THE LOSERS
An Interview with Columbus Short


Wilson Morales

March 24, 2010

In a short period of time, Columbus Short made himself to be a sought after actor in the business. After his breakout role in 'Stomp the Yard,' the Kansas City, Missouri native followed up with impressive roles in the ensemble films, 'This Christmas,' 'Quarantine,' and 'Cadillac Records.' He won an NCAAP Image award for his role as Little Walter in 'Cadillac.'

In 2009, Short co-starred with Kate Beckinsale in the little seen 'Whiteout,' and starred opposite Lawrence Fishburne in the action drama 'Armored.'

Coming up next is two ensemble films which will open around the same time, 'The Losers,' and 'Death at a Funeral,' which also stars Martin Lawrence and Chris Rock.

In 'Losers,' Short is reuniting with 'Stomp' director Sylvain White in a film where members of a CIA black ops team root out those who targeted them for assassination after being betrayed and left for dead. The other cast member include Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Holt McCallany, Oscar Jaenada, and Jason Patric.

Blackfilm.com caught up with Short as his discussed his character, the comic book, and his upcoming projects.

What attracted you to 'The Losers?'

Columbus Short: The graphic novel was great, and secondly Sylvain. It worked one time in 'Stomp the Yard,' and now we get to do the action thing, which is what we always planned on doing. The magic is happening again, and I felt the magic would happen again.

Had you read the comic book before? CS: I did. I loved it because it's grounded. A lot of these graphic novels like '300' exist in a heightened reality, but this is grounded in a real place which is super attractive. The comedy is good. The guys that did the graphic novel and the script did a fantastic job. It's a really cool project and I'm really excited about this. Can you describe the character and what will be different about him from the comic book? CS: I'm Pooch. He's a bruiser, just like all of these guys are bruisers, but Pooch is the heart of the gang, he has a wife, he has a child on the way. When they're in Bolivia the motivation for the whole group is to get me back to the States for the birth of my child. Pooch is witty, funny, and it's a different character than the comic because I brought me to it but it's written as Pooch. (laughs)

What's it like filming in Puerto Rico?

CS: Fantastic, man. Even though I'm ready to get off this island, I've got island fever. It's been great: beaches, palm trees, sun. I think Puerto Rico is on its way to be one of the next big locations for Hollywood shoots. There are so many looks to it, from the Long Beach Port to Bolivian jungle, it's a prime spot to shoot a movie.

Is it totally different from 'Whiteout?' CS: Let's not even talk about 'Whiteout.' This is a completely different animal. It's the difference between a lion and a cat. This is the real deal.

You also get to work with Idris again. What's it like working with him again after 'This Christmas?'

CS: Idris is like a brother to me. To do it again and to do it in a different thing... we're blowing up cars, jumping out of helicopters... it's good fun.

Is someone playing your wife or is that an offscreen character? CS: No, she's an actress named Tanee McCall playing my wife.

After that you already shot 'Death at a Funeral,' which is also an ensemble piece.

CS: Yeah, that movie is gonna be hilarious. It was great working with Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Luke Wilson, Zoe again.

What role do you play in that movie? CS: Me and Zoe are the cousins of Chris Rock. Madness ensues once we go to the funeral. The catalyst for throwing you guys together has been Will Packer. He seems to be the guy who is gluing all you guys together. CS: I haven't worked with him since 'This Christmas,' but he's one of the guys that pulled the trigger to make me the lead of a big motion picture. That put me in the game, so Will is always going to be my man. He's a producer, and we don't have a lot of black producers in the game. Tyler Perry is doing a wonderful job. We've all grown exponentially since 'Stomp the Yard.'

What do you think is going to make the sequel to 'Stomp the Yard' special as opposed to a lot of the ones that have gone straight to DVD?

CS: It's going to go back to the realism we brought to the original. We wanted to ground it even though it's a dance movie to make people connect to the characters.

How much did you get into physical shape for the role?

CS: Me and Chris Evans were in the gym like mobsters. We had buff necks. (laughs)

There's a lot of movies coming out similar to 'The Losers' like 'The A-Team' and 'The Expendables.' What's going to make this one stand out? CS: "A", our cast. Granted we're not Sylvester Stallone, but our cast is just great actors. The chemistry we have onscreen is ridiculous. It's going to feel like the action movies of old like 'Lethal Weapon' and 'Bad Boys.' I think we have a young, sexy cast that's going to speak to the younger generation. Anything else you're lined up to do after this movie? CS: I'm looking at projects right now, I just want to make the right move. Each step you progress you want to make sure your moves are strategic so your fanbase will respect you and say, "Columbus Short makes good movies and never lets us down."

In Theaters April 23rd, 2010