By Wilson Morales
Coming out on January 20th is the highly anticipated Tuskegee Airmen film, ‘Red Tails,’ which stars a bevy of black talent from Cuba Gooding Jr, Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Method Man, Tristan Wilds, Ne-Yo, Michael B. Jordan, Elijah Kelly, Leslie Odom Jr, Kevin Phillips, Lee Tergesen, Andre Royo, Daniela Ruah, and Bryan Cranston.
Produced by Star Wars creator George Lucas, and using his own funds, the film centers on a crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program. Having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.
For Oyelowo, who plays ace pilot Joe “Lightning” Little, the film not only puts him in the spotlight among a handful of talented actors, but the British native is starting to break out in Hollywoood, having appeared in Tate Taylor‘s box office hit ‘The Help,’ and with James Franco in ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes.’
David Oyelowo has a slew of upcoming films, including Ava DuVernay’s ‘Middle of Nowhere,’ which will debut at theSundance Film Festival, Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ Lee Daniels’ ‘The Paperboy’ with Matthew McConaughey andNicole Kidman and ‘One Shot’ opposite Tom Cruise.In speaking exclusively with Blackfilm.com, Oyelowo talked about his role in Red Tails, what it means for him as an actor, and the films he has coming up.
How would you describe Joe “Lightning” Little?
David Oyelowo: I would characterize him as the embodiment of the audacity of youth. In meeting the actual Tuskegee Airmen, when one of the things that was clear to me is that they are all in their 80s and 90s now and we talked about their exploits and even they go, “We can’t believe we did that!” Joe is the embodiment of that thing you have when you are in your teens and early 20s where you just feel immortal. He’s an incredibly exciting, just full of life character. An archetype hero I would say.
What was the draw to doing this film?
David Oyelowo: A film of this size and scale is definitely not the scale a young black actor in Hollywood gets. That’s just a fact. Coupled with George Lucas having to do with it, and coupled with the story. I was shocked that I didn’t know the story and amazed it was so kinetic a story. I recognized that this wasn’t a story about overcoming prejudice but a story of undeniable heroism in a world where we are seeing superhero films. These were genuine heroes that flew. For me, it was a no brainer. Red Tails is a full blown action movie with planes doing what you never see planes doing. We do in the air what normally gets done in the tarmac, and you forget that these guys were black. There were incredible at what they did.
What sort of research did you do for the film?
David Oyelowo: Hanging out with Lee Archer, Bill Holloman, Dr. Roscoe Brown, it was Lee Archer who was deemed an ace in the Tuskegee Airmen. He said to me that you can not achieve that. He said you can not do what these men did without a hint of arrogance. You need that to be able to get into that tin can and fly and do what they did. That was great for me because it legitimize what Lightning was on the page. One of them who will remain nameless met my wife at one point, and this 80 year old guy looked deeply into my wife and said, “You have beautiful eyes.” These guys have swagger. There’s no question about it. Even seeing them in this stage of their lives legitimizes what Lightning was and is.
With Lighting the only Tuskegee on film to have a romance, did you have say as to how you wanted it portrayed?
David Oyelowo: Not really. I just loved the fact that Joe is the character who is least tolerant of racism and yet is the one who falls in love with an Italian woman. This showed for me that racism in of itself is fear of the unknown as opposed to it literally being a color issue. On the one hand you had white people from America who had brought up to believe certain things about black people and then you had Italians, where for some of them, it was the first time, they had encountered these black men, who they find exotic and beautiful and wanted to be around with. I just loved that the same character was traveling in both worlds.
Although you are not new to it, how was working with the CGI?
David Oyelowo: I’m not new to it, but in some ways I am. Every film is different, if you are referring to ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes.’ The technology there and what we were dealing with is different. There, you are dealing with performance capture and interacting with actors who then go and be transferred into apes by the geniuses of WETA. The challenges were that you are in a gimbal that is being moved around. You have to become very clear where every plane is. The plane that is shooting and where you are shooting at was so mind numbing difficult to keep a handle in a complete take of where everything was when it’s not necessarily there. That was an education in of itself, but a fun one. It was like being a kid again in that world of imagination.
How was working with this big cast?
David Oyelowo: I felt so privileged to be part of something I hadn’t seen before in the sense of an African American cast in a movie that isn’t being made for a large black audience. This is a big film and it can not be made for just the black community. Here, we’re being afforded the opportunity to be at the center of own story. There’s no white character being forced in. There’s no excuse that these are the heroes and it’s not just one. There’s a group of us and that was something I hadn’t seen before or part of, so that was a wonderful honor for me.
