NYCC 2016: Erik LaRay Harvey On Playing Diamondback In Marvel’s Luke CagePosted by Wilson Morales
October 14, 2016
Currently streaming on Netflix and Marvel Entertainment is “Luke Cage,” the third series in Marvel’s four-series package at Netflix after “Jessica Jones” and “Marvel’s Daredevil.” The last series will be “Iron Fist,” with all four leading into a “Defenders” mini-series.
After a sabotaged experiment leaves him with super strength and unbreakable skin, Luke Cage becomes a fugitive trying to rebuild his life in modern day Harlem, New York City. But he is soon pulled out of the shadows and must fight a battle for the heart of his city–forcing him to confront a past he had tried to bury.
Mike Colter, who was first introduced in “Jessica Jones,“ plays Cage and leads a cast that also includes Simone Missick as Misty Knight, Frank Whaley as Rafael Scarfe, Mahershala Ali as Cottonmouth, Theo Rossi as Shades, Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard, and the return of Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple.
Coming in mid-series and playing the role of Willis Stryker / Diamondback is Erik LaRay Harvey, who fans will remember for his role as Dunn Purnsley in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Unlike the character’s history in the comic books, in the series, Diamondback and Luke Cage are connected in a different way
While at the 2016 New York Comic Con, Harvey spoke with Blackfilm.com and a handful of journalists about playing Diamondback and the future for the character.
When did you know about the role? Did you go after it or did they come after you?
Erik LaRay Harvey: No. I had no idea about the role till they came to me and said they had a project in mind. They couldn’t tell me who the character was. They thought the character would be an excellent fit, that I would be an excellent fit for the character. Then I found out that it was Diamondback. Then they said, “Yeah, but you don’t come on until halfway through the season, so keep your mouth shut until you start filming, and even after you start filming, keep your mouth shut until we actually air the show.” Everything was a big surprise, a big surprise, but it’s been wonderful.
So when you say keep your mouth shut, you had to sign an NDA?
Erik LaRay Harvey: I had to sign an NDA. I think I had to wait a couple of months, because they had already started filming, until they needed me, and that probably around the end of November, beginning of December, and then we were off to the races.
How much did you know about the character prior to playing him?
Erik LaRay Harvey: I didn’t know too much, other than from the original comics that they were very close, and they used to run the streets together. I think, as far as I know, that’s pretty much the only truth of what we have today. We know they were really close, and we know they ran the streets together. What we don’t know, what we didn’t know until the show airs, is that they’re actually brothers. They come from the same father, and how much of the streets and why they were on the streets. I think that’s where the show gets interesting, character-wise. I had a lot of fun exploring that option.
How did Cheo want you to play him as opposed to how he’s described in the comics?
Erik LaRay Harvey: Right. We totally stayed away from, I totally stayed away from the comics, because I didn’t want it to influence what we were doing in 2016. The comics are sort of dated, and I didn’t want to get caught in a back story and a history that we were no longer going for, or that applies to today. Once Cheo said that he was thinking about making them brothers, and they had the same father, and the devastation that happens after that, I was immediately on board. I think people talk about Black Lives Matter, and does that really have an influence in this show. Intentionally, I don’t think Cheo wrote it with Black Lives Matter in focus. I think he just wrote a story. But as we talk about the black community, we see so many of the issues come up. The paternal issue, how black fathers have been there for their sons, or not been there for their sons, or just that relationship between father and sons in the black community, it’s a huge issue.
Were you nervous at all to be coming in in the middle of the season, after fans have already got another villain? It seems like the tone of the show shifts from the Cottonmouth side to the Diamondback side.
Erik LaRay Harvey: Yes. I was aware of that to begin with. That was the whole twist that they wanted me to keep quiet about. They said they’d never done that before, where someone that’s supposed to be the villain gets killed off partway through the season. I think initially they wanted Diamondback to kill him. But then they changed it, which I think makes the story even stronger, to have his own cousin, his family. There’s a lot of talk about family in this show, Diamondback and his father, and Misty and her cousin. They knew about that twist, and they wanted to see if it would work. They hadn’t seen it before in television. So we’ll see how it goes.
It’s almost a given that there’ll be more Luke Cage. Where would you like to see Diamondback go in a potential second season, now that fans do know him and know the background?
Erik LaRay Harvey: Wow. Well, personally, I’m a big fan of love. I’m always, I’m about brothers actually resolving their differences. This is Marvel. This is a superhero show. This is sci-fi. There’s got to be drama. I don’t know. It could be even, it’s just a guess, your guess is as good as mine. They haven’t told me anything. The doctor’s there. He can come out even worse than he was before. But I think whatever it is, it’s going to be dramatic.
What’s different about preparing for a role in the Marvel universe?
Erik LaRay Harvey: Well, the difficulty for me was taking something that’s science fiction and bringing it down to a level of reality, that brings some truth, that rings some truth to you. That was my challenge with Diamondback. What really inspired me with this character was the Terrell Owens story. Here was a football player who was denied by his father, and his father actually lived down the street, the same street. I was like, wow. So just imagining, just knowing that that can happen, that Diamondback’s story can happen, because it has happened. We see it today. That was a challenge. Then raising his level to a place where this is a man that’s known generals of war. He’s a gun runner. He’s an ex con that couldn’t get a job when he got out, but only through the underground, and then has risen up the ranks in the underground where he’s actually met generals of war, and he’s supplying war material to them. So he’s got a heightened state. Then he’s got this emotion. I mean, it’s just like one thing on top of another. I’d never seen a character like that before, ever played by a black man on TV. So I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t take this lightly, and that I actually heightened his existence to make it something different.
