The writers are inspired by you and how you move and you walk. WAITHE: I’ve watched Trig become more like you.
I feel like I can bring something to this guy and this guy can do something for me.” I read the script and I knew what it was asking, and I knew you. JAMES: Well first, I asked god and the universe that my next endeavor be something different and something far outside of my comfort zone to help me better myself as an artist. What do you remember about our conversation before you took the part? I remember us having that conversation early on. You’re sort of melancholy, but there’s also a boyishness that allows people to feel safe in your presence. I knew that the character needed to have care, but also needed to have a past. And now, fast forward to me casting for the role of Trig. WAITHE: And I was an intern working at Edmonds Entertainment. We just wanted to be in the studio as much as possible. We were fresh out of New Orleans and we just got signed. WAITHE: You remember that day? We kind of clocked each other. JAMES: It’s so wild to me, just to think about all the time that’s passed. You know what I’m saying? We shared an elevator together one day, quietly, and look at us now. I saw you for the first time in an elevator at Edmonds Entertainment.
I’m so grateful to you for joining that family and leading by example and stepping into that role. WAITHE: So, let’s talk about The Chi, that thing we worked on together.
To celebrate his latest achievement, James hopped on the phone with his friend and collaborator on The Chi, Lena Waithe, to discuss this most recent creative pivot, Black representation in television, and the transformative power of community. The play, which runs through March, tells the story of seven Black men living in the heart of Brooklyn through a deft blend of spoken word, slam poetry, and plenty of dry humor. But rather than reveling in his many successes, James is bringing his talents to Broadway’s Golden Theatre in the new play Thoughts of a Colored Man, which opened late last month. Since then, James has landed parts as an unattainable love interest in Issa Rae‘s Insecure, an alcoholic and former R&B icon in Lee Daniel‘s Star, and, most recently, as a well-meaning older brother Lena Waithe‘s coming-of-age drama The Chi, which was just renewed for a fifth season. In the past few years alone, the R&B artist has released two hit albums -one of which earned him his second Grammy nomination- and made his leading man debut as the R&B singer Johnny Gill in the television miniseries The New Edition Story. For Luke James, artistic evolution is the top priority.
0 kommentar(er)
