00:00 the last time you guys were working together,
00:01 you were both sort of party to the lightning
00:04 between Viola and Chadwick in Moira and his Black Bottom.
00:09 You must have enjoyed working together since you're back.
00:12 How's that kind of,
00:13 how did that whole environment feel compared to this one
00:18 and what has kind of drawn you guys back together creatively?
00:21 - Well, I think we built a sense of, I don't know, trust,
00:25 the way as collaborators to work together.
00:27 I mean, obviously if George would cast me again,
00:30 I think hopefully, you know, I did something,
00:33 you know, remotely right.
00:34 But I think that we are very passionate
00:37 about this subject matter and telling great stories
00:40 and people that we care about.
00:42 So I think that, you know,
00:43 I know that George would build a room
00:44 that was filled with great interrogators of art and form
00:48 and history and give us a space to truly create.
00:51 So that's why I'm here.
00:53 - Well, it's interesting 'cause "My Rainy"
00:54 was about people being in a place
00:57 where they didn't really belong.
01:01 People primarily from the South in Chicago.
01:05 This is about people who are all living in New York City
01:09 and they own their version of it
01:12 and they're very invested in redefining it
01:15 so it's reflective of them.
01:17 So people in "My Rainy" are interested in coming in,
01:20 doing what they have to do and getting out.
01:23 Everybody, just every single character in this movie
01:26 is about, no, this shit has gotta change
01:30 and we're gonna change it, period.
01:33 - Coleman, just let's get a picture
01:34 of where you are right now.
01:35 Two kind of huge projects together, back to back.
01:39 You've got "The Color Purple" on one side,
01:41 this great ensemble cast that you're part of.
01:43 On the other side, you're leading this project on Netflix,
01:46 a little bit like a, I guess like a tennis player
01:49 who's playing both singles and doubles at the Open.
01:51 Have you had much time for sleep the last couple of years?
01:54 How are you enjoying this kind of period of your career,
01:56 this purple patch, if you will?
01:57 - When I'm working, I don't have a lot of time for sleep,
01:59 no, because I'm working 14 hours a day
02:01 and then going home and preparing for the next day
02:04 and that sort of rigor, I love because I love what I do
02:08 and I get to tell such incredible stories.
02:10 I mean, you just laid out two things
02:11 that I feel passionate about.
02:13 Both sets were great opportunities
02:15 to be a part of incredible storytelling.
02:17 I get rest, though.
02:18 People are like, no, actually, I go work out,
02:20 I go to lunch, I really, I'm a restful, peaceful person
02:23 when I'm not working, but when I'm working,
02:25 it's, I do have a singular focus
02:27 because I think that's how much I respect the work.
02:29 - People are gonna be seeing a lot of you
02:30 playing very polar opposite type of characters at the moment.
02:34 You've got this like antagonistic Mr. Rover
02:37 on the color purple, then you've got like
02:38 the joyfully combative but warm Rustin on the other.
02:43 How were those two experiences as a performer for you?
02:46 Which do you find the most kind of cathartic
02:49 or difficult or challenging?
02:50 - I've long been a performer that sort of like,
02:53 I don't know, went under the radar.
02:56 So I really felt like I can do what I wanted
02:58 and I was never boxed in and people never thought of me
03:01 as being this type of actor, this type.
03:03 I come from the theater and I know in the theater,
03:05 I think like we play, I know,
03:07 me and my comrades, we play everything.
03:08 It's a really lovely time to be seen in that way,
03:11 to be seen in the way that I see myself without limitation.
03:15 I started on the circus.
03:16 I was in the circus for a year.
03:17 Now, that all makes sense now.
03:19 But I think that starting out in the circus--
03:20 - No comment.
03:21 (laughing)
03:24 - Starting out in the circus, I think,
03:25 honestly liberated me early on in my career
03:28 where I feel like I had to approach things
03:29 with the heart of a clown and being willing to risk,
03:32 you know, fail and risk again.
03:34 So I think that's wonderful.
03:37 - You spoke about your background in the theater there.
03:40 You both have incredibly distinguished careers
03:42 in the theater.
03:44 I felt like this movie kind of had a theater feel to it,
03:47 which is almost like a genre of film in itself
03:50 when you get to kind of luxuriate in the dialogue,
03:53 in scenes of people all like chipping into a conversation.
03:57 - I take in the concept of theatrical,
04:00 but it's more so, it wasn't, let's make this theater.
04:04 It was more so really smart people talking aggressively
04:09 because they all believe they have the way to go forward.
04:13 - I call good movies and all good stories.
04:15 You leave asking yourself,
04:17 why wasn't this story told before in this kind of way?
04:19 It's been 60 years now since the March on Washington.
04:22 Do you think progress has been,
04:24 I mean, you can say progress has been slow
04:25 in all sorts of things,
04:26 but on getting a story like this out as creators,
04:29 are you surprised it's taken this long?
04:31 And do you feel, have you been, feel frustrated
04:34 that this story hasn't been told like this before?
04:36 - It was correct degree of circumstances.
04:39 There were three times we tried to film
04:41 the March on Washington and COVID kept on invading.
04:44 And then when we filmed it, it was 117 degrees,
04:48 which was horrifying,
04:49 but it was the perfect time to film it.
04:51 So it was the correct intersection
04:54 of all the people coming together.
04:57 Had it happened sooner, who knows?
05:00 At one point, somebody suggested the slogan,
05:02 but the man behind Martin Luther King,
05:04 that's not a subtitle for a movie about Rustin.
05:07 The subtitle for a movie about Rustin is "Rusted."
05:10 Happened, I think, at an optimum time.
05:12 - Gentlemen, I enjoyed it a lot.
05:14 I'm sure lots of people will.
05:15 Thank you so much for your time today.
05:16 - Thank you very much.
Comments