How important is the backdrop of Harlem to Luke Cage?
Erik LaRay Harvey: Well, going back to the Black Lives Matter. Harlem has always been a very historical place for black community. I think having a place in Harlem makes the show very distinct, very distinguished. It brings about social issue of how it’s changed. Because we are talking about a Harlem that sort of grew up as a renaissance area, but really isn’t there anymore. The fact that it’s in Harlem, it has to take place in Harlem. We have a community of black people here, and we need to talk about their lives. All of the black characters in the show, all their lives matter. Their different issues and what they go through pretty much ring true to what black people go through today. I think it’s a very bold move, and I think Marvel pulled it off very beautifully.
How were you able to bring the Harlem aspect in the series into your own character to make it unique from how we’ve seen Diamondback in comics?
Erik LaRay Harvey: I was really, really intrigued by the paternal part of Diamondback’s story. I think if this show was called Diamondback they would have, you would have seen, I think I would have liked them to explore being the firstborn, being a firstborn son to a minister, and then have him being denied, illegitimized, and then thrown in jail by his own father. Then the twist of being in jail. The difference between Luke and Diamondback is, Luke didn’t have to kill anybody in jail. Diamondback did. That’s probably the first person he’s ever killed. From that killing, and all the rest of the tortures he went through in jail, he comes out a very twisted man. He’s no longer that sweet innocent. All innocence is gone. He’s gone to the space of, just to survive, he has to forget that old guy and become this new thing. I say thing because it’s really a sort of like psychotic sort of life that he’s living. But it all started with the rearing. How do you raise your black kids? We always talk about the cops and what the cops do to black community. But let’s talk about the black community, what we do to ourselves, how we raise our kids. If you have a child that’s been treated that way, then are you really surprised when he turns out to be like Diamondback? Really? That’s not society’s fault. It was his dad’s fault. A lot of people are saying, “Oh, he’s got daddy issues.” But we all have daddy issues. I don’t know one man, and this is not really just a black issue, but it’s a universal issue. They say fathers and sons, it’s the strongest bond, and mothers and daughters are the strongest bond. The same sex parent is the strongest bonds. If something like that exists in that bond, then it’s, he’s screwed to begin with.
Growing up, did you know a lot about Luke Cage, as opposed to the other comic characters?
Erik LaRay Harvey: No, I didn’t. I grew up overseas. I grew up overseas, so the comics I read, first of all, I didn’t see any black comics growing up. I was in a diplomatic environment. The comics I read were like Tintin, and Asterix and Obelix, and Richie Rich, things like that. They were all white characters. That’s what I saw.
During the shooting and production, there were set photos online. People had an idea who you were going to play because there were photos of you during production outside with the outfit itself. How was it putting on that suit? Was it heavy?
Erik LaRay Harvey: No, no. They sent me to LA, and they had the body formed. Then they made the suit to my exact dimensions. It fit wonderfully. I was really excited about getting that suit. From day one I knew that Diamondback was going to be transforming to the suit at the end. I was like, “Just let me make it to episode 13. Just let me make it to episode 13. I want to get that suit.” I don’t think there’s ever been, well, I didn’t know too many Marvel villains that had their own suit. I thought it was really interesting that the show didn’t give the suit to the hero, but they gave it to the villain. It was just a double honor. I was just proud to put it on. I knew it was only going to last for one episode, because now the suit’s dead. He cracked it when he knocked me out. Where do we go from here? That’s the big question. I’m sure he’ll morph into something else. I don’t think he can come back as Diamondback per se, with the suit. His name might be Diamondback, but he won’t have that suit anymore.
How influential, how crucial is hip hop to this show?
Erik LaRay Harvey: Hip hop is part of our community. It’s always been a part of our community. If it wasn’t hip hop before, it was some other musical form. Music has always just been a huge part of our community. I think the score with this show is incredible. I know when I make my first entrance, they had that beat. I’m like, “Whoa!” It just makes, it just sends the emotional vibe, along with the characters or the scenes that you’re witnessing. Hip hop has played an important part. Jazz, all musical forms that we’ve known, and we’ve yet to create, which rings true to the black community, which rings true to being in Harlem, which rings true. I don’t think it was an effort, a poignant effort. The music’s got to be great. It’s all a collaboration. It’s a character in the show, just like the actors are, just like the scenery is, just like the cinematography is. I looked at it. Just taking my character out, and I was just like, this show’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life, such beauty.
Any chance Diamondback appears in the other Marvel series?
Erik LaRay Harvey: I haven’t heard anything. They haven’t told me anything. Hey, he’s a gun runner. There are guns everywhere. Whether you like that or not, it’s true. He might. Someone was asking me what other show would I like to see my character in, and I said, “All of them.” Because they all need guns. I would like to be the single gun runner in all those shows, even the Black Panther. Hey, you know. He’s going to need some, you know there’s guns in Africa. You know there’s guns in Africa. Diamondback is flexible, in the sense that I think he can go anywhere, because anywhere in this world there’s guns. You can say that’s a shame, and you can say whatever you can say about it, but it’s the truth.
Diamondback’s Entrance
Barbershop Fight
