{"id":80071,"date":"2017-07-07T16:42:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-07T16:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/0de2709a84.nxcli.net\/0-kjasnb\/2017\/07\/07\/exclusive-bokeem-woodbine-talks-spider-man-homecoming\/"},"modified":"2018-12-18T02:25:15","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T02:25:15","slug":"exclusive-bokeem-woodbine-talks-spider-man-homecoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/exclusive-bokeem-woodbine-talks-spider-man-homecoming\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Bokeem Woodbine Talks Spider-Man: Homecoming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exclusive: Bokeem Woodbine Talks Spider-Man: Homecoming<\/strong>Posted by Wilson Morales<\/p>\n

July 7, 2017<\/p>\n

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Coming out this week is the highly anticipated film from Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, \u201cSpider-Man: Homecoming,\u201d <\/strong>starring\u00a0Tom Holland<\/strong>\u00a0as Peter Parker.<\/p>\n

With Jon Watts<\/strong> directing Sony\u2019s reboot of the \u201cSpider-Man\u201d franchise, the cast also includes\u00a0Marisa Tomei<\/strong> as Aunt May, Robert Downey Jr<\/strong>. as Tony Stark, Michael Keaton<\/strong> as the villain, Kenneth Choi<\/strong> as Peter\u2019s high school Principal and Zendaya<\/strong> as Michelle.<\/p>\n

Other cast members include\u00a0Logan Marshall-Green, Donald Glover, Martin Starr, Michael Barbieri, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Isabella Amara, Angourie Rice,\u00a0Jacob Batalon, Tyne Daly, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., J.J. Totah<\/strong>, Hannibal Burress<\/strong>, Garcelle Beauvais, Tiffany Espensen<\/strong>, Beast of No Nation actor Abraham Attah, <\/strong>and Bokeem Woodbine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Robert Downey Jr.<\/strong> is also set to reprise his role as Tony Stark (Iron Man). Both Holland and Tomei appeared with Downey Jr. in “Captain America: Civil War<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

A young Peter Parker\/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), who made his sensational debut in Captain America: Civil War, begins to navigate his newfound identity as the web-slinging super hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thrilled by his experience with the Avengers, Peter returns home, where he lives with his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), under the watchful eye of his new mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Peter tries to fall back into his normal daily routine \u2013 distracted by thoughts of proving himself to be more than just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man \u2013 but when the Vulture (Michael Keaton) emerges as a new villain, everything that Peter holds most important will be threatened.<\/p>\n

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For Bokeem Woodbine, it’s been a long journey for the New York City native. Best known for his roles in urban films from the 90s such as Crooklyn,\u00a0Jason’s Lyric, Dead Presidents, Gridlock’d<\/strong>, and Life<\/strong>, he somewhat faded from the scene although he continued to get steady work in films and TV. But since his Emmy nomination in 2015 for his performance on FX’s Fargo<\/strong>, his visibility has started to\u00a0rise again. Besides his role in this Marvel film, he also had a good supporting turn in WGN America’s Underground.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In speaking exclusively with Blackfilm.com, Woodbine talks about his character and being active throughout his career.<\/p>\n

How did the role come about for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bokeem Woodbine:<\/strong> I got a call from my agent last year around March or April. He had said the folks from Spider-Man were potentially interested in casting me and one of the roles would be from the comic books. I was in disbelief because it was so far from left field and there was no audition process. By the time we got close to June, I had\u00a0received the role. They just called me.<\/p>\n

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How did that make you feel knowing that Marvel had chosen you for a role in their film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bokeem Woodbine:<\/strong> It\u2019s still a bizarre. It\u2019s still hitting me out of the blue even though it\u2019s been a year since we filmed the movie. I still feel shocked.<\/p>\n

With revealing much, what can you say about your role?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bokeem Woodbine:<\/strong> I play a man named Herman Schultz, who is a confidant and associate of Adrian Toomes.\u00a0His\u00a0alter ego is the Vulture and my alter ego is The Shocker. We\u2019re in cahoots and up to no good.<\/p>\n

