Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya Go Viral After Getting Stranded at an Oregon Airport

Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya turned an unexpected flight delay into one of the funniest celebrity interviews of the week.

Imagine getting stranded at a small airport in Oregon only to discover that two of your fellow passengers are Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) disrupted travel plans for thousands of passengers on Friday, November 13, when it temporarily halted departures across the United States following communication problems at multiple air traffic control centres.

Withers and Kaluuya had already boarded their Los Angeles-bound flight when airline staff instructed them to disembark at Eugene Airport. Local television station KVAL caught up with the actors, who quickly turned a routine news segment about flight disruptions into comedy gold.

Tyriq Withers Brings Bella Noches to Eugene, Oregon

Withers expressed his appreciation for the FAA’s decision, while also slipping in a political reference.

“I just want to thank God and the FAA for protecting us, post-blue wave as well.”

Withers was referencing the Democrats’ recent success in the US midterm elections. He then put his own spin on the iconic Bella Noches meme, jokingly asking where people could go if they couldn’t even go to the airport. The reference originated from a viral 2015 local news interview outside a nightclub in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Tyriq reminds us of that one cousin everyone wants at the family gathering because he always keeps everyone entertained. The fact that he managed to squeeze a political reference and a decade-old internet meme into a local news interview about aviation safety is hilarious.

Daniel Kaluuya’s British Accent Surprises Some Fans

Kaluuya took a slightly more serious approach, expressing gratitude that the FAA prioritised passenger safety despite the inconvenience. Both actors also embraced the local University of Oregon Ducks spirit, making the university’s signature O hand gesture.

What is particularly amusing is that some people are only now discovering that Daniel Kaluuya is British. For those of us who remember him as Posh Kenneth in Skins, hearing Kaluuya speak with an American accent was originally the adjustment, not the other way around.

It is a testament to his acting ability that after films such as Get Out, Nope and his Oscar-winning performance in Judas and the Black Messiah, some audiences genuinely assumed he was American.

Are Tyriq Withers and Daniel Kaluuya Working Together?

The other question is what exactly these two were doing in Eugene, Oregon. According to the Eugene Register-Guard, Withers previously identified Kaluuya as someone he would like to work with.

Both actors also have professional connections to Jordan Peele. Kaluuya starred in Get Out and Nope, while Withers led the Peele-produced psychological horror film Him.

There is no confirmation that they are working on a project together, but we certainly wouldn’t object to seeing them share the screen.

In the meantime, we appreciate how good-natured both men were about a genuinely frustrating situation. They gave local television some unexpected entertainment, showed appreciation for the people responsible for their safety and managed to make us laugh in the process.

If we absolutely had to be stranded at a tiny airport for several hours, there are considerably worse people to be stranded with.