Eddie Karanja was in a harness so many days on 鈥淲ashington Black鈥 it was like he was a real adventurer.
鈥淚 really loved it,鈥 the teen actor says. 鈥淲hether you鈥檙e going up, whether you鈥檙e moving around, it was always exciting.鈥
Ships, hot-air balloons and flying vehicles were just part of the journey that takes young Washington Black from the sands of Barbados to the snows of Nova Scotia. Based on the best-seller 鈥淲ashington Black,鈥 it follows the boy鈥檚 journey from slavery to independence, from scientific assistant to artist and creator.
Eddie Karanja stars as Washington Black
To play the role, producers hired聽two Washingtons聽鈥 Karanja and Ernest Kingsley Jr., who handles the adult years. Before filming began, the two met, 鈥渉ad conversations about the character and the subtle things we wanted to add,鈥 Karanja says.
鈥淗e鈥檚 incredible,鈥 Kingsley says of his counterpart. 鈥淛ust watching him was like an Acting 101 class. I鈥檇 wonder, 鈥榃hat is he doing in this moment and how can I bring that with me? How can I carry on the curiosity and the innocence in my version?鈥欌
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In both guises, Wash is an expert illustrator. 鈥淚 went to the park and tried to sketch some trees and stuff,鈥 Kingsley says, 鈥渁nd it was terrible.鈥
Likewise, Karanja. 鈥淚 draw, but not to the level of Wash.鈥 Sometimes, pretending to be an artist was just a matter of adding final flourishes to a picture for the shot.
Because Wash is an assistant to a wildly creative man (played by Tom Ellis), he gets to watch as his inventions take flight. That meant Karanja often had to hang off the edge of whatever was going up 鈥 like a flying machine. It was always safe, he insists, 鈥渂ut it was a lot of 鈥榳ow.鈥 It鈥檚 such a weird spot to be, but excitingly strange place to be.鈥
Tom Ellis, left, and Eddie Karanja go on a series of adventures in "Washington Black," a miniseries based on the best-selling novel.
Ellis, who played the title character in the fantasy, 鈥淟ucifer,鈥 was fun to work with. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just pure greatness on screen, in real life, everywhere,鈥 Karanja says. The two got to share those big adventure moments and witness the wonders created by set and special effects designers.
Telling the story through the eyes of a boy, he says, lets viewers appreciate the science aspects of the journey. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about love and the pursuit of adventure and science in a world full of torment and pain.
鈥淭here was never a block between me and the character and the world. As soon as I was on the set filming I sort of immersed myself.鈥
Because he has been acting for years (he began auditioning for theater roles at age 8), Karanja was eager to try something as complex and expansive as 鈥淲ashington Black.鈥
The book by Esi Edugyan is set in the early 1800s. Wash is slave who鈥檚 given a new master when the owner of the plantation dies. The new owner 鈥 an evil nephew 鈥 does whatever he can to make life miserable. Luckily, Wash meets the nephew鈥檚 younger brother and begins his journey into science, art and adventure. When tragedy strikes, Wash is forced to follow another path and find a new life under the wing of Medwin Harris (played by Sterling K. Brown).
The eight-part miniseries is so broad-ranging producers filmed segments throughout the world. 鈥淣o one had ever quite done something like this,鈥 says Executive Producer Selwyn Hinds. 鈥淲e鈥檙e like halfway through and (it鈥檚 like) we鈥檙e doing 鈥楳ission: Impossible鈥 but over and over and over again.鈥
Karanja couldn鈥檛 be more thrilled.
鈥淲ashington Black鈥 begins July 23 on Hulu.
