Netflix's 'The Perfect Couple': Inside Scoop with Michael Beach | SWAY’S UNIVERSE

Intro [Applause] and when that man speaks you best to listen this man has really curated a career for himself that I think many would admire including myself and I'm not even a thespian and when I think of where it all started for him um it's pretty impressive how he's been able to sustain this quality of career yeah uh we've seen him in many films many TV series some of my favorites are lean on me waiting to excel a family thing is one of my favorites Aquaman is one of my favorit have it Be You Got It soul food soul food okay Law and Order um The Blacklist brothers and sisters Criminal Minds the list goes on and on Tulsa Kings the Jeffrey dmer story uh May mayor of Kingston and today he's here to talk about the perfect couple which is a limited Netflix series that premieres tomorrow I want to welcome him to the show and I feel like he deserves a standing o give it up for the one and only Michael be man I know first time here yeah man first time it's 2 in the morning app you can hear them Mike right come on man at least we know you could act like you hear them cuz that's what you do brother that's man it's good by the way we got Tracy G if you look at this oh there she is Tracy G is back in our New York office hello Tracy G okay hey hey hey happy to have you thank you hey hey man I played that at OG because I know you're from that area right where did Michael Beach: Roxbury Roots & First Acting Role you grow up I grew up in rockbury Boston yeah yeah in Warren Gardens specifically oh what does that mean Warren well it's like the you know the it's a particular neighborhood where they you know you grow up in the you know the the highrises highrises yeah well for Boston it's not like New York Boston doesn't really have that the highrise thing but you know in the hood man okay there you go oh so Gardens like projects like yeah like the Nicholas Gardens like like okay the hood hood Warren Gardens yeah okay well well you know we would hear like I played at OG I know he's a popular person um the almighty RSO with Ben Xeno and those groups I don't know if you was following all that stuff but they were painting these pictures of Roxberry and their music back in the late 80s and the back in the 90s it seemed like was a challenging environment is was that for you well definitely yeah I mean I was born in the 60s and and um you know went through the all the busing that was going on in the 70s and and um you know Boston was was a place where at that time time where you stayed in your neighborhood you know if you went into the to the white areas uh you know you you know you risk trouble you you risk yeah so so you stayed out of those neighborhood you stayed out of those neighbor who who are some of the um artists I know I don't know did did you did you grow up uh with hip-hop in your life or was it just kind of a side thing because if you grew up in the 60s and not necessarily no I mean that didn't really I mean the the term hip hop didn't exist at that time right and um but I grew up yeah with R&B you know the the listening to um you know Teddy penr stuff like that but uh and rap came I was just about you know when it became I was just about heading to college at that time you know and so I was in New York cuz went to college in New York and um and I remember being me and Ving rigns and Eric Lal wow um we'd be up uh even West West Snipes and we'd be up on the um 145th in St Nick yeah be up on the on the roof uhuh with our beatbox listening to you know all the cats of the time trying to work out trying to get in shape you know do you Wes Lee Snipes Vin RS ER re Eric L would be there uh yeah West was coming around cuz the first film I ever did was with Wes uhhuh a film called uh streets of gold yes yes right so Wes was Wes was out of school a couple of years before me about a year year year or two MH and so he was starring in this film that we shot in New York and um and I played his like uh he was a boxer trying to get get out of the hood and I I was his uh his his dude in the street trying to keep him in you know had these ideas gu drugs and this yeah yeah I was that guy you was the crab in the bucket I was the crab in the bucket okay all right okay what's funny is I I had to um I had to the first scene I ever shot uhhuh I had to smoke a cigarette okay right back then they didn't have all the clothes cigarettes and stuff they had now I never smoked a day in my life right so I didn't know what I was doing so they were like oh yeah you got yeah you're smoking and you're this and that and I and at the time I I was it was my first job I said okay I'll I'll try it they had to go and get um camel I guess when they had to filter yeah dude if you ever watched the movie I I'm not inhaling uhuh right so I take a puff and I start talking and the smoke just goes across my face there's no stream it's just literally just you know like a cloud and it's clear I don't know what the hell I'm doing yeah and you know so now you they have three four cameras back then it was one camera so you got to do the big shot the coverage you got to do every closeups yeah so you shoot like a gazillion times and