Some actors derive their on-screen sparkle from years of careful preening, complex makeup, or just a lot of practice. Others simply possess that enviable and ineffable “it” quality, ensuring that you’re going to want to look at them, talk to them, and be dazzled by them. Wesley Snipes, although a trained professional actor, is most certainly of the latter category. Snipes is a charming and handsome dude who fills the rooms he enters. It’s no wonder that Spike Lee has chosen to work with him on several occasions.
Related: Interview | Spike Lee on ‘Chi-Raq’ and a Troubled America
In Lee’s newest film Chi-Raq, Wesley Snipes plays Cyclops, the ostentatious eyepatch-wearing head of the Trojan gang, a fictionalized and over-the-top rendition of the real-life street toughs in Chicago. Cyclops is the funniest character in the film, and Snipes was clearly having a great time. Crave met up with Snipes to ask him about the movie, about Chicago, and about where the line between silly humor and heartfelt drama lies.
CraveOnline: So I watched Chi-Raq yesterday…
Wesley Snipes: I haven’t seen it yet.
It’s quite good. I hear you’re very good in it.
Oh is that the case? Hmm… [Smiles.]
It’s a cool balance between super-theatricality and the more serious, real-life violence in Chicago. When being directed, were you encouraged to play theatrical, or were you more often instructed to think of the violence?
Me personally, I was already familiar with [Lysistrata], but I would say that Spike directed people more toward the current events. And his hope was that they would use that as their anchor. Their motivation for being a part of this mission and this contribution. I think it was drawing on the current events – the real current events – then also wanting to kind of house a serious situation in easier-to-swallow moments in an easier-to-swallow way. A sugar pill after you get a shot. The lollipop at the dentist.
“Artists enjoy working with a visionary. A persona who is technically sound. No question about that.”
So no dramaturgical workshops dissecting the ins and outs of ancient Greek theater?
No. No no no. We only had 30 days to shoot that bad boy, so no. [Laughs.] It’s just amazing that he was able to get so many people together from so many different disciplines. And people who have very, very active and robust careers. That in itself is a miracle. It’s like what happened with The Expendables. It’s like “wow.” We’re all actually doing this!
You’ve worked with Spike Lee a few times now. How would you characterize him as a director?
Well he wouldn’t be in the game this long if he were an irate, out-of-control un-technical type of director. In terms of his personality and the kind of person at heart he is, if his character was “off,” there was no way you would have gotten all these artists to jump on board, to take this ride, for no money. Taking their time, sacrificing other things to do this. It just wouldn’t happen. I think that would speak to his character and his directing style. Artists enjoy working with a visionary. A persona who is technically sound. No question about that. And then comfortable enough to allow you to experiment.
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What sort of experimenting did you get to do with Cyclops? He is certainly a more comedic character than the others in the film, which perhaps plays to your strengths.
Spike started out by saying “The script is alive. Wes, I want you to come in and do what you do. I don’t have to tell you how to act, this is what we’re looking for. We need these beats here. So let’s be creative. Let’s see what we can come up with.” And some of it I wrote. Some of it he allowed me to add or change. And some of it happened on the day, in the moment, and he just kept the camera rolling! Let’s do it again?
Any moments you’re proud of?
I don’t know. I haven’t seen it yet. But it was fun doing it. Of course, all the takes of the guys, the Trojans in the Trojan lair underneath the overpass. That was kind of fun. I enjoys the bit of banter between Cyclops and Indigo [Cyclops’ girlfriend, played by Michelle Mitchenor].
I don’t know if he kept this in, but there was one moment where Cyclops was trying to watch television – trying to watch the game – and Indigo comes in, and she dances in front of him. Aw man, we had a funny moment. Because in the street culture world, when the girl comes and dances, like at a strip club, all the players, they take out their money and they throw it in the air. So I had the prop people give me some prop money – and I didn’t tell anybody – so when she started to dance, I took the money and threw it in the air and shouted “Get outta the way! The game is on! I’m tryin’ to watch ESPN!”
Sadly, I don’t think that made it in.
Aw, man! [Laughs.]
“What we’re seeing in the movie is a reflection of a small portion of Chicago. It doesn’t represent all of Chicago. But then, on the other hand, it does.”
Cyclops is funny and kind of outlandish. He wears a sparkly eyepatch. But ultimately Chi-Raq is very serious. Where was the balance between making Cyclops violent and making him over-the-top?
That, to me, is part of the trick. That’s the challenge. Part of the challenge of taking a role like this. Keeping it rooted in thing that we associate with reality. Identifiable. And then add flavors to make it entertaining without compromising those underlying key elements. Always a challenge. I hope I did it with this.
I’ll be honest, when I was working with another great actor, I saw him do something that I thought was pretty interesting as a technique. This is something they teach you in acting school. A training exercise. I had never seen anyone do this on a film before. It’s called “three entrances.” It’s when you’re asked to say a line three different ways as you’re coming in through the door. You come in three different ways. So I do that with my takes. I do that on my television series, and I do that on film. I’ll give you two or three different versions of the line, and then I’ll let you decide which one fits.
And Spike has told me, “Wes… No. Nah, nah, nah. That didn’t work man. Too much.” So now I know I can’t go that far. [Laughs.] Let’s come back a little bit.
How did the character of Chicago play into the drama?
What we’re seeing in the movie is a reflection of a small portion of Chicago. It doesn’t represent all of Chicago. But then, on the other hand, it does. Because the people are not divorced from what happens in their community. And whether we like it or not, we have the communes. The Communes used to be called villages. So you’re going to be effected by [the violence] one way or the other. It’s the butterfly effect. This only highlights one aspect of what Chicago is. But an important aspect that, if unchecked, will metastasize. Go viral all over the whole state.
Did you have to research the city?
It’s wise to do that, especially if you’re playing in something that is so sensitive. That means so much to some people. In some ways, it’s biographical. So it’s important to do that. You should do your homework, so that your acting choices are consistent with the world you’re in. It’s only fair to the audience. But I’ve been to Chicago many times. We filmed portions of U.S. Marshals there. I have friends there. So I had some familiarity with it, but not in some of the places where they took us, where these guys live. They’re very rough.
Columbia Pictures
Throughout the ’90s, when you were largely doing action movies, were you content to act in the blockbusters, or were you seeking more complex projects?
Seeking more complex projects… That’s partially right. At that time, I didn’t really know the impact my films were having on people, and what my position was in “the game.” I didn’t know. It was great working, and working with other people. And they were clearly artists I looked up to and admired. And wanted to aspire to their level of work. So the work I was doing didn’t measure up. So I’m not looking at it like “Wow! I’m killing ’em now!” I was thinking like “I still gotta get to that level.”
And then you discover later on that you were doing something pretty unique at the time, when there were very few people doing it. Doing it differently. Not the standard way. A completely different approach to it. And you could do different things. I understand it much better now. Thank God for life and living!
I was always going back and forth. I would do a dramatic piece, and then something action-oriented, and then maybe a comedy. Or we were producing genres, or products in other genres. So I was always around it. And I think that has to do with the theater pedigree. That’s the name of the game now. Now that we’re in television land or Televisionburg – whatever we’re going to call that because we have to come up with a new term!
What was the first record you bought with you own money?
The first record I bought with my own money would be a copy of… Sugarhill Gang. That was, um… [hums the baseline for “Rapper’s Delight”]. “Rapper’s Delight.” That was my own money. Yeah.
Top Image: Timothy Hiatt / Getty Images
Witney Seibold is a contributor to the CraveOnline Film Channel, and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. You can follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his min
