March 2003 A Man Apart : An Interview with Larenz Tate

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Interviewed by Alberlynne “Abby” Harris A Man Apart: An Interview with Larenz Tate For as many movies he has done and will continue to do, the role that made Larenz Tate a star was playing O-Dog in Menace II Society. He wasn’t just good, he was great. He parlayed that performance into the leading man status in Hollywood. Next films such as The Inkwell and Dead Presidents followed before he started showing his romantic side in the classic Love Jones. More films followed until his last film prior to this year with straight to video with Love Come Down in 2000. Larenz Tate is back on the big screen with 2 films due out this year. Earlier in January 2003, he had a supporting role in the ensemble film Biker Boyz and now he teams up with Vin Diesel in Director F. Gary Gray’s latest film, A Man Apart. In an interview with blackfilm.com, Larenz talked his role in the film and his friendship with Vin Diesel. AH: Do you think it’s fair to call this a modern Dirty Harry? LT: Let me think about that. I don’t know. I personally think its better than Dirty Harry, don’t get me wrong – that’s a classic, but I think ours is a bit stronger. AH: So did you feel like this Demetrius character was like O-Dog gone soft? LT: No, he is not the “Menace [to Society]” character, but clearly my character comes from the street and has street sensibility. That’s what the character called for. He has the ability to make that kind of cop, and that’s a DEA cop that goes in and infiltrates. You won’t smell bacon or pig, as they say, a mile a way. I wanted to make sure I had all those sensibilities down and also be a caring, responsible, husband and father. He’s tough on his day job, but when he goes home, he is very protective and caring and sensitive about the well-being of his family. AH: Are you turning action-hero now? LT: People want to see me do action now. I like the action business. I like the action movies. I guess Hollywood wants to see me do action. So I am down. I like it. This particular action film was cool because it was not jumping off of buildings with no parachutes and landing on our feet. In this one, if you fall, you are going to break a leg. It allows us to be real people in an action role. There is some humor that comes out of the dramatic situations but there are some rich characters. This is the ideal kind of action film because it really allows us to perform beyond one-liners, shirt open, - that’s crazy AH: Do you feel a little tired of the straight drama? LT: It’s not that I am tired of it, it’s just that I am capable of doing other things. Therefore, I want to do movies that will put me in a different category. I like to be challenged. I should not just do one kind of movie. I have been fortunate to do a lot so far. AH: How was it working with Vin? LT: It was great. Vin is my friend. Vin and I were friends well before this movie and I knew he was going to do this picture. He told me there might be an opportunity for us to play almost like brothers in this movie. We are undercover cops and were dealing with an issue where we avenge this woman’s death. I was really into it. I like stuff that gives people a question – like what are they going to do next? Vin and I work really well together and we have a great deal of respect for one another. He and I have both been at this for a long time. A lot of people do not realize that Vin has been around as long as he has. It just seems like he has blown up relatively quickly and that’s true in a lot of people’s eyes. But I think they’ve been blind for a long time. Saving Private Ryan, Boiler Room, films like that. He’s directed independent movies and so much stuff that he has been doing. I’m just here to get a little of that shine! We want our chemistry to just feel real and genuine. We kid around and just figured we could put it in the movie. AH: So do you all hang out together outside of working? LT: Yes. We hang out. We like to go to fights. We are both big boxing fans. We just chill out and do normal stuff. We play basketball. I call up my cousins and brothers, and we all hook up and play ball for hours. Having a good time. AH: How do you think the hip-hop community will respond to your “cool-cop” characters? LT: I think it’s good for folks to see because I have met some cops that are really cool. We don’t get to see that often and I have a whole new respect for cops now. A lot of these cops are young; 28, 25. They listen to the same stuff that we listen too. They watch the same kind of movies we watch. They have a pulse on what is really going on just like we do. It’s just that they chose a career to fight crime because of the personal reasons they have for wanting to clean things up and make a difference. That’s the sort of direction that my character Demetrius Hicks takes. We are from the streets in this movie but we still hang out with our boys. I know friends in Chicago that are cops and they still hang out with their friends from the block. We wanted to show a different side to cops. We wanted to show that everyone has a hand in this drug business, not just blacks and Latinos. It’s all kind of people. Just look at Timothy Olyphant who plays Hollywood Jack. You would never think that a guy like that sells drugs. That’s what we wanted to show and not just target a particular group. Gary did not want it to look perfect, because this world is gritty. We are not glamorizing this lifestyle or this world. We are on the grass roots level. AH: What was it like working with F. Gary Gray? LT: He’s a good friend of mine as well. He and I thought about what we could possibly do together. We just could not find anything to do. He is another buddy of mine that I just hang with. We’ve gone to film festivals together. We could not find anything until this came up. He told me he would possibly direct it and I told him I would be doing it as well. So it just worked out. It was good having your buddy directing you. It’s not always friends all of the time because as a director/actor we have to get to our job. I do see him as a director and take care of business. AH: What are you working on next? LT: I am considering doing a picture about Ray Charles and they want me to play Quincy Jones. I think I might do that. If I decide to do it – I’ll head out to do that next month. We are still in the discussion. If it all works out, I am going to love going in to play the young Quincy. AH: What would you be doing if you were not an actor? LT: I honestly do not know. I have no idea and the thought is scary, because I don’t know. I would probably own something. I have a very entrepreneurial sort of mindset. Something would have to be mine. I’d be somebody’s boss!