Ziggy Marley Reveals What His Father Would Have Thought of New Film Bob Marley: One Love (Exclusive)

Ziggy Marley thinks his dad, reggae icon Bob Marley, would have gotten a kick out of Bob Marley: One Love, the new biopic bringing his legendary life to the silver screen.

“He would laugh,” Ziggy tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue of the film, out Feb. 14. “He would laugh, but one of those proud laughs. He always wanted to make a movie. He was a creative person. He wanted to make a Western. There’s a lot of sides [to him] that people don’t really know. They will see those sides [in One Love] and they will connect with those sides.”

Ziggy, 55, was 12 years old when Bob died of cancer in 1981 at age 36. Now, more than four decades later, he’s enjoying bringing his dad’s story to life, with the help of actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, who plays the late star (Lashana Lynch plays his mother, Rita).

Ziggy, his mother Rita and sister Cedella are all producers on the film (which is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green), while his wife Orly serves as an executive producer.

The Grammy-winning musician says the British actor’s performance brings out a “strong emotional side of Bob that people don’t normally see,” and that he feels that emotional connection is the crux of the movie.

“Kingsley did really good,” says Ziggy. “There’s moments in there where we’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s just like Daddy’... I want people to take away emotion, but the bigger idea is for people [to] come together and live together in a peace and love. The message in the movie is unity. That’s what the movie stands for.”

Ziggy says that he and his family, which includes his mother Rita, sisters Sharon and Cedella and brothers Stephen, Rohan, Julian, Ky-Mani, Damian and Robert, were the ones to approach a studio about making the movie, and were “very involved” in all aspects of its creation. 

“It’s coming from us. And for it to be really true and authentic, then we have to be a part of that to make sure it’s done the right way,” he says. “I think the message of the movie and the title of the movie is a very powerful idea to put out into the world right now. So I think it’s come at the right moment.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Now a father of seven himself, including four children with his wife Orly, Ziggy says his family’s spiritual foundation is what keeps them close to Bob.

“Everything we do is a part of the whole. It’s like we’re a part of him, and he’s a part of us. It’s one,” he says. “We speak with our love, and it’s not words. We don’t have to talk much — we can just feel. My smile is honoring him. I laugh and it looks like his laugh. Pieces of him are a part of me.”

For more on Ziggy Marley, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE or subscribe here.