HOLLYWOOD INSIDER: Michael Ealy talks Seven Pounds

Hollywood Insider: Michael Ealy Talks about Seven Pounds and working with Spike Lee

I love Michael Ealy; he’s one of those really strong character actors who does a great job of blending into the background for his roles. You may not know his name but you’ll recognize his face. He was once selected as one of People’s most beautiful people in the world but he’s never been one who traded on his looks. As a matter of fact he’s purposely avoided getting famous. “When you get too famous, people just see that famous face.” So no his goal isn’t to become a super star, it’s to continue getting steady work, “If it were up to me I’d be doing nothing but great things.” I recently had a television conversation with him about his role in 7 Pounds and his star turn as the cynical soldier Bishop in Spike Lee’s controversial film Miracle at St. Anna.

EM
What was it like going from playing Bishop to your role in Seven Pounds?

ME
It was like night and day. Two completely different characters, Bishop was all cynical anti-establishment, he was the guy who was like F the government and the war, why should I fight for a country that treats me like dirt? My character in Seven Pounds works for the Government has a wife and kids. I get to play a total square. I think this is the first time that I’ve ever worn a suit in a movie. I called my Mom up and told her to watch it.

EM
So do think your Mom watched it and thought to herself “What might have been?

ME
[Laughs] Nah, she’s proud of me.

EM
Was it a shock to the system to go from two extremes?

ME
No, it’s what’s great about acting; you get to do all of these wildly diverse characters.

EM
So what type of actor are you? The devil may care, just show up and go, or are you method?

ME
I’m method to a certain extent; I’m not going to do cocaine to play an addict. I remember doing the table reading for Miracle reading and bringing different things to the reading. We had to go through bootcamp before I first rehearsal and that experience helped my performance more than anything. I remember thinking here we are getting shot at and did not have time think and figure things out we had to go with our gut reactions.

EM
How does doing something like Miracle affect your real life?

ME
Doing Miracle put things into perspective in a good way, I firmly believe that if you have an education you wouldn’t want to go into the military. It made me appreciate the life I had. When my character gets shot in that movie it was really shocking.

EM
I know, Bishop finally turned into a good guy and all of sudden, wham he’s gone. I was like nooo….

ME
To go overseas to get killed you realize that your life is predestined by simply being a black man in the South in the 30s and 40s, you didn’t have that many choices in how your life would turn out.

Hollywood Insider: Michael Ealy Discusses Seven Pounds

EM
So what was the difference between Spike Lee and Gabrielle’s style?

ME
Gabrielle likes to give input and try a lot of different things and ways of playing a scene. Spike hires you to do the job and he doesn’t interfere much, he doesn’t get in your way. Spike is from NY and everything is shorter/quicker. Gabrielle is Italian and likes to talk things through.

EM
What was it like working with Will Smith for the first time, do you get nervous working with such a big star?

ME
I don’t care if you are Robert D’Niro or Robert Dean, I’m going to approach you with my A game. I don’t need to be your friend. Will was very professional and easy to work with. He’s not the type to really give you advice (unless you ask) he leads by example.

EM
Do you have any projects coming up?

ME
It’s a little slow right now because people are worried about the possibility of a SAG strike. I’m developing five or six different projects myself and I have Bone Deep in the can over at Sony that’s scheduled to be released early next year.

The DVD and Blu-ray version of Seven Pounds hits the streets March 31, 2009. Check out some of these clips from the movie.