Is it wonderful of the accolades ‘The Help’ has received thus far?
David Oyelowo: It’s great. I had a relatively small part in the film but when I turned up for the short time I was there, you can feel that there was a clear atmosphere that w were doing something special and that kept on being the case all the way now to the award nominations and things like that. I felt so privileged to be part of in any way.
The Sundance Film Festival is coming up and you have a role in Ava DuVernay’s film, ‘Middle of Nowhere.’ Can you talk about the character you play?
David Oyelowo: I play a character called Brian and the husband (played by Omari Hardwick) of Emayatzy Corinealdi’s character, Ruby, has been incarcerated and he’s in for a long stretch. The film is about what you do as a ‘widow.’ How do you conduct your life, and Ruby and Brian’s paths cross and it’s about the tension between these two. Are you free to engage again when you almost feel like the man you are still married to is not around anymore? Ava was very inspired by stories and experiences she has encountered with women around her of dealing with the exact syndrome. When I read the script, I was just blown away by the quality of the writing. It’s exactly what I had been looking for. I had been looking to work with black voices that I feel have integrity. What you will never see me doing is a black film for the sake of it and one that I feel is well trodden stereotypical buffoonery. This was something that felt true. I recognize these people as human beings. I think she’s a new and powerful voice in cinema and I felt that I had to be around this woman.
You also have a role in Lee Daniels’ new film, ‘The Paperboy.’ What role do you play?
David Oyelowo: I play a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Matthew McConaughey’s character has been incarcerated for murder and he’s on death row. Nicole Kidman’s character has fallen in love with him and she alerts us to the fact that he well may have been put away improperly. So both Matthew’s character and mine go to investigate if this is indeed the case and it gets pretty messy quickly in Lately, Florida, this small sweaty southern town where a lot of ghosts and skeletons come pouring out of the closet.
Weren’t you supposed to work with Lee Daniels on his other film, ‘Selma,’ playing Dr. Martin Luther King jr.?
David Oyelowo: It was amazing to actually end up working with him. We were supposed to do ‘Selma’ over two years ago now and he’s still in the process of trying to get the film off the ground, but in the meantime, this film came along. Lee re-wrote the character from a white character to black because he was that desirous to work with me. That vote of confidence is something I will never forget.
How was working on Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’?
David Oyelowo: That was just incredible. Daniel Day Lewis is my favorite actor of all-time. To get to share words, to share a scene, and for the person who calls “Cut” behind the monitor to be Spielberg was one of those where I can die happy. These two guys were at the absolute top of their game. I play a union cavalryman and we’re not allowed to talk too much about it because Steven likes to keep things under wrap. It’s a very powerful role and there’s a great interaction between myself and President Lincoln and it sets up the movie really.
And then there’s ‘One Shot’ with Tom Cruise.
David Oyelowo: I just wrapped that less than a week ago and Tom Cruise is just something else. The work ethic, the dedication, the energy, the enthusiasm, and to go toe-to-toe with him was incredible. There’s a car chase in the film that’s nothing anyone has seen before. We literally shut down Pittsburgh and we have to free drive through that thing for three weeks at night. In the film, there’s a sniper attack in Pittsburgh and five people have been shot and killed. I’m the lead detective investigating it. Tom’s character is an ex-military investigator and this sniper is military trained. So we team up to track this sniper down.
Are you still planning to work with Mary J. Blige on the Nina Simone biopic?
David Oyelowo: Yes, the film will still happen. We’re going to do that sometime this year. It’s a question of schedules and everything aligning, but it’s a phenomenal script. There’s no way that film isn’t going to be made.
Do you have any other film coming out?
David Oyelowo: Yes. I have a film called ‘Default,’ which is about Somalian pirates who attack a plane rather than a boat. My character hijacks a plane knowing that a news crew is onboard and he basically puts them on trial for how they reported on Somalia over the last 10 years. Rather than getting their money, they have to air the interview.
How do find time to balance life when you have time?
David Oyelowo: A big priority for me is my family. We’re never apart for more than two weeks. They travel with me and they were with me in Pittsburgh, and I’ve never been apart from my wife for more than two weeks in our 13 years of marriage. It’s a tricky thing to make work but we home school our kids in order to facilitate it. What I love and do as an actor will never take precedent over my family. We just find a way to make it work.
Quelle: blackfilm.com
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