Actor Kingsley Ben-Adir on his film role as Bob Marley

Actor Kingsley Ben-Adir has revealed how he prepared for his role as reggae legend Bob Marley in the upcoming film 'Bob Marley: One Love'.

The British actor was on the set of 'Barbie' when he received the news in February 2022 that he would be portraying the Jamaican legend. 

"I got the job as I was starting 'Barbie' and I felt that there was so much to learn, so much to do. There were so many things that I didn't know," says Ben-Adir. "I didn't play the guitar. Jamaican Patois was new and everything was new. And I was like, 'I'm on 'Barbie' for three and a half, four months. I need to start working.'"

The film was directed by American director Reinaldo Marcus Green and charts Marley's rise to fame in the mid-1970s up until his death in 1981. 

Green says it was "incredible to see [Ben-Adir] go through that transformative process" as the actor took on the role. 

" I know it wasn't easy to take on the icon, but he was relentless in trying to find the man, the humanity and who Bob was," says Green. "It was kind of amazing to see him go through that process physically, emotionally."

The film will be released in cinemas on February 14.