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I certainly don' think I could've played the character [Idi Amin] the same way without being in Uganda. I loved working in Uganda.

Forest Whitaker

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Forest Whitaker
Age: 63
Born: 1961
Born: July 15
Actor
Film Actor
Film Director
Film Producer
Karateka
Television Actor
Television Director
Voice Actor
Longview
Texas
Forest Steven Whitaker
Thinking
Played
Certainly
Loved
Working
Character
Without
Way
Amin
Think
Uganda

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As an artist, it's a great opportunity to play a character like this [Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland]. And then, as a person, I had never been to the African continent. So, I knew, personally, it would reshape me.
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I was pretty much consumed by this character. Even when I was off, I was continually searching to find something else new about [Idi] Amin, and to embed myself deeper into the culture to the point that, in the end, I was so entrenched that I could tell what tribe someone was from just by looking at them.
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Because I was playing Idi Amin, who dealt with the colonisation issue, I became aware of this internalised conflict of what it means to be torn between cultures, what it means to be taken over by other cultures.
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I care about people. In the end, I think they feel it. It comes across, regardless of the character I'm portraying.
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It is important to make the best out of every generation.
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I stay true, because whatever the project is, I'm still looking for inside of that character.
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I do look at that thematic of healing of humanity.
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I'm just looking for characters that continue to make me stretch and grow and learn more about the human condition.
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I was trying to capture this man's [Idi Amin] energy, and I did a lot of research in studying him. I tried to capture his 'Warrior King' energy inside of me as much as possible.
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