David Oyelowo talks Jack Reacher, his Indie Spirit nod, and Nina Simone filmBy Wilson Morales
December 18, 2012
If there was any one person whose name and face was in theaters throughout the entire, it was David Oyelowo. From ‘Red Tails,’ ’96 Minutes,’ Lee Daniels’ ‘The Paperboy,’ Ava DuVernay’s ‘Middle of Nowhere,’ Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ and coupled with last yea’s ‘The Help,’ and ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes,’ this England native is one of Hollywood’s hottest actors in demand.
It may sound cliché to say that work begets work, but in the the case for Oyelowo, who’s been in the game since the late 90s, his visibility in recent films is becoming more attractive to producers.
Coming up next is featured role opposite Tom Cruise is the action thriller ‘Jack Reacher.’
Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the film centers on a homicide investigator named Jack Reacher (Cruise) who digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims. It’s an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.
In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Oyelowo talks about his character in ‘Reacher,’ his award nomination for ‘Middle of Nowhere,’ and his upcoming Lee Daniels film,’ The Butler.’
How would you describe Emerson?
David Oyelowo: I would describe Emerson as a counterpoint to Jack Reacher. They’re both investigators cut from the same cloth, and they’re both hunting this sniper who’s carried out this vicious attack in Pittsburgh. There’s a world in which these two would team up ala “Lethal Weapon” and go on to do that kind of thing but the movie gets in the way.
So it’s different from the book?
DO: You always have to frame a movie differently from the book, but what I like about the movie is it very much captures the tone even though there’s a degree of homogenization with the characters.
These days it’s almost like a film noir because modern Hollywood films are not made like this anymore.
DO: Yeah, you’re right, and that’s what sets this film apart. Even if you look at the car chase in this film, the way that’s shot is indicative of what you’re saying. It’s not all about fast carts and it being the mandatory action scene in which you can’t really tell what’s going on but you know it’s supposed to be exciting. The narrative is still being moved forward in that car chase, and that to me is what those great old-school films had.
What was the attraction to doing this?
DO: There’s a huge kind of no-brainer element to this. You’ve got the writer of “The Usual Suspects” not only writing this but directing it. You’ve got Tom Cruise playing Jack Reacher. You’ve got the Lee Child books that have sold more than 60-million copies and have a huge fanbase. For me you’ve got this great character who’s very much not all is as it seems. I always look for that in characters that I play. There’s a layering, and my job as an actor is to keep the audience interested.
You’re working with one of the biggest movie stars in Tom Cruise, what was that chemistry like?
DO: It was great because yes, he’s one of the biggest if not the biggest movie stars in the world but for me as a younger actor what was so wonderful to see is his work ethic, that he doesn’t take it for granted. He doesn’t rely on the fact that he knows he has a fan base that he knows will come to see his movies regardless. He goes to WORK when he’s on that set, and that was exemplary for me because that’s the school of acting I come from, your output is absolutely equal to your input. Seeing that firsthand with someone who’s done that for 30-years was encouraging.
In the last 2-years you’ve broken out, received more visibility from appearances in “Red Tails” and “Middle of Nowhere” and “Lincoln.” Now you’re working with Tom Cruise, what is this all doing for your career?
DO: It’s exciting for me, but the thing that’s most exciting is not necessarily the fact that for other people, think they’re discovering this actor. I’m just excited to be offered more and more opportunities to tell stories, to have complex characters and work with great people. I’ve been doing this for awhile and have been gaining a level of visibility because I had five films that came out this year that thankfully people saw. You can do five films in a year that don’t get released, no one sees, and it doesn’t mean you did any less work. I’m just fortunate that they’ve had visibility. I’m very excited at the prospect of having more of those opportunities.
As an actor are you ready for that next step up where somebody’s offering you the lead role, where you’re going to carry the load?
DO: Yeah, I do feel ready for that and that’s ’cause success hasn’t come overnight for me. I’ve been an actor for 14-years and I’ve played lead characters in the theater, on television, and in smaller films. What I like about doing “Jack Reacher” or “Red Tails” or “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” these films on a bigger scale, is I’m around people I can learn from. I see what goes into it, I see what it takes. So much of being an actor is confidence, and I’ve definitely gained a lot of that by being around people like Tom. Having someone like Tom as a resource, this is a guy I can call or e-mail and he gets straight back to me and says, “This is what I did, this is how I did it, this would be my advice to you.”
You’ve got an Independent Spirit nod for “Middle of Nowhere”. How exciting is that?
DO: It’s incredible, and of all the projects we’re talking about for me this year that is the one I’m proudest of primarily because of Ava DuVernay. What she has done and is doing is exactly what we as black actors, writers, directors, producers in Hollywood have to do which is take the power back. Don’t wait for permission to tell our stories, and to tell them really well, and to trust that we will transcend what is deemed to be black cinema or black audiences. That is what it’s going to take to have a genuine industry as opposed to these spots where there’s a flurry of activity and it goes away. The biggest travesty would be for someone like Ava DuVernay to make these two great films and then have her fall away and not see anything from her for the next ten years, which has happened in the past. The fact that this film is being acknowledged both by white audiences and black audiences, mainstream critics, and awards is hugely gratifying and I hope encouraging to other writers and directors out there.
