Here is one interview I never expected to land, but there was Laurence Fishburne sitting at a table at the ABC party for the Television Critics Association Press Tour. Not by himself, but with no other reporters around, I asked if I could speak with Mr. Fishburne.
Earlier, he had told the TCA on the “Blackish” panel that he was still a guest star on NBC’s “Hannibal.” On “Blackish,” he plays the grandfather. He also spoke in a high pitched voice, a most unexpected affect from the famous baritone. I won’t blame him him for not knowing my reference to “A very special episode.” Fishburne was busy in the jungles of the Philippines or teaching the Boyz n the Hood life lessons to notice sitcom shenanigans.
CraveOnline: You did a funny voice on the panel.
Laurence Fishburne: “I did lots of them.”
Yes, are you in some ways tired of being acclaimed for this legendary voice you have?
“No. It’s just something that came out today.”
Does it ever come out on set?
Well, we’ve only done the pilot so God knows what’s going to happen on set.
Why do you think you’ve not been given more opportunities to be comedic?
Nobody was paying attention. You know, people are comfortable with you the way they’re comfortable with you. When you make a departure from that, it’s tricky. So the good news is, the little thing I did in Ride-Along with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube is a comic turn. Even though it’s the heavy, there’s some physical comedy so that warms the audience up a little bit. The commercial I did for Kia was hilarious and unexpected so that I think is also another way of signaling to the audience that there’s more to me than Morpheus. I took the piss out of Morpheus.
Was that still playing Morpheus as the straight man in that spot?
I don’t know if Morpheus singing opera is straight but okay, whatever.
That’s fair. And going back to Cowboy Curtis, does “Blackish” feel like a return to that kind of comic ensemble that “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” had?
No, this is just another chapter in my life, another facet in my career. I’m bringing my sense of humor to the work in a way that I haven’t before.
A lot of comedy, especially family comedy, ends with a sort of moral. Do you think your character can be a source for that?
Could be one of the sources. I don’t think there will be one particular source. I think sometimes it’ll come from the kids.
Could there be a very special episode of “Blackish?”
I think there’s going to be many special episodes of “Blackish.”
But I’m referring to the TV trope of a very special episode. Are you familiar with that?
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
It’s basically when a comedy has a dramatic episode.
Is that what it is? Okay.
Has television been especially fruitful for you in the past few years?
Clearly it has. “CSI,” “Hannibal” and this. Television’s been wonderful.
I’m glad you’re still doing a partial season of “Hannibal.”
Oh, absolutely, yeah. It’s exciting.
I imagine there might be some injury, but I felt a little bit safe for Jack Crawford because he exists in subsequent stories like The Silence of the Lambs. Do you think it’s important that continuity not be violated in this interpretation?
Well, it’s cool that Bryan [Fuller] is such a fan of the books and so knowledgable about them. He’s got plans for everybody in our third season that I think satisfy a lot of things. But he’s also kind of restricted because he doesn’t have access to all the material, so there are some things that he can do and some things that he can’t do. But I think he’s been really, really clever about how he’s adapted it. Hopefully as we go into three, it’ll be good stuff.
Does Bryan reserve the right to kill Jack Crawford?
You’ve gotta talk to him about that now.
With two shows, how do you handle your commitments to films like Batman v. Superman?
We schedule everything as best as we can.
With the cast of Batman v.. Superman growing so large with Wonder Woman and possibly Aquaman, is there still room for Perry White?
Perry White’s in the movie. I play him.
When do you go to work on that?
I go back in about two weeks I think.
Is there room for you to be in the extended universe of DC films as well?
I hope so.
Would you be open to appearing in Wonder Woman or Aquaman solo movies?
Like I just said, I hope so. [Laughs]
