Freida Pinto: Guerrilla Is a Timely Story About Racial Injustice in the U.K. That Much of History Skipped

Actress Freida Pinto recently went on Late Night with Seth Meyers to talk about the timeliness of her upcoming show Guerrilla, and how it brought up a part of important U.K. history. The show’s exploration of race relations in the 1970s and the historical backdrop of 1971 Immigration Act, which Pinto points out has never been repealed, will no doubt make a compelling watch. You can watch the trailer here.

Guerrilla, which debuts on Showtime April 16th in the U.S. and the 13th in the U.K, is a “love story set against the backdrop of one of the most politically explosive times in U.K. history.” Directed by John Ridley (12 Years a Slave), the six-part mini-series features Pinto and Babou Ceesay as a couple that liberates a political prisoner in 1970s London played by Idris Elba. Their target then becomes the Black Power Desk, a “true-life secretive counter-intelligence unit within the Special Branch dedicated to crushing all forms of black activism.” It’s an episode in history Pinto feels like we “skipped,” and now feels like a very appropriate time to tell it.

Pinto points out that her character and Cessay’s are a normal, everyday couple that come under pressure “because of something that they believe in and they want to stand up for it and speak out.” That journey of discovery is something I’m sure many will relate to and recognize themselves in.

In the segment, Pinto also talks about the challenges she faced trying to realistically act with guns as her left eye doesn’t see too well. Accompanied with this anecdote she also shared of straight up stabbing co-star Riz Ahmed in a previous film, I’m sure there’s a whole other layer of horror in the action scenes to look forward to. Are you going to check out Guerrilla?

(image: screencap)

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