Nigerian-British actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim might be one of the most prolific actors you’ve never heard of and stars in two films currently streaming – Black Beauty on Disney+, as well as Netflix’s Riding with Sugar. Best known for his work in the TV series Black Sails (2014-2015), and his portrayal of Georges Rutaganda in the acclaimed Golden Globe-nominated film Hotel Rwanda (2004), he also starred in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). A constant presence on the small screen, including performances in 24, Criminal, NCIS: Los Angeles, Gotham, and State of Affairs, Hakeem was filming two TV series before Covid-19 hit – the BBC’s The Watch and Intergalactic, starring Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson and Peaky Blinders’ Natasha O’Keefe, which will air next year. And he’ll be seen in a major role in next year’s blockbuster, Godzilla vs. Kong.  Speaking from his home in Cape Town, South Africa, where he’s been isolating with his wife and three daughters since the beginning of the pandemic, the actor can’t wait to get back on set.

You’ve done voice work before on various projects including Love Death and Robots (2019) and The Avengers (2010). As Terry in Black Beauty, you yourself need rescuing from a river in some of the film’s most exciting scenes. What was it like being a live action actor working with a voiceless horse?

I loved it, actually. I have also done some mo-cap work but I loved doing the live action stuff. It’s important and it’s powerful. I am used to working on a blue screen, so it all sort of worked for me. And it was a really lovely cast, which makes a big difference too. 

Your scenes were very dramatic. Were they as scary to film as they are to watch?

They look after you on set, but it was really intense. I was in the water for a good eight hours in the day but I must give them their due, they looked after me and protected me as best as they could. I loved it.  It was very much an exciting space to be in. I loved being in the water and I loved the dramatic sense of the scenes.

Did you work alone all the time or with any of the other actors?

No, I worked mainly with the horse actually. 

Well, I hope you’re a horse person.

I am now! (laughs)

Any mishaps?

Yes. I had ridden before but years ago. So, my first day on the horse, they put me up there, I got in and got into the ring and they were taking me around. But then something caught underneath the horse’s belly and it bolted. So, I literally jumped off, I didn’t wait for it to run me over. So, that was literally my first day on a horse. But I got right back up and carried on. I know when you fall, you go straight back up, otherwise you will get freaked. So yeah, that was my big mishap, but other than that, it was great.

Did it bring out your inner cowboy?

I felt so much like a cowboy, I felt sexy up there I will tell you! (laughs). I loved it, I really enjoyed it and they gave me a lovely horse to ride. It made me want to get back into horse riding. Where we live there’s a lot of horse riding and my little one is interested in that. So, I am going to take her and see if they [all three daughters] are terrified of horses.

What roles are you most proud of?

I really enjoyed Riding with Sugar, which is a South African movie. It’s the most complete character for me that I’ve been able to play in terms of telling the whole journey, the whole emotional journey of him. So that’s been the most enjoyable thing I’ve done. I mean, I do a lot of characters, they come in and out, but they are never sort of the character with the fullest emotional journey – you only get bits of them sometimes.

Is there one role which really changed your career?

I think the role that gave me an opportunity was Hotel Rwanda. And that really opened the opportunity of me going to America and exploring. I had been to America before and South Africa, but that gave me the opportunity to really get a footing in the United States. 

What standout memory can you tell me from that experience?

My scenes were with Don Cheadle and, not that we spoke a lot, but we were in the scenes together and we had a little chat, and this is way before I was thinking about going to America. We were sitting down having a break in filming, and I remember saying to him, ‘I would love to go to America and see what it’s like.’ And he said, ‘Hey listen. If you ever go, come and look me up.’ And we swap numbers. And you think, ‘Yeah, it’s all good.’ And I got to America and I phoned Don Cheadle up, got through and said, ‘Listen, I am here, and it would be lovely to have coffee.’ And he said, ‘Why don’t you come over to the house?’ And I went over to his house, sat down, had coffee with him, and he was just great. He was so gracious. And I even showed him, it’s embarrassing now when I think about it (laughs), but I said, ‘Can you look at my showreel?’ I was completely wide-eyed and naive but he was gracious and he was really lovely. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer intro into Hollywood. He won’t remember this story but I will never forget it.

That’s such a lovely story.

Yeah, I will never forget it. I think he lived in Malibu at the time, I am not sure if he still lives there. He had injured his leg so he couldn’t meet me at a coffee place, but yeah, it was lovely. So that is the beginning of my LA story.

When did you first know you wanted to be an actor?

Probably watching my English teacher jumping up and down on the desk doing every single part in this Julius Caesar play. I mean, that was the moment I felt that this looks like a lot of fun, and then he cast me in a school play and that was a lot of fun. Then I went on to do the National Youth Theater of Great Britain. So I was 15, 16 when I realized that this is what I want to try and do as a career.

How do you find the bullshit part of the job – being nice to the right people etc, or do you ignore it?

 I think I try and ignore it. It’s there, it comes when people are being bullshitty. So I think people on the whole generally are trying to be nice and wanting to be nice and everybody is fighting for the same thing. And I think luckily with me on the whole, 90 percent of my work if not more, I’ve worked with amazing people who love what they are doing, who are kind, who are warm, and every day on set has been a lovely day. So I try and steer clear of anything negative. Every now and then you meet someone who is up their own ass, and you just have to steer clear. Insecure people can be really crappy.

What about your kids? Do they show any signs of following in your footsteps?

I really hope not actually, I really hope not. But the middle one, who’s 17, has done a couple of things, and she auditioned for a couple of things. She’s a really clever one. But the other two, no.  The oldest one is into photography, and the baby, who knows what she is going to be! I don’t encourage them, but I don’t discourage them either. 

But then again, the business has obviously been good to you.

Yeah. It’s a struggle though. The journey has been fantastic and I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s still a hard journey. I am luckier than most.

What do you play in Godzilla vs. Kong?

I play the ship commander – Godzilla is on this ship and so is King Kong. Something happens, and there’s a lot of panic. As ship commander, you won’t miss me. (laughs)