Daniel Kaluuya says he had an "intense" 8-hour meeting with Fred Hampton's family

In Judas And The Black Messiah, Daniel Kaluuya plays Fred Hampton, the young Black Panther Party leader who was gunned down at 21. It’s a bold and moving role for the Brit, who tells The A.V. Club that he was inspired by an “intense” 8-hour sit down that he and director Shaka King, co-star Dominique Fishback, and producers Ryan Coogler and Charles King had with some of Hampton’s family, including his namesake son, Fred Hampton, Jr. Part audition and part therapy session, the meeting was, Kaluuya says, “deeply affecting and wide-ranging,” even including a tour of some of the areas where Hampton grew up. More on that, plus Kaluuya’s thoughts on the film’s always-poignant messages of social justice, in the video above.

Judas And The Black Messiah premieres on HBO Max on Friday, February 12.