I'm smoking these cigarettes a gazillion times that night I was so sick I I I was so sick that I I vowed to myself I Will Never Smoke on camera again and even when it becomes relevant I just I was like nah you won't do it I'm not going to do it you wow I was going to say even with the clove now you still nothing it's just it's you know it's a mental thing right it just is a block for me and uh and I mean I'm a very healthy dude anyway yeah and just the idea of it um I just did I did a film called if beill Street could talk of course round of appli for that talking great film great Cass you know Barry Jenkins and we're at we're in the bar you know uh Coleman Domingo my man who's killing it right now he you know we got this scene where we supposed to be smoking and drinking and so obviously I can drink cuz it's crap you nothing it's just water and thing or whatever he's smoking and I was like nah dude I can't I can't do it and uh and Barry's like okay what and I see the movie which was fantastic and I thought damn I should have done a cigarette you thought that CU it was right what you know cuz it was it takes place in the 70s you know we're in the bar where you know and and it was the one time I thought that's is appropriate and you should you know I should have done it wow man that's interesting I I didn't know folks Controversial Characters: Michael Beach's Perspective thought Michael Beach is here by the way we're talking about the perfect couple which premieres tomorrow's Netflix limited series yes I wonder how much thought because we often have um actors here and we we ask them questions about the roles that they um they that they choose to play and um how do you factor in if a character is so if the character is so extreme against who you are if maybe if the if it's based on a true story like we talk about the dmer the Jeffrey dmer story that got a lot of backlash from people because um it was a great done great it was great you know production yeah but there are people who are uh related to some of the victims that came out and protested uh do you consider that you know when you take on a role you you play the detective in that right right yeah yeah um I play one of the guys who actually you know he had like 63 hours of confession yeah and so I play like an amalgamation of the uh officers that the officer that he spoke to and then and then I have to go and inform the the family that their loved one has been a victim of Jeffrey dmer so it's tough yeah and um I you know when I do stuff I try not to have an opinion or a thought or I don't think about the audience or I don't think about pleasing them or not pleasing them or whether I'm a good guy or a bad guy or you know just I don't think it I don't think it's going to would serve me as an actor as a guy trying to play someone if I have to worry about ramifications of things you know what I mean it just doesn't um I I don't I don't factor that stuff in you can't factor that in yeah if it I mean if it's something that that I personally would have some major problem with I just wouldn't do the job you know okay but to be honest when now I think about I never ran across that you know I love to work and I love to be put in uncomfortable situations and I think that's that's when you discover things and that's when things become interesting to watch yeah you know um and so it's not about it's not about pleasing people or being good or bad I did a I did um a film called um uh oh Jesus you did about 200 I get it bro I was like I was like he put himself out there if he come up with the name I'll be you going to be impressed me too oh it's called it's called Patriots Day okay it's a big film bro yeah Mark Walberg yes but it was about the Boston uh bombing at the marathon and we did it a couple of years after it happened and so the the question was the same thing is it too soon yeah and there were a lot of people that thought it was and and a lot of people that didn't and there were a lot of the um survivors uh they don't call themselves victims they call themselves survivors who we got to meet who um most of which who were in favor of us doing the film okay and so the the question is is it going to be is the film going to be um accurate is it going to you know are we just going to try to show everybody's good and these are bad guys or we going to really be um delve into who the people are and and why they did what they did and how they did what they did and without particularly putting a spin on it yeah you know yeah and and and the fact that it was back in Boston where I was from Mark wber exactly exactly and and uh it it I I think it I think it was a fantastic film yeah you know it didn't it didn't break any records or anything and and it wasn't a huge opening but I think most people that watch the film are really impressed by by what we were able to do with it I saw the film man Round of Applause that's great film Mark wallberg is a friend you know what I mean I'm proud of him of what he's been able to do with his career HB Michael you talked about being from rockberry Michael K. Williams: Journey to His First Acting Job and we have so many we call our people who watch and listen to the show citizens