Twinkie Byrd: From Fruitvale Station to Being Mary Jane to Black Nativity – Elevating a Talent’s CareerBy Wilson Morales
July 10, 2013
Coming out this week is ‘Fruitvale Station,’ the award-winning film that has captured the hearts of many and put actor Michael B. Jordan and its director Ryan Coogler on the radar of producers and studios. While Jordan has been on the scene for over decade in smaller roles, Coogler is a newcomer to many, except for casting director Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd.
A few years ago Byrd took a chance on Coogler while he was still developing his short film ‘Fig’ and through that relationship, helped cast ‘Fruitvale Station’ with Jordan in his first lead role. Besides ‘Fruitvale,’ Bryd also put together the cast of BET’s ‘Being Mary Jane,’ starring Gabrielle Union. The TV film attracted four million views when it aired over a week. It will turn into a series in 2014.
Byrd has had an amazing year thus far, with Fruitvale and Being Mary Jane. She also cast the Latino film ‘Filly Brown’ with newcomer Gina Rodriguez and the late Jenni Rivera, and has two upcoming projects that should grab your attention. One is her first musical ‘Black Nativity’ featuring Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and a slate of singers and newcomers such as Jacob Latimore, Grace Gibson and Luke James, and ‘Battle of the Year,’ featuring Josh Peck, Laz Alonso and Chris Brown.
Blackfilm.com caught up with Byrd as she spoke about working on ‘Fruitvale Station,’ ‘Being Mary Jane’ and ‘Black Nativity.’
How did you get involved with Ryan Coogler?
Twinkie Byrd: I cast a short film called ‘Fig’ for a USC student. His producer had called me incessantly to get me to cast this student’s short. At that time, I had done shorts for AFI but never for USC. Originally the short was called ‘Nightwalkers’ and about a young prostitute and her background. This young man came to meet me at a film function and we sat down and had coffee. He explained to me who he was, what he wanted and needed and if I would cast his short. After that 90 minute conversation, I said yes. That filmmaker was Ryan Coogler and we just did ‘Fruitvale’ together.
For a film like ‘Fruitvale Station,’ which opens this week, Michael B. Jordan is someone we have seen in numerous projects but never so much in a lead role. What was it that you saw, if not Ryan, that made him the lead for the film?
TB: Well, Ryan Coogler and I spoke about it beforehand, and Ryan always has great ideas. He’s so open and adamant about bringing in people from being a co-star to making them the lead, but it was also the conversation the two of them had. He had asked me for my opinion and I have loved Michael B. Jordan since ‘The Wire.’ I’ve watched him grow as an actor and I was definitely like, “Go for it! Let’s do it. Set up the meeting.” This is a low budget project but there are actors out there like Michael who are looking for meaty projects in order to stand out, in order to breathe life into a story, into a film, into a character, and for this film, into this young man because it was a true story. We had some really great casting sessions in the room and he was digging into the character very early on before shooting. I was in awe of him and his talent and what he brought to the table while we were auditioning people who surrounded Oscar Grant, like the mom and girlfriend.
Speaking of the mom and girlfriend, Octavia Spencer and Melonie Diaz play the roles respectively, and with Spencer an Oscar winner, the assumption is that her paycheck would be bigger than the others. As this is an independent film, was bringing in an Oscar winner like Octavia a matter of discussion?
TB: Thankfully, we have great relationships. I have a great relationship with her agent and with the production company that we were working with. In working with Forest Whitaker, he got her the script and got a response right away. I believe it came in less than three days. Thankfully for us, she was looking for content and not just a paycheck.
What do you look for when deciding to bring on a new talent or elevating someone to a bigger spotlight?
TB: It all goes back to the story, the filmmaker and the studio. Depending on whether the film is an independent film or a studio film, I work for either the filmmaker and the studio, or just the filmmaker, and see how open they are to all types of talent. There are times when I make a list or it could down from a number of different things. It’s my job to be prepared to throw names in the pot, make their heads tilt and have them say, “I didn’t think of that” or different phrases. It’s about taking a look at an actor and seeing where they’re at when they are given more scenes than they were ever presented with; and to see if they are ready for that type of work when they are number 1 or 2 on the call sheet.
