Exclusive: Jovan Adepo Talks ‘Fences’Posted by Wilson Morales
December 30, 2016
Currently playing in theaters is Fences, the big screen adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer and Tony winning 1983 play.
Directed by and starring Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, the cast also includes members from the 2010 Broadway revival including Academy Award nominee and Emmy-winner Viola Davis as Ruth Maxon, Stephen McKinley Henderson as Jim Bono, Russell Hornsby as Lyons, and Mykelti Williamsonas Gabriel. Newcomers include Jovan Adepo as Cory, and Saniyya Sydney in the role of Raynell.
Washington and Davis won Tony Awards for their performances in the play’s 2010 Broadway revival.
FENCES tells the story of Troy Maxson, a one-time promising baseball player, now working as a Pittsburgh garbage collector.
It’s the story of a man torn between the glory of his past and the uncertainty of his future. Emboldened by pride and embittered by sacrifice, Troy is determined to make life better for future generations, even as he struggles to embrace the dreams of his own son.
For Adepo, this is his breakout role on the big screen. Best known for playing playing Michael Murphy in the HBO TV series The Leftovers, the British born-Maryland raised actor got to work with the best actors in town for his first feature film.
Blackfilm.com recently spoke with Adepo on his role and working with this amazing cast.
The whole cast is coming back from the stage play with the exception of two actors. You’re one of the new actors to the film. How the role come to you?
Jovan Adepo: I had heard about it through casting and my agent sent on to audition. For my callback I had an audition with Denzel.
Had you seen the play when Denzel performed it? Did you want to do anything different to stand out?
JA: I hadn’t seen the play in its entirety other than the copy of the 1987 play that was in the library. I had also seen clips of what Denzel and Viola did in the 2010 play. I didn’t use that as a springboard to how I would prepare for the role. I just approach it the same way I approach every audition. I made sure I knew the character and understood the story and went in and did my best. As far as if I had done anything special, I couldn’t tell you. That’s a question for Denzel, who ultimately thought I was right for the part.
Not everyone is familiar with the play or the story, so how would you best describe Cory?
JA: Cory is a young man who is at a point in life when he’s trying to make sense of things. He’s trying to make sense of how the world works and how he fits in that world. At the same time, he’s doing his best to make his parents proud and be respectful of his parents’ wishes.
Judging from the trailer, there is strained relationship between father and son, right?
JA: They definitely have an estranged relationship. It’s difficult for Cory to understand his father’s way of parenting. His mother is very much a nurturing soul, but from his standpoint, he feels the one person who should be supporting him in athletics and teaching him the opportunities for the next level is his father. It’s troubling for Cory that they are not able to reach common ground and understanding of the subject.
How was working with Denzel as a director and as a castmate?
JA: It was a phenomenal experience. It’s everything that a young actor would have wanted and more. It’s everything I ever wanted and more. He is so driven and incredibly focused as a director and as an actor. If anything, he was always a teacher. There was never a point where he needed to take off the director hat and vice-versa. It was always very seamless. That’s a term that everyone in the cast would agree with. He was also comfortable with the choice of handling certain scenes up to me. All that did was give me confidence as an actor because my director trusted me completely to make choices as an actor.
Can you talk being the newcomer with this ensemble and learning from them?
JA: It was a blessing to learn from them. Doing that theater work builds a strong foundation in acting and although I didn’t perform the role on stage, to work with the actors who did is the next best thing. You get to better as much as they did. The first few weeks that we prepared before the cameras turned, we rehearsed as if we were doing it on stage. Although it was great for me to play the role and rehearse, it was more important for me to watch the actors because they all their own specifically way of preparing and flushing out their character. It was an opportunity that I appreciated every day.
As production was completed, what did you take with you that you can bring on to your next project?
JA: Being patient more than anything else is something that each cast member expressed to me but in their own way. Taking that time to flesh out the character and make interesting choices. There is so much that I took away from each of every one of these talented individual. There’s one more that I learned and that is to respect the material that August Wilson wrote. He was a genius write and had a unique voice. There was no room for ablibbing or cutting any of his dialogue. Respecting the material and being patient are the two advice I received from the cast.
Are you coming back to the next and final season of The Leftovers?
JA: Yes. I will be back and it comes out in April. We finished shooting it already. It was definitely a lot of fun and heartbreaking that it’s our last year, but it’s ending as it should and all you can do is be happy that I was a part of it.
Besides the names of the cast in the film, what’s another reason to see Fences?
JA: On the main things that I thing people should understand is that August Wilson created a story that is universal but is stemming from specific circumstances. This is very much a story that is dealing with a specific neighborhood in a specific city with a very specific black family. I don’t consider this a black movie and I’m confident that Denzel, Viola, and the rest of the cast would agree. These are black characters and this is our culture that is being expressed in the film but the themes are universal. It’s about family, love and heartbreak and forgiveness and the dangers of holding on to painful experiences and how it prevents you from moving forward in life. It’s very much about friendships and the importance of strong relationships. There are so many elements that people all around the world can relate to, that this more than a holiday black movie.
Trailer 2
Ensemble TV Spot
Clip – The Marrying Kind
Clip – Why Don’t You Like Me?
Clip – What About Me
