- 9 minutes ago
"When Bobby first met me he was like, 'He's perfect, but he needs a gap,'" McClain, who portrays Bobby Brown in 'The Bobby Brown Story,' told The Hollywood Reporter.
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00:03Hi, this is Mariah Gullow from The Hollywood Reporter, and we're in studio today with Woody
00:07McLean. Yes, yes. Hi, Woody. How you doing? Good. How are you? Good. Feeling good. Yes. And I am
00:15wondering, I have a million questions for you, but the first thing I wanted to ask is, you were
00:21just in the New Edition story as Bobby Brown. Now you are Bobby Brown in the Bobby Brown story.
00:27Right. What are the essential ingredients to being Bobby Brown? Oh, that's a good one.
00:33The essential ingredients to being Bobby Brown, confidence, like number one, for sure. You
00:40can't tell him no. You know what I mean? You have to really, really explain to me why, like
00:47I'm talking like as if I'm here. You have to really explain to Bobby why something can't
00:52happen. You know what I mean? Right, right. He's all about proving people wrong. This is
00:56why he went solo. This is why he's blew up, you know what I mean, on his own. And what
01:01else? Family first, for sure. Yeah. For sure, for sure. Yeah. Those are the ingredients for
01:08being Bobby Brown. Nice. When you worked on both of these projects, did you have the same
01:15creative team? Did you have to audition a second time? What was the process of getting the Bobby
01:21Brown story after the new edition story? Oh, that one was just, they called and was like,
01:26yo, we want you to do Bobby Brown. Yeah. You know what I mean? I was like, okay, cool. I'm
01:31down to do it if we have the same, like the only way I would do it is if you
01:35guys are showing
01:36the other members, they have to be the same people. You know what I mean? Like it can't
01:40be a different Ronnie. It can't be a different Ralph. It has to be the same exact people.
01:44Right. You know what I mean? And if Jesse Collins, the producer from the new edition is doing
01:48it, I'm down. Let's do it. Yeah. Excellent. So that's how that went. Yeah. That process
01:54was a lot easier than the new edition one. Yeah. Yeah. That was your, that was a big audition
01:59process. The new edition one was like a long boot camp. Right. Because they had to like create
02:04not only, you know, the, uh, the real life people, but like a real life band. Right.
02:10Right. Right. So like everybody had to work well together. Exactly. So I remember coming
02:13and it was like 15 people like in a room and like I would see like three people auditioning
02:20for Bobby, three people for like each person and they would like swap us out and like you
02:25see all these executive producers there, they're standing. And I remember Chris Robertson,
02:29the director on a new edition, he called all the Bobby Browns in and it was like, uh, it
02:33was three of us. And he said, Woody, I want you to go first. And I'm like, all right,
02:37cool. And the other Bobby's was standing there. He was like, listen, man, I've been
02:40hearing a lot about you, but I don't, I'm not moved right now. I was like, I need you
02:45to, I need you to show me something. I was like, all right, cool. Well, can I do a Bobby
02:48Brown song? Can we like play the actual song? And, um, he was like, yeah. So they played
02:53every little step and I just blacked out. I remember like, I remember when it was done,
02:58I was like in my draws and like giving one of the executives a lap dance. But I remember
03:03like when we left out of the room, the other guys that were auditioning for Bobby, they
03:07was like, yo, where did that come from? And I'm like, I have no idea.
03:12They were just channeling.
03:13Yeah, yeah. I was just, I was just locked in. But after that moment, I felt really good.
03:17You know what I mean? And that same night, I got the call saying they wanted me to be
03:20Bobby Brown.
03:22And then as you know, you make the physical transformation to be Bobby, do you had, did you
03:27have to go on a special diet? Did you have to? Yeah. And what about the hair and the makeup?
03:32Did you actually have teeth? Did you have? Yeah, they gave me, uh, prosthetics.
03:36You know what I mean? Oh, how did your teeth have to change to be, to get Bobby's teeth?
03:40Uh, you know, movie magic. It was just like, it's very specific.
03:43Yeah, yeah. They do their thing. Like, I mean, when Bobby first met me, he was like, he's
03:46perfect, but he needs a gap. I'm like, ah.
03:49Oh, I got a tooth, yeah. I'm like, all right, cool. I know people are so disappointed when
03:53they meet me. They was like, wait a minute, you don't have a gap. I'm like, yeah, I'm sorry.
03:56It's a movie. They really hate that part. But, uh, yeah, I had to lose weight. For
04:03the new edition, I was 160, and then I had to get to like 150. And then after the new
04:09edition, my weight just went crazy. I went to like 185. And then from there, I had to
04:15get from 185 to like 160 again. So I just ate nothing but seafood. No carbs or nothing,
04:23and just the pescatarian life. Oh, right on. I loved it, too. It felt great.