You just finished shooting “The Butler,” working with Forrest Whitaker again. A lot of people don’t realize you were in “Last King of Scotland.” It’s a few years later, what’s that been like not only working on a project that’s historical but working with Forrest again given where your careers are now?
DO: It’s a very different experience working with him on “The Butler” than it was on “Last King of Scotland” partly because he’s playing a Ugandan dictator in one and a very loving father to me, as a butler who’s been at the White House for 8 presidents, in the other. Our interaction was very different, I didn’t actually have any scenes with him in “Last King” but in this he’s playing my father. We had a lot of scenes, a lot of intimate scenes, a lot of acrimonious scenes. It got messy. I loved the opportunity because I think he’s an extraordinary actor and one of my sadness with “Last King” was that I didn’t have any interaction with him even though he was stupendous in that movie, but that’s all been righted with “The Butler.”
What’s after “The Butler,” what else do you have coming up next?
DO: I shot a film called “Nina” about Nina Simone. Myself and Zoe Saldana just wrapped that in LA.
What do you make of what’s been happening with the casting controversy regarding Zoe Saldana?
DO: I’m publicizing this film “Jack Reacher,” where Tom as Jack in terms of the size was something people had a problem with. Our job as actors is not to play an outward shell, it is to play the characteristics and inner-workings of a human being, which is far more interesting. Anyone who sees “Jack Reacher” and reads the book has to admit that that Tom Cruise nails it as far as the heart of Jack Reacher. He may not have the size, but who does? Who has that size and is a good actor, both intelligent and physically adept as he is, and drive a car like a NASCAR driver. To have all those qualities in one actor, and it’s the same thing with Nina Simone. You need an actress who has the fire, the ability, the voice, and the chops to do it, and is the right age. In our film we have flashbacks to the 60s, 70s, and then the 90s, so we need someone right in the middle of that in order to convincingly be Nina in her 20s and 30s all the way through to later in life. That’s a lot to find in an actress, and the writer director met with Zoe and found someone with whom all those qualities present. Forest, we talked about “Last King of Scotland.” If you see pictures of Idi Amin he’s a very dark African. There could quite easily and quite rightly be uproar from Ugandans saying, “Why is this American coming along and playing a Ugandan character?” It’s because he’s a great actor who’s able to tell the truth with a character.
You’re playing a real life character in ‘Nina,’ but if there’s anyone else you could play who would you play?
DO: I’m right in the middle of us putting together the Sugar Ray Robinson film. I’ve always wanted to do a boxing movie, but what I love about Sugar Ray Robinson is a big ambition of his was to be a dancer. To tap dance and be in Vegas and Broadway, he danced in Paris and retired briefly to do that. He was never as good at that as he was in the ring, but when you watch him move in the ring you could see that there was a dancer in the body of this fighter. He was someone who Miles Davis went to watch sparring because his movement, to him, was akin to jazz. He could see music in the way that Sugar Ray moved. For me to portray this man who won belts in six different weight classes is undoubtedly the best pound-for-pound boxer who ever lived. He went up against the mob, who owned boxing at that time, but he never threw a fight or subscribed to that. He cleaned up boxing. The opportunity to play him is one I’m really relishing.
How far along are you in the process?
DO: Well that’s movies, they’re hard to put together. What happens is you start and they either catch fire or they don’t. All I can say now is we have this book called “Sweet Thunder,” which is written by Wil Haygood who also wrote the article on which “The Butler” is based. To begin with it takes a lot of passion, passion builds into momentum, momentum gets you money and money gets you to go ahead and do it. Right now we’re in the passion stage where I’m not going to rest until that film sees the light of day.
You’ve had six films in theaters this year. When do you rest?
DO: (laughs) That’s a good question! Right about now! I’m going to take a break over Christmas, then Sugar Ray is something I’m very focused on.
Most of your films this year were spread out throughout the year, but you could have gotten into a situation like Jude Law in 2004 where he had something like six films come out over 3 weeks, and to some that was overexposure.
DO: Right, and I’d love to tell you that was a though-out thing, I’ve just been very fortunate. The thing I’ve always tried to do with my choices is to always defy expectation. To try and play a role that is completely different from the one I just played. Regardless of the order they come out, hopefully you’re not seeing me in close quarters playing the same role. I don’t do that just for that reason, but it helps to hopefully keep the audience interested in your work. What I’m trying to build is a career where people feel like any time they go to see me in a film they’re going to see something different.
What’s a good reason to see “Jack Reacher”?
DO: A great reason to see “Jack Reacher” is it’s not only an action thriller but it’s a film where you cannot check your brain at the door. You have to stay engaged. Anyone who loved “The Usual Suspects” will know that that is a film where you really had to be present, to not only go along with the ride but really understand what was going on, and this film is very much like that.
