Screenwriter, actor and director Adjani Salmon’s star is rising, with a slew of recent awards to show for it. Most recent is the 59% Gen Now award, which was presented to him at last week’s inaugural Soho House Awards in London.
Named after Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya’s recently-established production company, the award seeks to recognize and advance diverse creative talent, particularly from the United Kingdom, who are already making a clear impact on the entertainment industry with their work but could benefit from some added visibility. Kaluuya personally presented the award to Salmon at the awards ceremony on Sept. 1.
As for Salmon’s body of work, his most prominent creation is “Dreaming Whilst Black,” a comedy web series-turned-BBC iPlayer show that chronicles a young, naïve British-Jamaican filmmaker, Kwabena (played by Salmon), as he balances the struggles between navigating his ambitious dreams and sobering reality.
In addition to the 59% Gen Now award, recent honors such as the Royal Television Society’s 2022 Breakthrough Award and a 2022 BAFTA in Emerging Talent: Fiction have solidifed Salmon as a talent to keep an eye on moving forward.
Below, Variety caught up with Salmon to discuss his recent string of awards, being presented the 59% Gen Now award by Kaluuya and his future aspirations as a budding creative in the industry.
What did it mean to be recognized by Daniel Kaluuya with the 59% Gen Now award?
Salmon: It’s a humbling feeling. He’s someone who I’ve watched in the cinema, so to meet him and be recognized was enough to be like, “Yeah, this is the motivation I need to keep pushing forward.” To actually win has been really humbling.
Seeing someone like Daniel, who comes from a similar background like yours, pave the way for creatives coming up like you — what does that all mean to you?
Salmon: As much as one’s success does not necessarily represent success for the community, or us as a people, it definitely signals to us that it is possible. And sometimes, that’s all you need. For me, personally, seeing him rise in that way — Daniel’s career particularly, he literally just makes great work — his selection has been exceptional. To know that an artist from London, as a Black British person, can carve such a career for themselves, lets me know that I, too, can do it. It’s almost like a bat-signal.
What about your work do you feel most proud of?
Salmon: I feel most proud of not only what we’ve done, but how we did it. I think that is what has caused such attention. The show [“Dreaming Whilst Black”], the first thing we did that got recognition was on YouTube, so to transition such a raw, uncompromising and unfiltered show to a network platform, while still being in the machine of television is what people have responded to so well.
People in England were surprised that someone would make a show like that, and say what we said, on BBC. A lot of people were like, ‘Wait, hold up, how were they allowed to do this in this space?’
How did the night go at the Soho House Awards?
Salmon: It’s funny because I’ve been to the BAFTAs, so it’s not like I haven’t been in spaces with celebrities. It was such an intimate space and so star-studded at the same time, literally like two tables away was Michaela Coel, and then another table away was John Boyega, and then Gugu Mbatha-Raw was to my left. I was thinking, “Hang on, what is this? How am I here?”
It felt weird being there, it was almost imposter syndrome in that, how was I amongst all these people who I look up to as stars? And people were saying hi to me, so I was thinking “Hang on, how do you know me?” It was a great evening, honestly.
Where do you want to be in the next few years of your career?
Salmon: I want to continue making uncompromising work, while being in a position to have the means to do so myself. At the end of the day, every project I have is optioned by a production company or we need development from networks, so really I’m still at the whims of other people to say yes to me.
Success in the future, for me, is being in a position where I have the means and power to make the work that I want to make.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
