An Interview with Omar Epps

This interview took place in 2004. Omar Epps, star of "House" was on a tour promoting the movie "Against the Ropes". I met him at a Starbucks in Denver. Although he was a rising star then, things really took off soon thereafter with his role in "House".

Q: Were you into boxing before you did this movie?

A: As a fan. I mean, like every guy you see a great fight and start shadow boxing, but I never boxed.

Q: What's your favorite experience been on a movie?

A: There's been no favorite to be honest with you. Each experience offers something different. All of the time it's the work, but a lot of time it's just working with different people, the chemistry, meeting new people, hearing new ideas.

Q: "Brother" was an unusual film. What led you to do it and how was it working with Takeshi Kitano?

A: It was incredible working with Takeshi Kitano. He's definitely a master of his craft. I wasn't aware of Takeshi Kitano, but I went and got a bunch of his films and tried to immerse myself in his world. He definitely has a particular style. He doesn't speak English and I don't speak Japanese. None of his crew spoke English. It was really a marriage of the cultures versus a clash. It's really interesting how we humans can communicate without language just through being and feeling. We really had that connection. He never went past one take, rarely, very rarely, and that for me was like doing stage.

Q: "The Wood" is sort of an indicator of a renaissance in African-American film. Do you think that's a fair characterization and if so, what do you think of that renaissance? That was a film made only for its target audience. You could go back to "Boyz n' the Hood". That's still a movie where the filmmakers were thinking about a wider audience. Now you're getting films like "Barbershop". "The Wood" is just a really early film in that genre.

A: That's an interesting observation and I think it's actually a flattering remark in terms of a film like that. I feel that people reacted to it, that "The Wood" transcended that. "The Wood" just spoke about guys. The predominate characters were black, but the way it was written and the storyline, everyone related to it. You have no idea how many people who are not black came up to me and said "I love that movie". People love that film because it speaks of a time we all go through. As far as black film, the renaissance I remember was Spike Lee. I was a young cat then. I was a little boy basically. It was about giving the world our perspective and slices of our life. Now, films like "Barbershop", people who aren't African-American react to that because they know of it so much. They're not in those neighborhoods to know.

Q: Isn't the difference that makes the renaissance politics? There's no politics in "The Wood".

A: Exactly. It's just a linear story. You can put anyone in it. For African-American film to grow, it has to be that. It has to be stories that transcend color. If you think of "Schindler's List", that's a film that speaks to a certain demographic, but how could the rest of the world not take in that story? Ultimately, it's the story of us. When you involve politics, you're walking a fine line because that's when people get opinionated. You think about a film like "Do the Right Thing," white people love that film. They love it because it was the truth. It was sort of like people were sick of glossing over the truth and it deal with real issues.