we have so many citizens who watch the show and listen who are trying to get into acting they're taking classes they're taking all the steps how long did take you from your humble beginnings to going off to study this professionally to get your first job and when you got it what was it do you think that happened that finally clicked to to have you book and land that job you know I was I was very lucky I was very fortunate because I went to I went to juliard in New York and when I first went there I it I had been acting maybe nine months right uh from high School uh because I I played football like for real he play for real thank you foring little Pop Warner and then you know so I was I played I was 9 10 11 12 13 14 you know going yeah I kept going I retired at 10 all right put that out there but we had that two years in similar N9 and 10 transformative but I played um football so I got a I got a scholarship to a prep school outside of the hood you know in Boston I went to DEA Massachusetts and played at a very nice prep school which really opened my eyes cuz you know a lot of lot of family members hadn't gone to college you know it wasn't a thing right when I went to prep school it it it was like grade 13 everybody was going to college and I thought I was going to go play football in college but I got hurt um severely playing lacrosse actually this game lacrosse and since it was Prep School everybody did uh we had morning announcements right the whole school got together and you talked about what was going on over the week everybody did announcements and and some for some reason someone asked me to do an announcement and I said okay fine and I did one and you know people enjoyed it and then I and people were afraid to do it because it's in front of the whole school so they would ask me to do more and more and I just kept doing it and based on that when I got hurt someone asked me to do a play and I was like wow wow I'm a play why would you ask me to do a play I don't know nothing about a play I'm an athlete you know and and they asked me a few times I said no a few times and then eventually I said yes so I auditioned and I got it and then I I probably had like another 10 months of school left so I did a a few other plays and not knowing what to do for college because I couldn't play football sports anymore somebody said oh well you should audition for theater schools and I was like well what's a theater school and they said well will you will you will you act in school I said really they have those I had no idea dude seem easy to me yeah so so um they they gave me a list of schools and I auditioned for the schools that they gave me a list for and juliard happened to be one of them I didn't know anything about it and I got in so I said well which one should I go to and they said you should go to J now you know though yeah so yeah I know now yeah uh so I went and um and you know juliard then is real different now I mean it you know they had Cuts MH like um so you had your first year then you had at the end of your first year they so I went with 26 people that went into the acting program my year 26 26 yeah you go into a room and literally uh there were probably there just thousands and thousands auditioned right so you go into a room and um there's a lot of people in tights for the audition you know and they're talking about like Fame yeah like that right exactly like Fame like a little more adult right and they're talking about how they just finished they yeah I just did a run of AOW or yeah I was just doing MC Beth you know at the so and so theater and D I didn't know what the hell was going on I was just sitting there this little kid from the hood you know spent a little bit of time in the Prep School you know the difference between the hood and the prep school was huge and the difference between prep school and juliard is huge cu the it's a juliard there's no academics I don't have to take math or science or it's all theater wow you know all movement all voice all diction speech all of that stuff so that whole experience was crazy for me too and and going there and you find out that there are people that are there who have been acting since they were nine and 10 okay see it matters it matters exactly he tried to sneak in it does matter you're right you're right bro yeah and um and I was not one of those one of those people so um the lore of it because it was it people in my class were really intimidated by the fact that they were at juliard you know they first of all they made it which is amazing yeah and then um they had the the lore of these teachers and what it meant and this and that and so at the end of the first year they would warn people saying that you're coming back for the second year but if you don't improve this or this or that then we're cutting you from the program oh that's what he meant by the cuts initially right so there are you the 4year program but if you don't make the cut you only do two and damn so we started with 26 I think one person left the program the third year which is after the cuts we had 11 wow wow so it was tight yeah any names we know that were a part of that 11 well uh from my class no okay but like Eric