{"id":76876,"date":"2016-08-31T11:09:21","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T11:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2016\/08\/31\/malcolm-barrett-talks-nbc-timeless\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T02:50:12","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T02:50:12","slug":"malcolm-barrett-talks-nbc-timeless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/malcolm-barrett-talks-nbc-timeless\/","title":{"rendered":"Malcolm Barrett Talks NBC’s Timeless"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malcolm Barrett Talks NBC’s Timeless<\/strong>Posted by Imani Cruz<\/p>\n

August 31, 2016<\/p>\n

\"Timeless<\/a><\/p>\n

Comedian and actor Malcolm Barrett<\/strong> joins NBC\u2019s the latest fall series, \u2018Timeless\u2019.<\/strong> The sci-fi, action show is set in modern day, as the cast travels back in time to save the future of America as they know it. Barrett plays an unwilling traveler, Rufus, whose presence is necessary as he is the only one who knows how to operate the time traveling ship. With his comedic background, Barrett entices audiences with improvisational lines and lots of humor.<\/p>\n

As the only African American character on the show, as the crew travels back in time, they often are forced to confront the fact that African Americans had a significantly more negative and abusive experience in comparison to their White counterparts. Barrett tackles the topics head on with jokes and innuendos, while still remaining informative. At\u00a0NBCUniversal’s press day during the 2016 Summer TCA Tour,\u00a0Black film.com\u00a0spoke with Barrett about what being the only actor of color on show means for him and where he sees himself evolving to as an actor.<\/p>\n

\"Malcolm<\/a><\/p>\n

You\u2019re the only African American character on \u2018Timeless\u2019 and at a press conference, a journalist asked if every episode will have a racial focal point. What are your thoughts on the show tackling the topic?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Malcolm Barrett:<\/strong> No one says \u201cRoots, is every part of it gonna be slavery based?\u201d Yeah \u2026 That\u2019s part of the thing that you have to deal with. What these guys are smart about is dealing with those obstacles that we\u2019re gonna have to deal with and also measuring against all these other human aspects. It\u2019s not like black people never smiled until like 1998. There\u2019s a bunch of things that happen between that, which were both negative and positive. So, you want to deal with that. That\u2019s the beauty of the writing. They understand that conflict is what makes writing great. Steadily dealing with White people that are easily able to blend in is not the same as having a character like me going through these things. Every week I\u2019m not gonna have a great speech about how this is happening, but I think we acknowledge and respect certain things and we also uncover certain things . . . Aside from being an African American traveling through time, you\u2019re also dealing with a socially uncomfortable individual who never expected to have to go through any adventure of saving someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

\"(L-R)<\/a>
(L-R) Actors Matt Lanter, Abigail Spencer and Malcolm Barrett from NBCUniversal’s ‘Timeless’ pose for a portrait at the 2016 Summer TCAs Getty Images Portrait Studio at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 2, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Maarten de Boer\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, the show is fairly serious and you bring in the comedic aspect. Moving forward, where do you see yourself evolving to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MB:<\/strong> It\u2019s interesting because TV wise, people know me for comedy. From my angle, comedy is easier. It\u2019s harder for people to make people look funny than it is for people to look dramatic. It\u2019s harder for people to nail a joke. In terms of my general career, I\u2019ve ranged from all of it. What was amazing about doing this show is that I got to bring it all together. I got to bring sort of comedy and improv elements to it. They\u2019re not precious about the dialogue. They\u2019re open to input and we\u2019ll talk about it. They heard me talk one or two times at dinners and was like \u201cWhy don\u2019t you improvise more?\u201d and I\u2019m like \u201cBecause you wrote a show\u2026\u201d *laughs* I\u2019m gonna do what I\u2019m gonna do and I have an opinion on this. They respect my perspective. I\u2019m probably the one that changes lines the most. Some of them relating to me being Black and whether I would say this, others just general character stuff. They (the producers) respect my opinion and my perspective and that\u2019s part of why they brought me on.<\/p>\n

\"Timeless<\/a><\/p>\n

Do you have any upcoming projects that we can look forward to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MB:<\/strong> I\u2019m in a movie called \u2018War on Everyone\u2019, by Michael Mcdonagh who did \u2018The Calvary\u2019, he did \u2018The Guard\u2019, with Don Cheadle.<\/p>\n

\u2018Timeless\u2019 premieres on NBC Oct. 3 at 10\/9 c.<\/strong><\/p>\n