Cliff Curtis talks A Thousand Wordsby Wilson Morales
June 26, 2012
Currently out on home video is the hilarious new comedy ‘A Thousand Words,’ starring Eddie Murphy, Clark Duke, Kerry Washington, Justina Machado, Ariel Winter, Allison Janney, Clark Duke, Cliff Curtis, John Witherspoon, and Steve Little.
Directed by Brian Robbins, who previously worked with Murphy on ‘Meet Dave‘ and ‘Norbit,’ the film revolves around Murphy, a savvy businessman who discovers he only has ‘a thousand words’ left to speak before he dies. Kerry Washington plays his wife who wants Murphy to spend more time with his family.
Mostly known for playing tough guy characters, such as authority figures (Live Free or Die Hard, Trauma, Body of Proff, Missing) or drug dealers (Blow, Training Day, Collateral Damage) on the big and small screen, this is Curtis’ rare appearance in a comedy and he gets to work with one of American’s greatest comedians. In the film he plays a New Age guru who gives Murphy a lesson about the power of words.
In speaking to Blackfilm,com about the home video release, Curtis talked about working with Murphy and playing a character that’s new to him.
How was working with Eddie Murphy?
Cliff Curtis: I’m a huge fan of Eddie Murphy. I was a bit nervous. I hadn’t done comedy in such a long time and this is one of the greatest comedians in the world. I was quite shy around him and really tried to be respectful. It was like going out on a date with a girl you really, really like. I’m not saying he’s girl or anything. It wasn’t until we finished filming and it was my last day on the shoot that I mustered up the courage and told him I was a huge fan. He’s very professional and super prepared. He takes this very seriously.
Working in comedy is new for you…
CC: Before I started acting in films, I used to do a lot of theater on stage and a lot of the stuff I used were really goofy things. I used to be very skinny and very dorky. When I stumbled into films, that all sort of changed. When the opportunity to do films, I did a lot of straight, non-comedic roles. Yes, usually I’m playing the tough big brother or a tough authority figure like from the CIA, DEA, or a head of some government organization. That’s pretty much the type in Hollywood. In this film, I’m the head of this spiritual organization so there’s a parallel there.
What’s next?
CC: I’m looking at a couple of real interesting projects. One I can’t say unfortunately. I’m playing a bi-polar chess champion. It’s sort of similar to ‘Shine.’ I want to mix it up. I also have another called ‘Chalk’ with Zoe Saldana and Josh Duhamel.
