Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Welcome to the show.

  • -(cheering, screaming, whooping) -Thank you. Hi.

  • Such a beautiful crowd here. Wow.

  • The pitches of the screams are not usually that high.

  • Although, I feel you're used to that.

  • Um, before we get into this movie in particular,

  • is it safe to say that you are

  • the least typecast actor in Hollywood?

  • Because, like, like, if I think of all the movies

  • that you're in, whether it's Uncut Gems,

  • you know, whether... whether it's, like, Get Out--

  • I mean, like, Get Out, like,

  • that was an extreme feat of acting.

  • 'Cause you were playing a black man

  • who was a white man at one point who used to be a black man.

  • That's powerful act... Not many people can do that.

  • Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I appreciate it.

  • Um, I... I would hope I was, uh, the least typecast.

  • You know actors-- we... we don't like that.

  • Right. You want to be in as many different roles as possible,

  • and that's something you've achieved.

  • Do you... do you purposefully choose your scripts like that?

  • So do you go, "I'm gonna go from one movie to another type"?

  • You don't just stay in one genre?

  • Yeah, I kind of try to pick things that speak to me.

  • Um, so, you know, as I grow, um, the kind of things

  • that I'm attracted to and affect me kind of, uh, sort of expand.

  • -Right. -So yeah, I just...

  • I just try and be close to the things that mean something.

  • I've been very fortunate to be a part of...

  • of a whole bunch od different kinds of projects.

  • Not-not many actors would take the chance

  • of going into a rom-com, you know, because it's...

  • it's-it's scary when you've gone from drama.

  • Comedy's difficult. You know, romantic comedies--

  • in many ways, people are saying you're bringing them back now.

  • You know? It's been, like, what, 15 years

  • since we lived through the golden age

  • of black romantic comedies.

  • You know, Thin Line Between Love and Hate,

  • with the, you know... Like, all those movies.

  • -Love & Basketball, et cetera. -Right.

  • You're seeing on screen two amazing actors that people love.

  • You know, it's yourself and Issa.

  • -Mm-hmm. -Is that part of the reason you chose the movie,

  • where you were like, "Oh, yeah, this is, you know,

  • this is, like, for this generation now"?

  • It was. I wanted to see a resurgence

  • of dark-skin love on-on-on screen, and so...

  • (cheering, applause, shouting)

  • Yeah, so that was... that was a big part of it,

  • but the story was written very well.

  • -Right. -I wanted to work with Issa.

  • Um, I wanted to work with Stella.

  • And so everything fell into place in a nice way.

  • You, uh, you've been called

  • one of the mavericks of the red carpet.

  • Just by people.

  • -You know, most people... most of us, -(laughter)

  • when we're on a red carpet,

  • we try and-and look, like, appropriate for the carpet,

  • like, we would, like, stand up and do the...

  • You... you have broken the red carpet multiple times.

  • Like, you get there, and you just do your own thing.

  • -(whooping) -You sat down...

  • See? Like, you just sat there at the Emmys.

  • And then, I think there was another red carpet where, yeah,

  • you just came in, right, in a, in a ski mask, right?

  • And then, one of my favorites was at the Joker premiere.

  • You just showed up as the...

  • You, you don't take it, you don't take it seriously at all,

  • -do you? -I don't give no (bleep), no.

  • -I don't. -(applause and cheering)

  • Is there a reason?

  • -Uh, just got to be comfortable, man. -Right.

  • You got to do things your way, and, you know, you got

  • to enjoy yourself, I think is the most important thing.

  • Sometimes, it's a little bit too high strung and-and stressful...

  • -Right. -...to, like, to appease everybody,

  • so you got to have fun, and that one, my legs were just tired,

  • -so I sat down. -(laughter)

  • Wait, your legs were tired, like, just from standing

  • -on the thing? -Yeah, it was a lot of interviews,

  • so I was going up and down, so let me take a seat real quick.

