The Source Magazine sat down with “Broken City” star Jeffrey Wright where he spoke with us about working on the film and his upcoming projects. Check out our interview below:
Q: What attracted you to the project?
Jeffrey Wright: There were several things that interested me about the movie. First was that, Allen wanted me to do it. And I have a lot of respect for the work that he’s done and was excited by the opportunity of working with him. And as well, I realized that Brian Tucker, the young screenwriter who’s responsible for “Broken City,” was a young kid from Chicago, gone to Juilliard, young African American writer, and that’s really a rare combination to have a director of color, writer of color, conspiring to tell a story like this, which is a known genre, but doing it from their perspective, that they had pulled the pieces together to be able to do that, is really very rare, and I was compelled by that, and then of course, you know, I think Mark is a really interesting guy. His story, the storyline of his life, is a very interesting one. And I didn’t know him so well prior to working on this, but I think he’s a really genuine guy, and it shows in his acting. When I read the script, it reminded me of a Humphrey Bogart movie, that’s how I read it. That kind of noir story, going back to these kind of archetypal, noir images and narratives. And Bogart had this authenticity about him and this ruggedness about him and this intensity about him and this danger about him, and Mark has that for a contemporary audience, and so I was really curious about playing alongside him in that way. Then, of course, Russell Crowe, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, so just a good combination of things.
Q: How did you prepare for your role as commissioner?
Jeffrey Wright: I didn’t spend time with any cops or do a six month internship in the office of Ray Kelly, because it’s really not that type of story that we’re telling, it’s really using New York as the backdrop for a story that could take place anywhere, really. The broken city could be Chicago, it could be Los Angeles, it could be metropolis, so I didn’t do anything specific in that regard to prepare, but I guess what I was curious about as we began to work on the character, was his mystery, which I thought suited this type of film and story telling, but also served the interests of his character because he is very much an operator and a manipulator and an observer in a world or in a setting where everybody’s clawing for power, and I think there’s something about his quietness and his stealthiness that serves his interests in surviving that power struggle.
Q: What was it like working with Mark Wahlberg?
Jeffrey Wright: Mark brings intensity, to his work that I found very, very rare. And, particularly in the physical aspects of the role, which he relishes, and it’s a great outlet for his physicality. So, there were some scenes that I think it’s probably some of those scenes that really stuck out for me because he plays them with relish and muster. I think he’s found a creative outlet for his intensity and his aggression, and he’s found a way to construct a positive outlook for that stuff. Obviously, there’s no secrets about Mark having made some mistakes early on in his life, and I’m really, really impressed by the choices that he’s made to re-craft himself, and to find a way of harnessing himself through this creative process and in doing that, has re-written the story of his life. It’s a really useful story for a lot of people I think it pulls through his legitimacy as a screen presence, and part of the reason why he has such broad appeal, is because people respond to his realness.
Q: What upcoming projects can you share?
Jeffrey Wright: There’s a movie that’s showing at Sundance, called “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete,” directed by George Tillman, with Jennifer Hudson, Jordan Sparks, Anthony Mackie. And then, I’ve got to finish up work on “The Hunger Games,” so I’ve got to go back to Hawaii in a few weeks to finish that, which is an easy invitation to accept, go off to Hawaii to work. There’s a Jim Jarmusch movie called, “Only Lovers Left Alive” that I did last year that I haven’t heard when it’s first showing, but I’m excited to see it because I’m a huge fan of Jim’s work and I think we did some interesting stuff.
“Broken City” is now playing.
-Jagpal Khahera