04:27Oh, that's cool. Yeah. Yeah, there's, I'm, I'm sure that, uh, once you're off of the
04:33diet, and I, I used to work for the UFC, and those guys would just balloon up after a fight.
04:38Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly, exactly. But that's like, I love that part of acting,
04:42where you can like transform to be whatever you need to be for the character.
04:46Yeah, cool. Um, okay, so Bobby was actually on set for a lot of the scenes.
04:51Yes. So what was that like? Um, you obviously needed to consult with him a lot. Um, were
04:59you also, uh, you know, asking him questions as it went along? Or were you consulting with
05:05him beforehand? And then? Um, as it went along, we, we talked about a lot of things. Uh, some,
05:11some things he couldn't be on set for. Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? Because it was
05:15more difficult scenes. Yeah, it was super, super difficult. And I, I won't even ask him,
05:18because I already know, like Bobby's super, super emotional. Like any little thing can
05:24like trigger him to like, to like start tearing up. You know what I mean? I don't like to
05:29see people tear up. Yeah. So I was super, super sensitive to Bobby and his family. And, um,
05:34just about how I would work stuff when I'm talking to him. But, uh, just having him here with
05:39us to this day is super amazing to me. You know what I mean? Because people tell their stories
05:43and they're not really here. So it was like, yo, how do you know exactly how that person is feeling
05:47in those moments? You know what I mean? But I, I have the pleasure of having Bobby here so I
05:52can
05:52ask him exactly how he felt in those moments. Did you read his memoir beforehand?
05:57Talking about the book? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, for sure. Yeah. It's great. It's a lot of,
06:01Is there anything that really shocked you about that? Did you have to talk to him and be like,
06:06come on, was this, did this really happen? The thing where he, when he cooked the chicken
06:10in the, uh. In cocaine. Yes. I was like, are you serious? That is intense. That's crazy.
06:18How does that even happen? Yo, that is crazy. Yeah. That isn't, yeah. Yeah, no. Did anything
06:24come up about him having sex with a ghost? Like, did we ever talk about it? That's probably
06:30the craziest thing I've heard from that book. About him having sex with a ghost? Yes. I'm like,
06:35I believe in spirits. Yeah. So I didn't even talk about that. You don't question it. I don't,
06:39I don't talk about that because I don't want to be at home sleeping. Right. And the ghost's like,
06:44are you talking about me? Yeah, exactly. I don't need that. I don't need that portal to be open.
06:49I'll pass on that one. Yeah. Yeah. What about some of the scenes with, you know,
06:53some of his more famous hookups like Janet Jackson? Yeah. Yeah. I don't even know if I can talk
06:58about it. But when I read a lot of the stuff, I'm like, yo, you sure you want to, you
07:02sure you want
07:03to like film this? He was like, this is the truth. It's my truth. You know what I mean? He's,
07:06he's very, uh, he makes it clear that he wants his kids to know exactly how his life was. You
07:13know what I mean? So they don't have to hear from anybody else. They can actually see it and be
07:15like, this is what daddy's been through. I'm not proud of it, but now you guys can learn from what
07:20I've been through. So I really appreciate him for telling his truth. Yeah. Yeah. What about some of
07:26the performance scenes? Oh, those are always fun. Yeah. Yeah. And he was on set for that when you
07:31did it. Yeah. We did those last. And I know a lot of the crew people, I know the day
07:35before
07:36we did like the dance stuff, the crew people was like, yo, Woody needs a dance double. And
07:41everybody was like, what? It was like, yeah, he has to dance tomorrow. It was like, all right,
07:45cool. And then I did the dance performance and I remember everybody looking like, I was like,
07:50yeah, that's like, I like to dance. It's fun. So I'm like, this project was so perfect. Yeah.
07:54You know what I mean? Cause I could do everything that I like to do. Yeah. Yeah. But you've said
08:00before that you're not planning on releasing an album or anything after this. You do not want
08:05to be a musician. No. Is that from, from basically being immersed in this experience? Did you realize
08:11that the life of a musician is very hard or very, maybe crazy? No, I mean, when it comes to
08:18like
08:19that part, like I produce, I went to college for producing music and I come from like the marching
08:24band. I would love to do behind the scenes, like producing, I have this group called Band
08:28Geeks and we produce, but I don't want to be the one in front, like singing and like doing
08:33all that kind of stuff. I'll pass on that one. Yeah. Nah. You're still in front, but you're
08:38just being another person. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Let's start with your co-star, Gabrielle Dennis.
