined to be o...

He's sold out tours, he's broken the internet with his Insta sketches, he's the host of two late night shows, he's about to reprise his role as co-host of the updated Big Breakfast morning show, he's won two BAFTA alongside a number of wins, nominations and recognitions but yet Mo Gilligan's happy place is mowing his lawn, fixing fences and admiring his beard... Catch series 3 of Mo Gilligan's The...

Over the course of her career, Paulette Randall has made significant contributions to British theatre and television: from producing Desmond's to serving as Talawa's Artistic Director. Paulette also became the first Black British woman to direct a play in London’s West End and was famously praised by August Wilson for her directorial work on his plays. TBB joins Paulette to discuss her work direct...

Dexter Flanders' play Foxes explores the complexities of sexual identity and the impact unleashing your true self can have on those around you. As a trained RADA actor turned writer, Dexter focuses on telling stories of "the unvoiced." After Foxes received a Best New Play Alfred Fagon nomination in 2018 it premiered at Theatre503 in 2021. It's now back at the Seven Dials Playhouse for a second run...

Raised by Wolves is the acclaimed sci-fi series by renowned sci-fi storyteller Ridley Scott. The series follows two androids attempting to raise human children on a new virgin planet following a devastating war on Earth. BAFTA nominated Abubakar plays 'Father' an android in charge of the human children alongside his partner 'Mother' (Amanda Collins). In the recently aired season 2 Mother & Fat...

Top Gun Maverick is the sequel to the 1986 original Top Gun . With Tom Cruise back as Pete " Maverick " Mitchell the updated cast features more women, more people of colour and a lot more action. Greg 'Tarzan' Davis joins the cast as LT. Javy " Coyote " Machado and after a career in TV notably a long stint in Grey's Anatomy we talked about his debut big feature role ... and his grasp of the Britis...

Moses McKenzie is the Bristol-based debut novelist of ‘ An Olive Grove in Ends ’. An Olive Grove in Ends follows Sayon Hughes, a young Black man from Bristol, who dreams of a world far removed from the one in which he was raised. Growing up, Sayon found respite from chaos in the love and loyalty of his brother-in-arms, Cuba; in the example of his cousin Hakim former infamous drug-dealer turned pro...

Actress, writer and cultural producer Cherelle Skeete has originated many iconic roles – from Rose Granger-Weasley in the world premiere of  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , to voicing guardian omnic Orisa in the award-winning video game  Overwatch  or, originating the role of Tara in Temi Wilkey’s debut play The High Table ( for which she also received the 2020 British Blac...

Koby Adom is a fantastic director with an eye for dramatic sequences that not only draw in the audience but capture the essence of each project he directs bringing out the best from the cast he works with ... Graduating with a Masters Degree from the London Film School in 2017 Koby's directing career began with his acclaimed short films House Girl (2016) and Haircut (2018) going on to direct hit s...

Rashid Kasirye is a visionary whose contributions to music and culture have helped launched the careers of many of the UK’s most beloved artists. For over a decade, the Link-Up TV co-founder has used his platform to help artists take control of their own narrative and capture the attention of a global audience. Link Up TV’s newest reality series ‘The Process’ continues in the same vein. The exciti...

What can we say about Selma Nicholls. Founder of Looks Like Me talent & casting agency, she blew our minds in 2018 with her mind blowing photography project ‘Hero in us all’ that celebrated the then to be released Disney Marvel film Black Panther. Just a regular mother of one with big ideas who from the launch of that iconic project featuring black children, to casting for the video of Beyonce...

One of our favourite creatives John Boyega spared a few moments with TBB to tell us about his Create Next Film Project initiative - a collaboration between himself and popular fashion brand Converse. The initiative was launched to support London’s new class of young Black filmmakers through a joint venture spotlighting the next generation of film talent, providing mentorship and fully funding thei...