Besides ‘Fruitvale Station,’ you also put together the BET film that will turn into a series, ‘Being Mary Jane’ with Gabrielle Union. Were you instrumental in bringing on Union, or just the rest of the supporting cast?
TB: Nope. It was everyone in the cast. We had a local casting director in Atlanta, but from Gabrielle Union on down, I created that list from the beginning. I had a fabulous meeting with Mara Brock Akil. We sat down and after I had read the script, came up with a list and we went from there. While the meetings were happening, casting was happening at the same time. It’s a fabulous piece about a multi-cultural beautiful African-American family in Atlanta. Gabrielle is amazing in that role and we hadn’t seen her in this position before.
When you got involved with BMJ, were you aware that it would turn into a series, or was it initially going to be just a TV film?
TB: It was definitely a TV movie that we hoped would be picked up for a series.
For actors like Gabrielle Union, who’s been in this game for over 10 years and has had some lead and supporting roles, what do you think puts her, and others, in the spotlight to lead a project after some time has passed where others wouldn’t look their way.
TB: In this industry, roles come and go and you just keep rolling with the punches and working with the work and looking for great work. A lead actor to me is the person who is able to set the tone for the piece and also to bring all the talent together on set. There are times when people have that level of maturity and able to handle leadership positions and they go and come with that. Sometimes you can lead from the middle or from the back. It depends. Gabrielle makes this cast beautiful and her character does set the tone. She is Mary Jane. It’s about watching that character’s life and all those around her. It’s not just what she brings to their life but what they bring to her life as well. She has all the different elements that all human beings have, with lots of levels and layers.
Come this fall, you also have a musical coming out, ‘Black Nativity.’ Is this your first musical that you have cast?
TB: Yes. It’s my first full musical. There have been films in the past that I have done that have musical elements in them like ‘Sparkle’ and ‘Notorious,’ but ‘Nativity’ is a full on musical. It’s not from beginning to end, but there is music in dialogue and music in the church scene. There’s a lot of music involved in this one because it comes from the Langston Hughes piece.
Along with Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett, who will be singing on screen, the film also has newcomers and singers who haven’t been seen on this platform before like Jacob Latimore and Luke James. Is it a concern to see whether singers can act on screen or whether actors can sing?
TB: Yes. They can act. Most of them had attended a children’s professional school, a LaGuardia (High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts) type where all of their talents were flushed out and explored from the acting to the singing. They had done musicals in school, whether it was high school or junior high. They had touched it or it had touched them in their lives. When you have a director like Kasi Lemmons, you are going to get everything. She’s going to pull it out of you. If it’s there, she’s going to get it. The acting exists in Luke James. He is unafraid to be emotional and open. He’s an artist. Edward James Olmos from ‘Filly Brown’ said one time, “Whether you are an actor or singer, opera star or rapper, you are an artist and if you are open and available, you’re able to pull these things out into your performances” and I believe that. Nas was great in it, doing exactly what he does well, with all that energy and passion. He was acting in the rap. We hear for the first time Angela Bassett sing as well as Forest Whitaker. It’s lovely.
What can actors do to change opinions about their skill set as an actor?
TB: It’s definitely about doing great work. That’s an important thing. Michael B. Jordan does good strong work. Gabrielle has always done good strong work, but having great representation and building your own personal relationships. Michael was approachable and when approached, sat down with Ryan Coogler and talked about the project. You just have to do great work, even in your short film, and look for really strong writing. Auditioning and building relationships are a strong key. Had I not done ‘Fig,’ I wouldn’t have done ‘Fruitvale.’ Had I not done ‘Moesha’ and kept my relationship with Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, and worked on ‘Jumping the Broom’ and ‘Sparkle,’ then I wouldn’t had done ‘Being Mary Jane.’ It’s about doing the best work that you can.
