Michael Ealy stars in a new thriller coming to our big screens soon. He talks about the exciting film and more.
In the new thriller, The Perfect Guy, Michael Ealy stars as Carter Duncan, an impossibly handsome charmer who is anything but what he seems. Rejected by the woman of his dreams, the successful lobbyist, Leah Vaughn (Sanaa Lathan), he will now stop at nothing to win her back. But, his rejected romantic interest soon becomes a deadly obsession.
1. What was it that first attracted you to The Perfect Guy?
For me, this was an opportunity to play a real villain, but one that was very subtle and nuanced. Also, the opportunity to be an executive producer on the project made me more involved in the creative part of it so I was able to have more input as to how we were going to play this guy.
2. It is a very different role for you.
A lot of people have seen me do what I would call more ‘safe’ roles; roles that are more in my comfort zone in terms of being the moral compass or that nice, trustworthy, guy. For me, it was a nice break from that. Plus, there’s always a challenge in being a villain because if you’re not good, trust me, people will tell you about it (laughs)…
3. Tell us about working with Sanaa Lathan.
As producers, we were helpful in making sure that the script got to where it needed to be. But, where it really mattered was that by the time we actually started shooting we both were ready. It’s not like we had to develop chemistry on day one, because we had talked in various meetings and rehearsals. We had worked out a lot of the minutiae that doesn’t get worked out usually until you’re on set. We had worked most of that out months in advance.
4. Tell us about shooting those intimate scenes with Sanaa.
It’s far from awful (laughs). The hardest thing about it is trying to do 175 push-ups before the camera starts rolling. You know, doing all these curls, trying to keep your muscles pumping and stuff like that throughout (laughs)…
5. You’re also working with Morris Chestnut in this film. Is this the first time you’ve worked together?
We were both in Think Like a Man. He had a cameo in that. But we never really worked together in it. You know we both worked on the same day, but we never got a chance to really go at each other. This movie presented us with that opportunity. We had two really good scenes. He won one and I won the other… And we’ll leave it at that.
6. How did you get your start in the business?
I grew up in Maryland. Two of my best buddies were making a film while we were in college. Over the summer we said, “Let’s make a movie”. That’s where I got the bug. From there I knew I was going to do it. But I had to finish school first.
7. What was your most important break?
A lot of people don’t know this, but I did a play called “Whoa-Jack” in 1999. It was down at the Tribeca Playhouse in New York, which I don’t think is there anymore. That was the first time I had booked a lead in an Off-Broadway play. Rosalie Joseph, who was head of casting at ABC, came and saw the play because of another actor, but she left her information for me to give her a call. So I went in and had a meeting with them and they took me under their wing… “You need to be working more. What are you doing? What can we do to help?”
These women at ABC casting became my surrogate moms. They taught me how to audition better. They told me what casting directors were looking for. The next thing you know, I was starting to get some TV work – my first Law & Order and stuff like that. So I consider that my big break. Yes, nobody knew who I was after that happened. But that was the first time I felt like, “Okay I didn’t just come to New York on a whim and a prayer.”
8. Was there ever a point where you thought you might quit?
I waited tables in New York from 1996 to 2001. There were many times when I felt like I was just a waiter; not an actor. I just wasn’t working enough to feel validated as an actor. My acting coach told me on my first day of acting class that it takes years to succeed. Five years after my first class I got Barbershop, which was my big break into film and television.
9. What was the biggest challenge in making The Perfect Guy?
It was mostly avoiding the clichés. Ultimately, we wanted to try and take the genre and go at it a little differently. And director David’s Rosenthal’s indie sensibilities, I think, helped us get there.
10. Is hard to shake a character like this off at the end of the day?
Yes, I won’t deny it. There were definitely times when I came home and said to my wife, “Just give me a couple of hours.” The film premieres in SA today. Are you going?
