The Source Magazine caught up with “Kick-Ass 2” stars Donald Faison, Morris Chestnut and the cast recently. The fun sequel based on the highly popular comic book series comes out this Friday, August 16.
In “Kick-Ass 2,” Donald Faison plays one of the more enthusiastic members in the film, Doctor Gravity. A copy-writer who pretends he’s a Physics professor by day, a superhero by night, Doctor Gravity uses his “knowledge” of physics to beat his enemies and protect his city. Morris Chestnut plays Marcus Williams, the guardian of Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl when her father, Big Daddy, is killed. The most grounded character in the film, all Marcus wants to do is his best to make sure Mindy lives the normal life of a teenage girl.
In “Kick-Ass 2,” Donald Faison plays one of the more enthusiastic members in the film, Doctor Gravity.
Q: How’d you get involved with “Kick-Ass”?
Faison: I auditioned like a lot of the people…I did know the director. I did a project with him and he told me about the role like, “Yo, you gotta audition” and, you know, Universal wants to see what you’re gonna do and so does Matthew Vaughn. And so, I auditioned for it. And it all worked out. That’s how I got involved with the project.
Chestnut: I had to beg and plead. [Laughter] No, I basically did auditions. I met with the director and I read and I got the part. I saw the original movie and I really…thoroughly enjoyed it cause it was such a fun fantasy action movie that didn’t take itself too seriously. And I really wanted to be a part of it.
Q: Did you bring anything crazy to the audition?
Faison: No, I didn’t bring anything crazy. But just before the audition…three weeks straight I went and trained with the MMA dude, you know a guy who does MMA [Mixed Martial Arts] stuff and took up Dutch Muay Thai kick-boxing. Just for the audition.
Q: Well, Turk had his moments in “Scrubs.”
Faison: Yeah but…this is completely different than anything Turk ever did in “Scrubs.” This dude is a masked vigilante, who’s not afraid to throw down when necessary.
Q: What was it like working with Jeff Wadlow?
Faison: I love me some Jeff Wadlow. He’s a really good director and he has a vision and he knows how to execute his vision, which is really important when you’re being directed by someone. When someone doesn’t know what it is they want, usually the movie doesn’t work out or usually whatever project it is doesn’t work out as well as it should. And, I think, Jeff as a director and as a writer is on his way. He’s very, very talented.
Chestnut: Aw Jeff was great. Jeff was absolutely great. He brought such a childlike enthusiasm for the movie that his whole enthusiasm just spread throughout the cast, throughout the crew. Every time something happened, he was just really excited, really enthusiastic about it. He just had a really great approach to the movie. He was great.
Q: How much input did you have in developing your character?
Faison: Well, the character is already in the comic-book, so all I had to do was really open up the comic-book, “Kick-Ass 2,” which I was already a fan of and the character was there. I think everybody has a little bit of Dr. Gravity in them; he’s inspired by Kick-Ass to become a superhero and at some point in everyone’s life they want to do something to change something for the better, you know whether it be being a politician, whether it be being a youth leader or a police officer or in some way everybody’s been inspired by someone to want to do better. And so that’s what I brought to the character. That the character was someone who really wanted to make a difference in his city.
Chestnut: That pretty much is what it was. [Jeff] was very open if I suggested anything, he was very open to that. But you know the character pretty much was what it was. This movie isn’t about, obviously, Marcus, it’s really about the other characters, so there really wasn’t much. I just had to come in and not mess it up. There was only so much I could do with what I had.
Q: How did it feel to put on the tights and be a superhero?
Faison: Well I don’t wear tights, so let’s make sure we’re clear on that. I don’t wear tights. The character wears a motorcycle outfit. It was great. You know, I looked at myself in a mirror for about…40 minutes without blinking. That’s how deep that was, and the first time I put on the suit. By the end of the shoot, I wanted to rip the suit off because it was so hot, it was constricting, and you gotta really watch what you eat when wearing such a tight, constricting suit.
Q: What was it like working with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jim Carrey and the rest of the crew of Justice Forever?
