‘Fight Night’ Cast Interview with Kevin Hart, Taraji, Samuel L. Jackson and more

what was it like reuniting with um Craig Brewer so many years after hustle and Flo and then also working with him on Empire episodes I was very I listen I love Craig Brewer we created a family um during uh Hustle and Flow cuz nobody got paid nothing we were all there because we were excited about this story and we wanted to tell it a lot how we came here but you know Kevin had the money thanks Kevin um but uh it was great I I've been waned to work with him since hust and Flo um and so I'm glad that he joined the our family at Empire but it was great to work with him again in this light because one thing Craig Brewer is the master of is the South you know how um Spike Lee he has New York down pack God Rest John Singleton R rest in peace he had La well that Craig Brewer got that South thing down and don't make it about the 70s cuz that is something he really really really understands he understands the tone the T Tempo how it looks he's just the best at it that was the best choice he grasps the best Cho the concept in the vision absolutely like nobody else we're very lucky to have him be a part of that y Now Kevin this is your latest project that's a bit more dramatic and tone versus comedy what is it about dramatic roles that keeps you wanting to do more well ba that's a new nickname if you choose you I appreciate it that's what I do by the way that happened so that's yours that's your well you know what I got married on Sunday so my last name is not congratulations so it's congratulations you have what BM no no it's B it's B movement no the baby mama no both no can't no don't not nickname we're going by your full name if if it ain't the ba we don't know okay uh I will say the the joy and drama is that it's easier and here's what I mean by that it's it's harder to tell stories through the comedy lens because you're leaning on the laugh and that laugh sometimes exists or doesn't exist on the set right because people are quiet and they want you to get your best performances and your best takes you're always going off of your judgment of what you deem to be funny when you're doing drama um as a comic for myself personally it's easier to pull off the serious side of a performance because the reactions are based off of you and your counter right how you guys are navigating in the scene and what you feel is the best definition of what you're trying to capture so working on that um it's not only a lot of fun but I think it's exciting for my fan base to see me and continue to gain respect for me in a place that you haven't seen me operating consistently right like it's true story you got the upside and you got fatherhood so out of a career of 20 plus years there's three versions of what a drama performance can be attached to so finding more things to help me showcase that talent and finding ways for me to align myself with the biggest and best to do it in our time um that's the that's the one and that's the new stage for excitement so um having the ping pong to go back and forth but finding more drama fil stories to tell is definitely where I am mentally I can't wait to see him do more drama cuz I just KN comedians to me make the better dramatic actors Jim car is one of the best oh my God Jim car is one of the best Richard Pryor was incredible it's just Eddie Murphy you go down the list because because they add a element of humor that a lot of the heavy dramatic actors Miss Steve Carell another good one oh my God incredible but anyway before I let you guys go you guys have worked together a few times you know you get you did Think Like a Man series you guys did didn't you do um the notas broken not easily broken okay yeah you guys have worked together a few times so what would you say makes your chemistry and your your working together so magical the fact that taji don't deal with my she just like cursing me out every day so we got a real relationship I do not curse him out let me tell you about I I I've been knowing Kevin for some time now but I just finally learned Kevin and Kevin is very much like my deceased grandmother he he loves he is has big heart he really does he has a big heart this man loves hard and when he loves you he loves you but he ain't going to show you he has a weird way of showing you how he loves you and as soon as you try to go in with the warmth that's when that's when his defense mechanism comes that's when the comedy comes out because he don't want to show you his vulnerability but I see you Kevin I have vulnerability Kevin I'm the machine I see you through the the glasses I see trying to break through some armor don't somebody want to be seen I'm inside I'm inside sit down I'm sitting down right next to right next that's why we got to change this see what happens I heard from Shay and will that you were the only person in this film who knew the original story so kudos to you for that and what about the story made you so intrigued to participate um you know I like I like doing things that intrigue me uh I remember when it happened like they said and we talked about it and uh I thought it would be great to like tell the tale and fill in fill in some of the blanks about the the mythology of it because it was a big deal uh and to uh enhance the story in another way you know because there are things there there are there are things that are factual that we know happened we know there was a fight we know there was a robbery we know people got stripped of their clothes and we know people died because of it uh and then you fill in the blanks around that and hopefully do entertaining