How much of a fan are you of comic books in general and of the Spider-Man franchise?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Bokeem Woodbine:<\/strong> I really loved Spider-Man. Growing up, he wasn\u2019t my favorite superhero but what I admired about him was the fact that he uses his mind a lot to problem solve; and if that fails, he\u2019s a scrapper too by nature. He could throw some blows. He\u2019s got the heart of a lion. He\u2019s not as big as the Hulk or others, so I always had a lot of respect and admiration for Spider-Man growing up. Like I said, I\u2019m still pleasantly surprised that I\u2019m a part of this Spider-Man movie, which I think is the best one.<\/p>\n

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For those who are not aware, is the Shocker a character from the comic books or just for the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bokeem Woodbine:<\/strong> The Shocker goes back to the late 60s when I think he was first introduced into the Marvel comics. He\u2019s a very old school veteran from the Spider-verse, who\u2019s actually held his own in battles against Spider-Man. It\u2019s interesting because Spider-Man is known for his witty repertoire and no one can match him when it comes to the one liners in the comic lore, but the Shocker in the comics had the gift to gab too. He wasn\u2019t as rebust as Spider-Man, but he was pretty funny at times. He had a sense of humor like a dry sense of humor. He\u2019s a real comic book character and has been around for a minute.<\/p>\n

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With Sony aiming to do spinoffs from characters of Spider-Man’s world, is there a possibility that your character may appear in one of those films?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bokkem Woodbine:<\/strong> Anything\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

How much has the Emmy nomination for Fargo done for your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bokeem Woodbine: <\/strong>I\u2019ve been blessed with a new life after the nomination. It\u2019s changed things 180 degrees. There\u2019s no question that the blessings I’m receiving as far as momentum in my career are directly stemming from that nomination.<\/p>\n

How much did you enjoy working on Underground?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bokeem Woodbine: <\/strong>Underground was a true joy and a blessing and an exercise and endurance and perservance. In some small ways, it mirrored the challenges of the characters we were playing, at least for me. It wasn\u2019t an easy gig. I was working with so many people who were all going through the same challenges and facing this agenda to get it right. It was really a beautiful experience. In working with Anthony Hemingway, that\u2019s my dude, and that was great to be able to work with him again. It was definitely one of my favorite experiences thus far in my career.<\/p>\n

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How do you stay active in the business after 20 years and still receive prime gigs? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Bokeem Woodbine:<\/strong> Good question. I\u2019m generally not one for giving advice because I\u2019m still trying to navigate the matrix but I would say that for me personally, I have no other choice but to be honest with you. Not having anything to fall back on is something that they recommend you don\u2019t do and I understand why. I had like a 15 year slump and maybe longer than that when I think about it. When I was working I was doing my thing and when I was paying my bills I was blessed to be doing something I love, but I had pretty much disappeared and for me, I had no choice but to keep going. That\u2019s why I keep going and that\u2019s the truth.<\/p>\n

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Do you have any other projects coming up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bokeem Woodbine:<\/strong> I\u2019m getting ready to do a show for USA with Josh Duhamel and Anthony Hemingway and Jimi Simpson from Westworld. We\u2019re getting ready to do a show for USA. It\u2019s a new anthology called Unsolved and the premise is that there is always a famous unsolved murder and we\u2019re setting it off with the Tupac and Biggie Smalls murders. There\u2019s a great cast with that. It will be on USA in January. I also have a picture coming out called Billionaire Boys Club, which is with some very talented younger actors. Following that, I\u2019m in the J.J. Abrams film called Overlord, which has some really, really great talent. The brother that played Denzel\u2019s son in Fences is the lead along with Wyatt Russell, Kurt Russell\u2019s son. That will be out next fall. I play a cat named Sergeant Renson, who is a staff sergeant in the paratrooper unit in World War II and we\u2019re going on a mission. That\u2019s going to be cool.<\/p>\n