Interview: Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch on Their Work Together in ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ [VIDEO]

In his short 36 years, Bob Marley brought reggae and Jamaican culture to the world, leaving behind a legacy of hope for a unified future. Since his death in 1981, his story has been told through a number of documentaries and one novel (A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James), but it wasn’t until this year that Marley was brought to life through a feature film.

Kingsley Ben-Adir stars as the iconic singer in Bob Marley: One Love. The film, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), opened in February. While shifting back and forth through Marley’s life, the main plot focuses on the late 1970s when he reached the height of his fame, promoting peace and love in warring Jamaica.

Ben-Adir has been working steadily since he first appeared on TV, with roles in series like Vera, Peaky Blinders, and Secret Invasion. He has also starred on the big screen, though his performance as Malcolm X in the 2020 Academy Award-nominated One Night in Miami… introduced him to a new level of stardom.

Lashana Lynch joins Ben-Adir as Rita Marley, Bob’s long-suffering wife. Like her co-star, she had several TV and film roles to her name before seeming to rise overnight in 2019 as Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel. She would go on to star in No Time to Die, The Woman King, and Matilda the Musical, receiving the EE Rising Star Award from BAFTA in 2021.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with the two stars about their work together in Bob Marley: One Love, and what they learned from Bob and Rita Marley.

Bob Marley: One Love was released theatrically by Paramount Pictures and is currently available to stream with am MGM+ subscription.

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Karen Peterson

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