08:45Did you guys have to work hard to get that Bobby and Whitney kind of rapport? That chemistry? Yeah.
08:53Man, what's so crazy about Gabby is she's such a dope person. Yeah. I mean, I remember our first time
08:58doing a chemistry read, she left and I was like, yo, that's her. You know, like we can stop. We
09:04don't
09:04even need to audition to more people. This is the Whitney. You know what I mean? I felt that connection
09:09and they kept auditioning different girls. And I'm like, this is crazy. The Gabby is the one. And I
09:14remember like the last day they finally told me like Gabby's going to be the one. And she's so
09:20cool. She's so professional. She's so on her stuff. I felt like Gabby is up here. And what she did
09:26was
09:26she brought my level up to hers. So we, I don't know how to explain it, man. She's so dope.
09:32Yeah. She's
09:33so, so dope. And she kills this role. Yeah. And I can't wait for people to see it. Yeah. And
09:38they're really
09:39going to love it. Cause at the, at the end of the day, it's never about looks. Cause I know
09:42a lot
09:43of people like, uh, she don't look like Whitney Houston. I'm like, okay. But I remember when I
09:47first auditioned for Bobby Brown, everybody was like, yo, he doesn't look like Bobby Brown. He
09:52looks like Kel Mitchell. You know what I mean? Like, but then after I did it, it's like, oh, okay.
09:56He
09:56looks like Bobby Brown now. Like, you know what I mean? So they have to do better at giving people
10:00a
10:01chance to show, you know what I mean? Instead of criticizing. But her performance is amazing.
10:06Yeah. And it's, you know, it's really hard when you have a reality show, uh, you know,
10:12you, people are so familiar with the way that they reacted with each other, but you as actors
10:17have to have your own chemistry and find your own way with the material rather than just
10:24kind of doing a, an imitation. Yeah. Right. Right. Right. I mean, her performance is so,
10:29so dope. I remember like Bobby couldn't be around her. Wow. Yeah. He was like, yo, this
10:36is crazy. I just, right now I can't be around you because like he would get emotional all
10:40over again. I'm getting chills talking about it. I'm excited to see it. I'm excited for
10:45the world to see it. Yeah. Yeah. Did you learn anything about the nature of fame from doing
10:49these projects? Yes. I've learned that people will read anything and believe it without even
10:58like finding out, is it true? They just read it and believe it. You know what I mean? So
11:05I've learned that about being Bobby Brown. Like they would say something about him in the
11:10media and people would just automatically believe it. You get what I mean? So like this story
11:14is going to really show people exactly what happens in those moments, those key moments
11:19that we all read about. Yeah. And then they'll start to understand, you know what I mean?
11:22We're all human. We're all like one moment away of going crazy. Yeah, absolutely. Do you
11:32have any desire to continue dancing? Continue dancing? Yeah. Oh no. No. Yeah. These days are
11:38behind you. Man. Yeah. I haven't did that in like two years now. My knees are, I can't
11:44do that. What's the best piece of advice you can give to young actors who are kind of waiting
11:50for their big break? Be ready. You know what I mean? And never compare your journey to somebody
11:56else's. We all have a different path. You know what I mean? Like my journey is my journey.
12:03I can tell you everything that I've done, but that's not necessarily going to happen to you.
12:08You get what I'm saying? Like, so just know, like, just work hard and just whenever you
12:13get that moment, kill it. Be ready. Yeah. Nice. And so now you've been in the new edition
12:20story, the Bobby Brown story. You even had a part in Unsolved about being Tupac. What's
12:25the next big story to tell? Like whose life story would you like to see dramatized?
12:32I would like to see the Black Five. It's like the five African-American men that was like,
12:40that got a chance to play professional basketball for the first time. I would want to see that.
12:45Yeah. Yeah. I would like to see that movement. So Woody, what's next for you?
12:50I have a movie coming out called Canal Street. That's right. Directed by Ryan Lamar, featuring
12:56Brashear Gray. I also worked with him. Some of the same co-starters. Yeah. From the new edition
13:00story. So it was so dope to work with him again, because we already have great chemistry. And Ryan
13:05is such a dope, dope director. I'm excited for the world to see that one, because it talks about
13:10what's going on now with our, like the whole race thing. And like, it's, it's really, really deep.
13:17And what's so crazy about the story is they wrote this in 2005.
13:22And it's like current to what's going on right now. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm excited for the world to see
13:26that. September 14th in theaters. Excellent. Woody, thank you so much for being here. The show is
13:33the Bobby Brown story. It's on BET. Check it out. Check it out.
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