Faison: It was great. Aaron is one of those superhuman kids man. We did all of these fight scenes together and stuff like that. Kick-Ass and Dr. Gravity have to team up in the movie and we shot it and it took about five and a half hours. We were racing the sun, like the sun is coming up and we’re trying to get this thing done before the sun gets there. And we shut down some street in Toronto and it was very intense and very high powered. And I remember I pulled a butt muscle, which I didn’t know you could do, but I did. I mean I didn’t know you had muscles in your butt, but I pulled the muscle that I do have in my butt. And so I had to limp and I had to run and everything. Anyway, to make a long story short, at the end of it all, I was so tired. And when I say I was so tired I mean I was…tired like I fell asleep and I didn’t wake up for 24 hours. Aaron got up the next day and went out there and crushed again, like he’s superhuman.
And then working with Jim was great. You know I’ve always been a Jim Carrey fan. I was a Jim Carrey fan ever since “In Living Color” and all the characters that he played. And “Ace Ventura,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” these all were movies that I was a huge fan of. And so to be able to work with him and him actually talk to me about “Scrubs” and actually being a fan of “Scrubs” and stuff was huge for me. And I had a lot of fun working with Jim. Same thing with Chloe. Since the first “Kick-Ass” Chloe’s been…one of those people that you watch for. And totally being in this movie was a big boost for my confidence and my career I feel like. And I’m really excited for people to see it.
Q: If you had the chance to be any one of the villains in the film, who would it be?
Faison: The Motherf*cker.
Q: That’s a great name.
Faison: That’s the best name ever for a super villain. The Motherf*cker. “Who did this?” “The Mother F*cker did it.” [Laughter]. Can’t beat that with a baseball bat.
Q: If you could play one of the villains, who would you play?
Chestnut: I still think the baddest superhero/villain in the movie is Hit-Girl. I think that’s just the baddest character. I loved that character. So would I have wanted to be Hit Girl… I would have wanted to be Hit Girl.
Q: We could see that…
Chestnut: I’m an actor, man! You trying to say I can’t play female? You guys are always counting us actors out man, that’s not right. I could play a white female with the best of’em, alright?!
Q: Personally, I think I’d go with Mother Russia. She just destroys everything.
Faison: Yes! Well, in the comic book she’s just as lethal. And so it was really cool to see that translate from the comic book into the movie. That was really awesome…I think I would have been like Black Death and Genghis Khan.
Q: So you’ve been in several different television shows, “Scrubs,” you’re in “The Exes” now, you’ve been in “Felicity.” You’ve appeared in numerous films as well. Do you prefer one medium over the other?
Faison: Nah! I’m just happy to be working to be honest with you. You know, the fact that I’m still able to be in movies and still do a television show is a blessing and I’m really, really grateful for that. I’m happy that I can do both.
Q: You’re re-teaming with Zach Braff for “Wish I Was Here,” can you give us any updates on the film?
Faison: I’m excited to do it. It’s always great to work with your best friend. I know he has a really sick vision for this movie and I trust that he can execute.
Q: In the film you work primarily with Chloe Grace Moretz, what was it like working with her?
Chestnut: Oh she was great. I think Chloe’s a great talent. From the first movie, she was the character I was most drawn to, just watching her on screen I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She was just very professional and very sweet. I had a great time with her.
Q: So you don’t get to dress up in any funny costume in the film.
Chestnut: [Laughs] Yeah that was a drawback man, I actually wanted to! I said, “Man, how can you guys have me in a movie called “Kick-Ass” and I don’t get to kick any ass and wear any types of outfit’s man?” I got the short end of the stick.
Q: Well, you still played a very important role in it.
Chestnut: Well, I guess I was just somewhat of the moral/legal conscious of the film, but you know, you still want to kick ass, you have a movie where people are having fun and putting on costumes and stuff.
Q: Was there any difficulty in playing what I would say is the most extremely grounded character in that fantastical world.
Chestnut: [Laughs] No, I think the only difficulty was the backlash I get from the teenagers across America like, “You killjoy!” There was no difficulty. Sometimes, I didn’t mind, I had a great time with it. I knew what was expected of the character and I just really wanted to be a part of the film. I would have been an extra in the film if they had asked me to.
Q: You weren’t in the first “Kick-Ass,” you replaced Omari Hardwick. Was there any pressure with the role, the fact that it was done before?
Chestnut: Nah, I just didn’t want to screw it up, basically. I don’t know what happened, I don’t know why he wasn’t asked back. I just didn’t want to screw it up. I had fun, I had fun doing it. I know Omari, he’s a really, really cool dude. I don’t know if they just had differences, I don’t know if they couldn’t make a deal, I don’t know what the situation was. But, you know, there really wasn’t any pressure because the character is really a secondary character, I mean these people are coming to this movie to see the superheroes and the villains, they’re not coming to see Marcus.
