True Superhero Jordan Peele Runs The Gamut from Laughter to Screams

Few filmmakers have been as successful at capturing the underlying terror of modern life as Jordan Peele, whose critically and commercially acclaimed horror movies have set new benchmarks for the industry. Long-standing fans of Peele’s work as a comic performer may be less surprised than most by the star’s easy leap from comedy to horror, as both genres play well to Peele’s eye for detail and skillful scenesetting abilities. While Jordan continues to create new narratives to reflect our world, he’s increasingly taking more direct steps to help people through charitable donations and support for social relief efforts on the ground. 

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A great loss to puppeteering

Jordan was born in 1979 in New York City to a white mother and black father. His parents split up when he was seven, and Jordan found being raised alone by his mom challenging for many reasons, not least the way he spoke: “The world has wanted me to speak differently than I speak. I speak like my mom; I speak like the whitest white dude; I speak like a Def Comedy Jam comedian doing an impression of a white guy.” As a biracial child, Jordan frequently found himself facing questions about his background, something which he claims would have a major influence on his upbringing and future career choices: “I even remember when I was a kid that every now and then you'd come up on somebody who would question how I spoke and whether or not I was trying to be something I wasn't. It cannot be a coincidence that I decided to go into a career where my whole purpose is altering the way I speak and experiencing these different characters and maybe proving in my soul that the way someone speaks has nothing to do with who they are.”

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