The Trinidadian-British stage actor – and star of Death in Paradise and Rising Damp – pays tribute to a Black Hollywood pioneer
When I was in my late 30s, someone came up to me in the street and started talking to me as if I were Sidney Poitier. To the extent that they called me “Sidney”. I said: “I’m sorry – my name is Don.” And they looked at me and said: “Oh Sidney, when did you change your name?” They simply would not accept I was somebody else.
Even if you didn’t model yourself after Poitier, other people would. He was just the go-to reference. I’ve yet to meet a Black actor who hasn’t been compared to him – which is both irritating and enjoyable. And says more about the one making the comparison.