and informative blank fillings so that people can be entertained now what was it like for you to dive into this real history that the series is based upon especially a character like yours who is a New York City gangster yeah but we don't know that he did what they say he did uh what we're saying that he did I don't I don't you know I enjoyed being who Frank was or what he was supposed to be in the story and what his job was in this story uh and it was was wonderful to feel invincible and to understand that anybody's power can be snatched from him like that you know and to find a way to take his power back and what happens when you make a person like that angry uh and what he um can bring upon you or the people that he feels uh embarrassed him how that works uh and for for and to have a person who has an understanding of what the future is in his mind and what he thinks his legacy is because of what he's been told by his ancestors or his grandmother and grandfather telling him who he was and what he was old or what the world means to him and how you should move through it and his understanding of the growth of Atlanta and what his part in that could could be and in his mind should be and you guys go back into time for this series you guys go into the 70s how was it stepping into that to into that world it's kind of funny really you know when you put on those clothes you go damn we look like this uh what these clothes are they are they supposed to fit like this and you go yeah I guess so because you look at the pictures and you feel it and then you look in the mirror and you go I remember when I look like this well I can't you are continuing to expand more and more into TV and film roles what about this specific project was different For You especially because it's a time period drama well definitely the fact that it's a time period drama I loved the complexity and the seriousness of this story I thought it was so beautifully written and I just couldn't say no especially after hearing all of the iconic names of part of this project like I was like I get to be a part of this like it was pretty cool now squa how is it being transported back to the 70s because you did do another period piece where you can start you can't get away can't get away every time I try to leave the 70s keep pulling me back uh it felt good it felt good to do it again it had been some time obviously since American Soul so it was it was cool to do it again in a different capacity playing a different character and a different set of circumstances um um you know with Don he's he he was iconic in creating Soul Train and becoming a Cavalier for black television and media all around right so there's something very aspirational to that and then with McKinley obviously he's going through an up uphill battle of trying to survive and provide for his family and so there was something really attracting to me about that and his complexity and just like the two parallels Chloe had said something in an earlier interview just about being able to see the circumstances of the different leeners around the world of across generations and what they go through and there's a lot of McKinley out there so just as Don was building something McKinley was losing something and so to play him into both of those spaces while in the same era was really cool was really cool to me I loved it every day but to see how the world is created by all the other artists in the world hair makeup props you know set deck is always really cool now Chloe um obviously Atlanta plays a big character in this film and from what I know you are from Atlanta so how was it um you know being immersed in this in this project with Atlanta being the focal point it was really cool it was nice being able to one go back to my roots and live there for a couple weeks and also tell the story and bring to life the history of my hometown a story that I had never heard of before this role came to me and then then from that completely immersing myself in it and now being able to share it on such a bigger platform with huge names so that people can see what happened in the place that I was born that's really really cool so I am definitely always proud to be from ATO now Chloe you did mention earlier um all of the iconic names that are in this film was it hard for both of you you squa and Khloe to keep um keep in character when when you have these comedians surrounding you it's funny I don't think people realize how funny Don is too yes right and so when you see Kevin and Don together it's actually pretty hard to stay in character because we had a couple of scenes where me and they start riffing off of each other and it's like the it is iconically humorous and but my character is going through a serious circumstance so I'm like I got to stay in it cuz the camera's on me and they're cracking jokes and that was the one time where I was like yo people do not know how funny Don Cheeto is and him and Kevin together is it was hard in that moment it was very hard what was it like playing Muhammad Ali given the fact that he has been portrayed a number of times in scripted media uh it was an honor as Shay our fantastic show runner and Creator would say uh it was a Herculean task that I was happy I got the chance to do and all I wanted to do the entire time was just do the champ and his legacy Justice and so I'm grateful that you're even asking this question and on down for you what was like to play a character who was ostracized in the black community as you played the first detective um on Atlanta's desegregated police force I think it was you know I it's good to have a