  • (laughter)

  • I like that about you, LaKeith.

  • You just got this, you got this swagger about you,

  • where you just like, "I'm just gonna do my thing."

  • Yeah, you got to, man.

  • It's too stressful trying to make everybody happy.

  • (laughter)

  • (applause and cheering)

  • Um... Issa's in the movie.

  • She's one of the funniest people, both, like,

  • scripted and off the cuff.

  • Um, the two of you are, uh, you know,

  • y-you're playing back and forth together.

  • I've always wondered this.

  • When you are in a movie like this,

  • is there a point where you find yourself,

  • like, by mistake falling in love?

  • -I think-- -'Cause you're opposite, I've always genuinely,

  • I've always wondered that, like, when you're, when you're

  • in a romantic movie with somebody.

  • Yeah, I think you're trying to design a connection

  • that will translate on camera, so I think you're trying

  • -to get into a flow with the person. -Right.

  • Like, kind of break down the barriers

  • of, uh, what you don't know.

  • And-and tap into what you do know,

  • which is a sort of universal spirit.

  • So, that way, when the cameras come on,

  • there's a natural thing going on, so, yeah,

  • it's just rapport, breaking down the ice,

  • cracking jokes, kicking back, you know what I mean?

  • Relaxing and... and then when you get on screen,

  • it looks like you guys have known each other,

  • but you know, there's different ways of chipping at it

  • and getting at it, but I think the main, best way to do it

  • is just trust-- get in there, trust fall.

  • Go in naked, you know, emotionally, so to speak.

  • I've heard, I've heard directors say about your acting,

  • specifically, that what makes LaKeith special

  • is that you don't care about what you look like on screen.

  • -Mm-hmm. -You care about putting the character, you know

  • what I mean, getting the character across.

  • -Yeah. -You-you, you've been acting since you were, like,

  • -what, 14, maybe even earlier in life? -Yeah.

  • Where do you, where do you develop that from?

  • Where do you just wake up and go, like, "No, I'm,

  • "I'm fully in this, I'm not LaKeith in this moment.

  • I'm fully this person, and I don't care

  • what I look like, I care what the person sees"?

  • -I'm a little crazy, um... -(laughter)

  • But, also, I think it's, uh, you know, first of all,

  • it's-it's appealing to the story.

  • -The story's the most important thing. -Yeah.

  • And then, the characters come secondary.

  • And what I look like really ain't got nothing to do

  • with nothing, so I just kind of try to focus on the job

  • and execute, like, that's the...

  • But if I need to be worried about what I look like,

  • -then I'm worried, you know? -Right, right, right.

  • Just-just depends on what's necessary.

  • Where-where do you go from here?

  • Because, I mean, you've been in, I guess, like,

  • a thriller-slash-horror, y-you've been in an action,

  • you've been in, like, surreal, dark comedies,

  • you've been in romantic comedies-- where-where?

  • Is there something that you want to do that you haven't done?

  • Is there, like a dream project you have?

  • Yeah, I think my dream project is the one I have coming out.

  • Um, it's a untitled Fred Hampton project.

  • I did it with Shaka King and Daniel Kaluuya

  • is my costar and... it's just a beautiful story

  • that's about this guy who really fought for our freedom

  • and our love and our ability to-to love and express

  • the way we want to and those are the kinds of things

  • I want to be a part of.

  • If I can talk about something and say something that means

  • -something when I got an option to? -Mm-hmm.

  • That's what I want to do, so that's my kind of project.

  • -That, that sounds amazing. -(applause and cheering)

  • Yeah.

  • That really sounds amazing.

  • I'm excited to see you, uh, in this movie.

  • I'm excited to see what you do for the rest of your career.

  • I've, I have money on you beating

  • Samuel L. Jackson's record for the most movies.

  • -Oh, shit. (laughs) -I genuinely,

  • I think, I think you might.