The actor and writer Malachi Kirby was born in London in 1989. He enrolled in a drama group at the Battersea Arts Centre aged 14 and later attended London’s Identity School of Acting. He was shortlisted for outstanding newcomer at the 2011 Evening Standard theatre awards, for Mogadishu. On TV he has appeared in the 2016 remake of Roots, Black Mirror, and as Darcus Howe in Steve McQueen’s Mangrove; his film work includes Boiling Point and Wicked Little Letters. Kirby, who lives on the outskirts of London, stars as Hezekiah Moscow in the Disney+ series A Thousand Blows, set in the world of illegal boxing in the Victorian East End. It starts on 21 February.
1. Hobby
Horse riding
I started horse riding in 2015 when I was filming Roots and it was a crash course for sure. They had me riding bareback by the second lesson. It was exciting and terrifying, but I fell in love with horses very quickly and it brought me a lot of peace. I’ve wanted to go back to it ever since, so I’ve just started riding again and taking it much slower this time – even though I’ve cantered and ridden bareback in the past, I haven’t actually gotten past trotting yet, but I’m really enjoying it.
2. Restaurant
The Black Kitchen, London SW16
A friend was telling me about this place in Balham that has incredible Jamaican patties, which are one of my favourite things to eat. These ones are called secret patties, which made my guard go up: like, what’s the secret? Why can’t you tell me? Apparently it’s got oxtail and mac’n’cheese in it, which is something I’d never considered, but it’s an incredible idea. I don’t know if I can eat a patty the same way again now. The restaurant is moving to a bigger place in Streatham and I’m excited to see what other secrets they’ve got on their menu.
3. Film
Hard Truths (dir Mike Leigh)
I went to see this with my mum the other day. Mike Leigh is one of her favourite directors, and watching this one made me realise what she loves about him. He has a very distinctive style and a way of letting moments breathe, and I love that. Marianne Jean-Baptiste is incredible as a woman who’s angry at the world. Her performance confused me at first, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be laughing or feeling heartbroken, but then there’s a moment where it all starts to make sense. Leigh manages to capture everyday life in a way that makes the ordinary extraordinary.
4. TV
Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+)
I’m on the last episode of this show and honestly it’s one of my favourite things right now. Brie Larson plays a brilliant scientist in 1950s America who isn’t respected in her lab, so she brings her chemistry skills to cooking instead and ends up hosting a cookery show on TV. Essentially it’s about a woman who, through remaining integral to who she is, changes the environment she lives in and the way that things are done in that time. I’ve been cooking a lot this year, so the show has inspired me in that regard as well.
5. Place
One of my favourite places in the world, especially in the summer. In my late teens I started going there to write, and I remember being taken aback because there would be dancers with boomboxes and people in suits having business meetings, and no one was looking down their nose at anyone. Everyone could fill the space without apologising for their existence. Also, it was the one public place that I was able to go and take a nap without getting [moved on]. I wish more of the world was like that.
6. Theatre
Retrograde (Apollo theatre, London W1, from 8 March)
I saw this play at the Kiln last year and I’m really looking forward to seeing it on a bigger stage when it transfers to the West End next month. It’s about the actor Sidney Poitier and it focuses on a single conversation that changed his career – he comes out of it completely transformed. I think Ryan Calais Cameron is one of the most exciting writers of this generation and Ivanno Jeremiah is brilliant as Poitier. It’s one of those plays that speaks to right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets turned into a film or a TV series.