LEL yes who you know I'm sure he doesn't mind me telling but he was a couple of years before that but he got cut Eric LEL look at his career yeah but he was so he was so smart about it he he had a mentor who literally was on top of it so he was able he ended up going to NYU mhm so he got cut from juliard he went in an audition for NYU got in the NYU Advance program and ended up doing two years at NYU and graduated from NYU at the same time he would have graduated from juliard Smart yep yep he's been up here too Eric L he's a citizen yeah now that's my man that's an author he's writing and doing a lot yeah he's got these great uh series of books books yeah okay man this is interesting bro Michael Beach is here give him a big round of applause and uh he's in a a new series is called the perfect couple uh premiering tomorrow here on Netflix and Michael K. Williams in "The Perfect Wedding" Cole Kitman leave rber in a Dakota Fanning is in it and uh give us a brief synopsis of what this series is about so this is a limited series six episodes right it's about a n Tucket family a wealthy old school family mhm and one of their sons is getting married to someone who is not of a wealthy old school family not of the pedigree she coming she's on she's on a come up she's on the come up okay she's from the gardens yeah she she grew up in the hood yeah but uh the night before the wedding someone is killed mm and obviously uh we don't I I'm not going to say who but someone is killed yeah and so the question is who among the family members or the friends of the family killed this person okay my character is the chief of police and he is heading up the investigation um and so it's really this who done it uhuh in a very very wealthy setting and um you get to know cuz it's called the perfect couple I think because it's the idea of this perfect family and perfect setting but through through the investigation you start to the family and their problems and who they are and how they're so not perfect all of that stuff starts to come out come out wow I love this man that's my kind of who done it too man it's called the perfect couple premieres tomorrow Tracy you want Michael K. Williams: Relationship with Wife Felicia to jump in yes I do um Michael you know we've been speaking about how you've had such an illustrious career you've been on so many different size screens but I got to say one of my favorite times of watching you was you and your wife Alicia on the black love docu series on on own I thought that was so spectacular to hear your story and before here seeing the the trailer for um the perfect couple when I heard that title it immediately brought me back to those episodes and for those who did not catch its citizens Michael you were so honest in talking about being married prior a Felicia 17 years in and congratulations because that is a lot with sustaining that love but you spoke about being married before and um creating four beautiful children from that relationship and saying you know what I'm done I don't think I'm ever going to travel down this path again and I think that's so relatable for a lot of folks where you know a a a life that they had that changes and then you can just kind of melt into a puddle of pessimism what would you could you share some words for folks on just being open to the possibilities of life because eventually you did meet Alicia and now here y'all are 17 years in holy matrimony yeah we yeah we've been married SE going on well we've been together 24 years now oh wow and um yeah and she I mean she literally to In from from my mind she she she saved me from myself you know and um in terms of in terms of my happiness you know and um cuz I I can't imagine the idea of not being in love and being with someone and be aging as I am and not um having that relationship but the the I was married 17 years before yeah had the four kids like you said and it didn't work out you know okay and because I had four kids I thought well why do I have to do that again you know I'm done I'm done and it wasn't a horrible marriage in fact on on the uh black love I talk about the fact that um that my ex-wife lives with my wife and I and our kids lives with what you mean in in the same house did you do that when you were nine or 10 no no I didn't get I I had kissed a girl yet Mike what you talk oh my bad but but but but talk to us yeah um I mean the circumstances is a long story but the you know my my um you know you thinking about it sound kind of crazy yeah because because it is a it is a rare situation you know where uh she's lived with us now for I don't know it's been seven eight years wow and she's literally just a part of our family cuz my wife and Elish and I have four young kids as well and so they just know my ex-wife's name is Tracy they just know her as Tracy mhm they know we we used to be married because they because our older children who are in their 30s they come over all the time and they know that Tracy is their mom and I'm their dad but they they're brothers and sisters but their mom is different yeah so it's kind of it just become this blended family that is that is awkward from the outside but it actually works perfectly and I the reason