Q: Over the past few years you’ve dipped into television doing “V,” “American Horror Story,” “Nurse Jackie” and yet at the same time you’re still appearing in numerous films. Is there any medium you prefer over the other?
Chestnut: I love just the opportunity to go back and forth. You know, feature films…feel like forever until they come out. As soon as I left the set of “Kick-Ass 2” I went straight from London to New York to start filming “Nurse Jackie” and we filmed a whole two months of “Nurse Jackie,” I [have] shot and have seen every single episode of “Nurse Jackie” before “Kick-Ass 2” is going to come out. Obviously, to me, there’s nothing like the movie going experience. To be going into a theater with a captive audience, everything goes black, and to see that big screen, there’s nothing like that. But I love the immediacy and pacing of television to where you go to the set, you shoot, you have two to three takes, you’re moving on, and it comes on TV the next day. You know I love that. I love both of them.
Q: Later on in the year, you’re appearing in “The Best Man Holiday,” anything you can tell us about that?
Chestnut: Yeah, that movie is a sequel from the original “Best Man” 14 years ago, and everything’s going to be heightened there, it’s gonna be much more emotion, it’s gonna be much more camaraderie, it’s gonna be a little bit of everything, comedy. So I’m really, really, excited and proud of that movie as well, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.
Q: If you had the opportunity to go back and revisit and other character you’ve done before, who would it be?
Chestnut: It’d probably be Ricky from “Boyz n the Hood” and I probably would’ve run the other way.
Q: Really?
Chestnut: Yeah, so I could be in the sequel. [Laughs] It didn’t work out too much for me in that first one.
In addition to speaking with Morris and Donald, The Source attended and intimate press conference with Director Jeff Wadlow, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Check out highlights from the hilarious press conference:
Q: Do you feel like Hit-Girl could take on Robin?
Taylor-Johnson: She would totally beat up Robin.
Moretz: Yeah, I’d totally beat up Robin. I think I’d win.
Q: Chris, is there anything at all redeeming about your character? Chloe, she seems to have daddy issues, can you talk about how you thought about those.
Mintz-Plasse: He is a villain, it’s hard to have a redeeming quality…but the fact that he lost his family is the one thing that you kind of believe…if you’re rooting for him…well first off you’re messed up if you’re rooting for him, but if you are, that’s the one redeeming quality because you understand why he’s doing what he’s doing.
Moretz: I think with Hit-Girl yeah you could definitely say daddy issues…I mean she watched her father burn in front of her and held him in his last moments as he died. So you know I think she definitely has daddy issues in that fact. She doesn’t have anyone looking after her except for Marcus and he’s a cop, you know who is the most opposite of who she is. I think that is really…what we tried to bring into it, too, was that she doesn’t know what she’s doing.
Wadlow: One thing we all talked about while creating their characters was that in the first film we saw their alter egos. In this film, they’re trying to figure out who they really were, who Dave, Chris, Mindy really were.
Q: I want to know if these roles have changed your lives, and if so how have they?
Moretz: Yeah I mean, I think for me definitely. I think Hit-Girl is that character that, for me, really did put me in a different light. I think it’s the character that I would say is my breakout role, you know put me in the minds of people in this business. And it’s an amazing role because it’s something that was poppy and fun and to revisit it. It was so fun. It’s just one of those characters that I think changed me as an actor for sure.
Mintz-Plasse: I think it was just good for people… I had just did a bunch of comedies before I did “Kick-Ass” and so I think it was cool for people to see me do something a little darker, something a little action involved.
Talk about Taylor-Johnson as an actor.
Wadlow: You’re such a fantastic actor. I was struck by two things working with you. One was, when we first started there was this question that…it had been a few years, you have a family now, the roles you were playing had grown up and…some people were like “is it gonna be weird seeing Aaron slip back into Dave?” But you were so into the details like the shoes and the jacket and I think Sammy saved the glasses for you. And as soon as you got your hair back there you were Dave again. And the other thing I was struck by was how you transformed Dave over the course of the movie because one thing we talked about was how he really had to change in this movie and become the superhero he wanted to be. You guys saw the film and you saw how Aaron did that and it was amazing to see you become the end product of this fully realized man.
-Joshua Kaye
