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Interview HTF Exclusive Interview with Stephan James (Selma) (1 Viewer)

Neil Middlemiss

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Home Theater Forum recently had the pleasure of speaking with Stephan James, the young actor who portrays the civil rights leader John Lewis in Ava DuVerney's Selma, for an extended interview. Selma is the story of events leading up to the Martin Luther King led march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 in pursuit of voting rights for African Americans.

Selma is available from Paramount on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital now.

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HTF: Thanks for taking some time to speak with Home Theater Form today. I'm excited to speak with you having seen Selma and been impacted by the power of the film. I wanted to jump straight into talking about that power and what it means for you as an actor to be a part of something as important as this film.


Stephan James: Oh yes, I mean what an incredible experience it was for me. Obviously we touch on just the story of Martin Luther King and the march that he led from Selma to Montgomery for civil rights. That in itself is such an incredible and inspirational story to tell. And not only to be a part of it, but to be playing [civil rights leader and now Congressmen] John Lewis who's such an incredible human being and a hero to so many people. It’s a little overwhelming, but definitely powerful.


HTF: How you prepare to portray someone that inspirational, but also someone who's still around and will see and evaluate your portrayal of their younger life. How intimidating is that and how did you prepare?

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Stephan James: As an actor it’s very intimidating. I take a lot of pride in my work and when you're telling any real story you have an obligation to tell the truth; to be honest; and to give an honest performance and tell an honest story. And so if anything, that's where the pressure came from - just the responsibility of researching this man and his role was in the civil rights. [Researching] how he related to MLK, who was he working with, and what his specific task as a member of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was. And also what kind of person he was and what kind of human being he was. So it started with a lot of reading, talking to people who were, were around during those times, and then talking to John Lewis himself.


HTF: One of my favorite scenes in the film, and it's relatively early on, is your first scene where you have a conversation with Martin Luther King. And really it's almost a battle of wills, where you question the presence of King and his team believing you have the situation under control, and it's a great scene as you give a muted response to King and his team. And the scene is really a dissection of the importance of how you approach protesting, and that you need the cameras. So when you think about what’s happened in Baltimore recently, and in Ferguson, MO, and other places, is there something to be learned from that scene particularly for those that are possibly part of a new movement here?


Stephan James: Oh yeah, I mean when you look at some of the injustices that are happening in the world today, that a lot of these protests are risen from, and where different photos and different videos have become viral, there erupts these different responses. I absolutely believe that you have to make a statement. You don't have to make a statement by being violent, you don't have to make a statement with vandalism, or by hurting anybody or anything. I believe that the strongest and most powerful way that we can make a message as a people when we're fighting for anything, whether that’s black rights, gay rights, women's rights, or anything, is to do that peacefully. Violence begets more violence, stupidity begets more stupidity. So we are in our strongest form when we stand strong together and we march together. I believe that's the most effective way to bring about some sort of change.


HTF: You had an excellent cast around you. I think that a lot of the discussion has been on the extraordinary performance of David Oyelowo as Dr. King, but I was taken aback by the strength and the depth of the cast and, a particular sense of pride for myself being English was the large presence of actors from across the pond, including David. Talk about what you took away from some of the more seasoned performers; and what was the main take away you had from your experiences on this film?

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Stephan James: Well, like you said, just an incredible cast. I felt spoiled to be in the presence of some of those guys - David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson (as LBJ,) and just to be around them and see how serious they take their work and how much dedication they put into their work. You know, for me personally, watching David Oyelowo and the way he transformed into MLK. He was never not MLK while we were shooting Selma. He was always in character whether the camera was rolling or not, during set-ups and rehearsals, everything he was MLK. I truly believe that getting to do Selma right before I took on the role of Jesse Owens in Race was almost divine because I was able to take so much from David. And from his work and his work process I was able to take with me to do that film. So I think it was invaluable for me to be around that sort of talent. It raises your level of consciousness when it comes on to character work and, it certainly helped me in Race, and will probably continue to help me for the rest of my career.


HTF: Talk about working with Ava DuVernay. Female directors are a rarity. African American female directors are even rarer. I feel that sometimes when we have minority directors or minorities in key roles, that if they mess up then the rest of the world sort of writes them off, unfairly believing that one is indicative of the whole. So it's always wonderful when it's such a great win. So talk about working with Ava, and what you learned from her directorial style on the film?