character that's got these complications and and you know a lot to to chew um and he's somebody who you know as you said is kind of vilified by the community but at the same time needed by the community and they you know I I think that is sort of the the the line that he was straddling is how do I do my job effectively but at the same time represent you know Law and Order but not be the Pariah and it's just a lot of things he had to take on and so it's you know when you get the opportunity as an actor to play a nuanced character and to play characters that have to deal with a lot of stuff it's just it's it's a lot of fun now you guys took a trip back in time for this time period piece how was it stepping into the 1970s Dexter it was a black I mean my mama was alive and well and kicking when this was happening so she was very much so familiar with this era so I unfortunately I had a nice little Ram in the bush when I was asking for information on what it was like at that time but um you know the haircuts the cars the style um I mean when I would like we would be in hair and makeup and I get my haircut and I go next door and I look at Don and he's getting the look on and I'm like oh okay we're transporting into a time to make this world and I think that's why this peace feels as authentic as it does does is because you know production right yeah I would say the the the set deck the art Department the hair and makeup team wardrobe props everything and some of us were alive in the 70s so we can speak to the I wasn't gonna say it but you you kind of said it you did I wasn't going to say it either so y'all kind of saying it y'all kind of saying it while you're not saying it but but no it was great to have you know it always feels good when you have the best toys and the best elements to actually ground you in it and you're not reaching to to believe that you know we were right there we're in Period cars period clothes period dress you know you can hear the soundtrack almost as we're walking through the scene yeah we had a great time that walk and talk scene you know Don always says like there is he we were doing this Walkin talk and that like the the shops were there and they're described and designed the way that they were in the 70s and Don looks at me and he goes it's really cool that we get to play pretend with a bunch of people who who create this pret world yeah and I was like man that's it that's that's the truth yeah assembling this star studed cast was it hard for you guys to put it together and were they all like at the top of your bucket list for playing these specific roles let me tell you something assembling a cast like this is always going to be hard I'm not going to lie to you it's always tough you got to have the right appeal you got to have the right pitch to them and you got to have the right material we went after each and every one of these Stars individually and they all said yes which as somebody that's done some very cool ensemble cast before that almost never happens I'm just going to tell you and we reached out to them told them about this story told them about the podcast which many of them didn't know except for Sam Sam definitely knew because he was in Atlanta during that time so he was like no no no let me tell you about Fight Night the million dollar Heist and how it really went down so he was actually in college during that time he had heard of it everybody else were like this sounds so cool let me read the material and sha obana gave us such good material that at the end of the day my job was to make sure that everybody had what they needed to perform at the top of their game and I'm very happy with the end result well I'm very happy with the end result as well I definitely enjoyed the episodes that I was able to screen so Shay for you why was it important for you guys to have Atlanta as the focal point in the promotion and roll out of the series as well I mean it was just it it needed to happen because Atlanta was I mean such a a pivotal part of the show just as a character but we also from day one we were both like um strident in in shooting in Atlanta you know in the neighborhood in the areas where this took place in a part of town of where I'm from um that that I call home so we we absolutely were intentional about um injecting as much of Atlanta into this show as possible because it was part of the story so of course when it comes to the marketing you want to like you want to you know play that forward because that is part of the story yes of the show yes now how was it um going back into time and having the whole 70s theme and working in that time period for this piece surreal because you would walk on set and you would be immersed in this world this world that we want viewers to take this trip right and this is before Shay and I were born that this happened so we had to do a lot of research we had to be very authentic because you know how it is you know audiences they will tell you if you get the details wrong so we had to get the details right from the hair to the Wardrobe to the dialect right to our locations and the backdrops one of the biggest compliments was when the family of the actual chicken man who's the character that Kevin Hart plays they came on set and they got a chance to see our production design got a chance to see the the costumes got a chance to see the film this the scenes that we were filming at that time and they said you guys are getting this right that's the biggest compliment that is like the ultimate validation when you're trying to do something that's a period piece and get it right that was very very cool to hear