I was born a free man, lived with my family in New York until the day I was deceived,
kidnapped, sold into slavery.
This was brilliant, very profound film that I'll certainly remember for a long time, partly
because it taught me a few things about slavery that I didn't know already, and it encouraged
me to read the book. I was wondering, in the process of making the film, did you learn
anything new about slavery that you didn't know before?
Not really, no.
The thing that actually was the thing for me that was very important was Solomon Northup.
His story I didn't know before, and I sort of upset myself when I first finished reading
the book because I didn't understand why I didn't know this guy's story. But then I realised
that no one I knew knew his story, and then the book became my passion to adapt into a film.
What were you looking for in the lead actor, the man you wanted to play Solomon?
Well, Chiwetel Ejiofor was the only man for me who could play this role. There's a certain
kind of stature, a certain kind of presence he has and some kind of humanity that I needed
in the environment that he had to go through because he had to go through and travel through
an environment which had no humanity, which was actually inhumane. There could only be
one actor playing this role, and it was Chiwetel.
What do you think was the most incredible thing about Solomon, the real man? I found
it quite amazing that he was able to, after the terrible ordeal, that he was able to analyse
almost objectively what had happened to him over that period of time.
I think exactly that, to analyse objectively, hold on to his faith in humanity, never get
bitter, understand his surroundings. That was miraculous to me because if he had that
sort of hate in him, he could never have come out on the other side in a way that sort of
would have been healthy and in a way that I don't he could have ever written that book.
So that was hugely inspiring to me.
Well, boy. How you feel now?
My name is Solomon Northup. I'm a free man, and you have no right whatsoever to detain me.
You're no free man. You're nothing but a Georgia runaway.
You mentioned that he was born a free man. Then he was kidnapped, sold into slavery and
then became free again in the end. Was that a significant part of the story? Because that's
different from a lot of stories we hear, certainly in the movie industry about slavery.
It's a significant part of the story, absolutely, but it's the truth. Ten percent of the African-American
population lived free in the north. The story of an African being taken to America had for
me been told in a very powerful and effective way through Roots. I wanted to deal with the
whole idea of a native American who had gone through the same ordeal.
How impressed were you... You said he was the only man for the job. How impressed were
you with Chiwetel's performance in the end?
Very. Very impressive, very impressive. I mean, he held on to... He held onto something,
which was prodded, which was being sort of... one was trying to take it away from him, but
he held onto it. It's like holding onto that ball in rugby. He wouldn't let it go, and
he wouldn't let go of his humanity, which was wonderful.
Some of the characters, particularly those who opened the plantations, are incredibly
complex. I thought Benedict Cumberbatch's character was... it's hard to describe, I
guess not pure evil. I think Solomon in real life, in his book, found it that if he was
born in different circumstances, he may have been a more acceptable person. How do you
tell that story on screen in the short time, relatively short time, that Benedict Cumberbatch
is on screen?
The fact of the matter is that, I think he was the worst one of them all as far as a
slave owner is concerned because he is saying one thing, but doing another. You know, he
doesn't sort of... He knows Solomon is a free man. But what does he do? Nothing.
I will survive. I will not fall into despair. I will keep myself hardy till freedom is opportune.