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Stephan James: Firstly, it’s just a huge accomplishment for Ava to be able to make Selma. A lot of people don't know this, but Ava was instrumental in the writing for Selma. So that in turn I feel really aided her as a director. The environment she creates on a set is nothing like I've ever experienced. Ava was the first female director I've ever worked with and obviously the first black female director I've ever worked with, so to see the power that she held on that set and the way she controlled the set, with hundreds of background people Ava was the type of person who can raise her hand and everybody is at attention. She's so passionate and she's really gotten everybody on the same page in terms of wanting to tell this story and be honest about this story. So when I see Ava, I see her as so much more than a director. She's a storyteller. She's an artist. And she's such a loving, passionate person and that sort of attitude trickles down and affects the whole set. So I commend her on the job that she did directing the film and cutting the film. It’s a huge accomplishment.

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HTF: And Paramount is providing High Schools in the U.S. with a copy of Selma. How important is that?


Stephan James: You know what? It's probably the biggest thing we were able to do with this film. No Oscar nomination, Golden Globe nomination, or Oscar win compares to that. The fact that 18 million plus High School students are going to be able to see this film and be educated on this subject matter, is really going to be invaluable to these kids. For them to see what our forefathers had to do for us to be where we are right now. And then not only learning about it for history sake, but learning it for the future too, and how learning how we can correct our mistakes for the future?


HTF: I often wonder when I watch historical films what I would have done if I lived in that time. Would I be on the sidelines? Would I be out front? Would I be marching? What would I be doing? So do you contemplate what you would have done, what role you might have played had you lived in the time?

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Stephan James: Yeah - it's definitely interesting. When you look at it from a character perspective, and I compare myself to John [Lewis] - which you have to do as an actor - you have to see what's similar about the person you're playing, and what's not. And then you look at yourself as an individual and see what you relate to and don't relate to. John is a very warm, passionate person. And his way of expressing his need for the right to vote was marching. Marching and doing it nonviolently. And I relate to that - I'm certainly a nonviolent person who believes in peaceful protesting. And I would love to believe that if I'm the primary focus of being denied the ability to vote then why wouldn't I fight to be able to vote? If I'm the main target that's being put down in that sort of way or beat up or beat down in that way, then I would fight because if you can't fight for something like that, then what can we fight for?


HTF: I recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. I've been there many times over the years, but it was the first time that I've been to the nation’s capital since the statue of MLK had been unveiled. And I stood there with my wife and my son and was taken back. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial wall is filled with incredible quotes from his speeches, and the huge granite structure from which the profile of Dr. King emerges, is a very powerful. And as I stood beneath his statue, I was thinking about how we laud this man and we celebrate all that he accomplished, but he was just a man. And Selma provided a view of him with his vulnerabilities and his fallibilities that's important to remember because sometimes when we look back on historical figures all we see is their greatness and we think that they were without flaws. But they're not. They have flaws like the rest of us and I think it important to remind ourselves that despite our own flaws, despite our own weaknesses and fallibilities that we can aspire to greatness too. The film Selma delved into some of his that and was still was able to demonstrate the greatness of the man. How important do you think that approach was?

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Stephan James: I think you're absolutely right. I think you hit the nail on the head. Selma provides the audience a perspective of Martin Luther King that is very real. It shows a level of humanity that I don't think a lot of people were expecting to see in the film. When people hear about Martin Luther King, they tend to think of his “I have a dream,” or other powerful speeches that he made. And in Selma, we never reference his Dream speech. The film focuses on different things that made who he was – and that that it was not only about him, but his role in the bigger picture of the movement. So I think you're absolutely right when you see a man like Martin Luther King who shows moments of vulnerability, moments of confusion, and of not knowing exactly where to lead his people or if he's making the right decision in certain things. You don't have to be a perfect human being - everybody has flaws. But when you understand that everybody has flaws and you're able to move past that, I believe that you can do you want to do - lead a movement or be a hero in your own right.


HTF: Let me pivot to your future, and your role in Race, the biography of American track star Jesse Owens, that you have coming up.


Stephan James: Absolutely. The film Race comes out on April 8, 2016. It's still in post-production at the moment, but will tell Jesse’s story. It starts a couple of years before the 1936 Olympics and follows him straight through to the Olympics games in Berlin. We get to see not only his life on the track, but his life off the track with his family and coaches, as he becomes this super star who goes over to Nazi Germany and shatters Hitler's dream of Arian supremacy. .


HTF: Well wonderful. I'm excited to see that and I applaud your performance in Selma. Thank you, it has been a pleasure.


Stephan James: I thank you. Thank you so much.
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Neil Middlemiss

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