I think that I think I've been saved is because I I'm able to let go of negative things um or things that you know sometimes you think what was done to you or uh how you know I was put in this situation or you know all these terrible things that that Tracy and I went throughh but a lot of people hold on to it MH and if really doesn't help you you know you know you get bitter and you you know it you make bad decisions because of those th that weight and that pressure and and I found that in letting that stuff go it just makes my life so much easier so much more enjoyable and Elicia my wife has helped me do that you know because it's not it's not me I think her having your wife embrace the fact that your ex-wife is is living with you yeah exactly yeah stand know we gave you the standing this her man I needed you to help me understand how you could come home and ask that question like how does that yeah I mean the the the way it happened is a that's too long of a story but but it it you know there there's been a lot of times because the funny thing is they're together more than we are together because I take a job I go out of town you know and early on I was when I was doing Aquaman I was in Australia I'm in Australia for two months you can't say I'm going to go home for the weekend when you're in Australia yeah no you know because time difference all that 2 yeah exactly so so during that time I was in Australia and then right after that I was in South Africa doing a film wow and and so Elicia and Tracy um got closer and Tracy was very helpful with our kids taking them to school and helping you know with the dinners and stuff like that and so it just you know it just worked out you know and it's funny CU sometimes on social media especially on uh black love you know it always comes up oh oh you got this uh this little uh thing going on you know this little sex thing going on yeah yeah yeah I couldn't think of it word but and it it's you know obviously it's nothing farther from the truth it just you know Tracy is a part of my life a part of my family we have four kids together right um she was 21 I think I was 22 when we met and um I just can't cut her off why would you know what I mean I can't yeah I mean it's just not um it's just not going to happen you know so um now obviously she doesn't have to live with us but but it just you know it just worked out that way and it is it is comfortable for us well go ahead about to go home and ask my husband cuz my ex live with us see how that works on the men's do flip it m idea don't blame me don't blame me it ain't going to work hey man let's give a big round of applause for Michael Beach Michael Beach's Concept of the Perfect Couple man and it sounds like that's your your your concept of the perfect couple you know suff was a added person in here perfect couple man listen um I want to thank you for coming by this morning man this is awesome I I real quick you went School Days with Guru from Gang Starr to school with gur uru from Gangstar well his family yeah the elims his uh his father's a judge in Boston I went to school with his sister Joselyn and uh yeah obviously long before he was the guru yeah um you know Keith uh and I went to school with his sister from yeah from early age maybe when we were like N9 or 10 see you know you know it counts and then we went we ended up in uh we end up in high school together so so when he when his star start to rise what did you think like did you know he was rapping or no I didn't in fact I didn't even know he was the Guru from Gangstar yeah but then I didn't know who it was but then I saw his picture uhhuh I was like oh [ __ ] and you know and uh and and I was I was digging his music before I knew who he was and um and uh it was so it was so weird because I obviously you know knowing them when were kids mhm you know rap wasn't even it wasn't there yet it wasn't there yet you cuz we're talking about the early 70s um and uh and it was it was so impressive because the family he's from you know he's he from a a very prestigious family prestigious family yeah his brother his brother actually went to uh the high school uh that I'm talking about to Nobles and greenos he's actually one of the distinguished graduates mhm um and which I became about two years ago as well and um so it's a it's a really it's a really cool Connection in terms of Roxbury coming from the hood but um going to getting a good education you know which is the key I think you know having a nice education to being able to see more and experience more and I think that's what one of the things that made him such an amazing rapper I mean that dude he spoke uh he spoke so eloquently to me yeah no he was incredible man salute to Guru rest in power and salute to his family I just wanted to give him that light Michael Beach it's been an absolute pleasure to have you on this show brother man come back man New York "The Perfect Couple" Premieres on Netflix Tomorrow yeah man um the perfect couple is premiering globally on Netflix tomorrow make sure you check it out Michael Beach he's in it Nicole Kitman leers is in it as well as Fanning sounds like a good series yeah Mike thank you brother appreciate you man right