With an acting CV that's not to be sniffed at, actress Josette Simon OBE discusses her latest role in Netflix limited drama series ' Anatomy of a Scandal '. Anatomy of a Scandal stars Sienna Miller as Sophie Whitehouse, the wife of Conservative MP James Whitehouse (Rupert Friend), who discovers her husband has been having an affair. When the news goes public, blowing up their lives things go...

He's been in the game as a multi-award winning singer & songwriter for almost 20 years, but now Lemar has thrown his hat in the acting ring. His first 'gig' being the Sky Studio original adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson's best-selling book ' Little Darlings ' opposite fellow musician turned actress Jamelia. Playing Danny, a rock star who discovers he has a child with the estranged love of his l...

Once again the OG actor Courtney B Vance blessed TBB with his presence.  This time Vance discussed his role as lawyer Franklin Roberts in the new AMC series 61st Street. Starring British actor Tosin Cole 61st Street stars Moses Johnson (Cole) a promising Black high school athlete, who gets swept up in the Chicago criminal justice system when he is arrested as a supposed gang member after...

British actor Tosin Cole plays Moses in the new AMC series ' 61st Street' . Moses Johnson is a promising Black high school athlete, who gets swept up in the Chicago criminal justice system when he is arrested as a supposed gang member after an officer dies during a drug bust gone wrong.  With a cast starring Courtney B Vance and Aunjanue Ellis we spoke to Tosin about playing such a serio...

Jammer is considered a triple OG in the UK music industry. As a pioneer of the UK's grime scene, the MC, rapper, songwriter, and record producer is infamously known as a member of Boy Better Know (BBK) alongside fellow legends Skepta, and JME. He's also behind the Lord of the Mics clash series. In 2022 Jammer launched a new project, Top Producer - a 5-part competition show for music producers, whe...

In November, The British Blacklist partnered with Netflix to host a special lunch at Soho House with a selected group of UK-based Black Filmmakers and the brilliant musician and filmmaker from West London Jeymes Samuel. TBB's founder Akua Gyamfi lead an intimate Q&A session with the award-winning Jeymes to get to the heart of how he created his groundbreaking debut feature film The Harder They...

Passing tells the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Academy Award nominee Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in late 1920s New York. Adapted from Nella Larsen's novel of the same name, we spoke to Tessa & Ruth about what resonated with them about playin...

Actress Rebecca Hall turns her hand to directing with her powerful debut feature 'Passing'. Starring Tessa Thompson as Irene and Ruth Negga as Clare, Passing tells the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Academy Award nominee Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line during the height of the Harlem Renaissanc...

Lennie James returns as Morgan in the long-awaited premiere of Fear The Walking Dead Season 7. After a long and uncertain hiatus due to the Covid 19 Pandemic, Fear The Walking Dead returns during the aftermath of a nuclear strike that has brought on a new radioactive apocalypse that Morgan and friends must navigate through. We spoke to star James to discuss a new chapter for Morgan, his journey so...

Matiki Anoff is a British-Ghanaian is a BAFTA / Oscar award-winning makeup artist who currently resides in New York. Having an enviable body of work that includes Spike Lee's classics Do The Right Thing & Mo' Better Blues. And films featuring Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, and Halle Berry and Denzel Washington. Matiki recently won a BAFTA and was part of the Oscar-winning Hair & Makeup team...

Actresses & educators Suzette Llwellyn and Suzanne Packer have recently come together to add 'author' to their list of achievements. Birthed during lockdown the pair curated 'Still Breathing: 100 Black Voices on Racism' is an anthology of 100 testimonies describing the impact of racism on the lives of people of African descent. Published by HarperCollins the book brings together a cross-sectio...

#Startwith8™ was started by The Bitch Pack’s Thuc Nguyen, screenwriter, activist, and curator of the annual Bitch List in June 2020. Cheryl L. Bedford is a producer and the Executive Director and Founder of Women of Color Unite and the JTC List joined forces with Thuc on #Startwith8™ after which they launched #Startwith8Hollywood. And now they are branching out with #Startwith8UK and #Startwith8Ca...