Seeing The World Through My Wife's Eyes | With David Oyelowo

It is well known that blind people often find a way to use their other senses more efficiently. But how does that play into romantic attraction? Author Ryan Knighton found that, when the senses fall short, language can bridge that gap.

David Oyelowo, who plays Prince Seretse Khama in the upcoming romantic drama "A United Kingdom," reads this week's essay.

Voices in this Episode

David Oyelowo is a multiple Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actor and producer who has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents. He stars opposite Rosamund Pike in the romantic drama, "A United Kingdom," directed by Amma Asante. Oyelowo produced the film and plays Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana, who caused international controversy when he married a white woman from London in the late 1940’s. The film is scheduled for a platform release by Fox Searchlight in February 2017. Later this year he’ll be seen in the third film in the "Cloverfield" series for producer J.J. Abrams, and as the lead in the as-yet untitled Nash Edgerton film, co-starring Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton, Thandie Newton and Amanda Seyfried.

Oyelowo gained international acclaim in 2014 starring as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ava DuVernay’s "Selma." For his performance, Oyelowo earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead and the film received an Oscar nomination for Best Motion Picture of the Year.

Most recently, Oyelowo starred opposite Lupita Nyong’o in Mira Nair’s "Queen of Katwe," earning a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. Additional film credits include Christopher Nolan’s "Interstellar;" J.C Chandor’s "A Most Violent Year;" Paramount Pictures’ "Captive," which he also produced: Lee Daniels’ "The Butler;" Steven Spielberg’s "Lincoln," with Daniel Day-Lewis; the critically acclaimed independent drama, "Middle of Nowhere," which earned him NAACP Image Award and Independent Spirit Award nominations; "Jack Reacher," opposite Tom Cruise; Lee Daniels’ "The Paperboy," opposite Nicole Kidman; the historical drama, "Red Tails," produced by George Lucas; Disney’s "The Help," opposite Emma Stone and Viola Davis; and Kevin MacDonald’s "The Last King of Scotland," opposite Forrest Whittaker and James MacAvoy.

On the small screen, Oyelowo starred in the HBO film, "Nightingale," earning a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and two Emmy Award nominations – one for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie and one as an Executive Producer in the category of Outstanding Television Movie.

Oyelowo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to drama.

Ryan Knighton is an internationally acclaimed author, screenwriter and performer. His memoirs, "Cockeyed" and "C'mon Papa," both received numerous award nominations, including the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Canada's literary prize for the funniest book of the year. He has been a contributor to This American Life and The Moth, and has written for The New York Times, Outside, Esquire, The Believer, Popular Mechanics, Vice and Afar among many others. His journalism has earned him a National Magazine Award nomination and the Thomas-Lowell Travel Writing Award. He is also a Sundance Lab screenwriting fellow and the recipient of the 2009 Alfred Sloan Prize from the Tribecca Film Institute. Recently, he has been writing a comedy pilot about blindness called Nothing to See Here.