San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Napa fest will honor Fishburne
For the past four decades, Laurence Fishburne has proved to be one of America’s most versatile, reliable actors, appearing in work ranging from Superman to Shakespeare, and lighting up the stage, television and big screen. He has won a Tony (“Two Trains Running”) and an Emmy (“TriBeCa”) and been nominated for a Golden Globe (“The Tuskegee Airmen”) and an Oscar (“What’s Love Got to Do With It”). His extensive resume includes roles in “Apocalypse Now,” “Boyz n the Hood,” and perhaps most famously, as Morpheus in the “Matrix” trilogy.
On Thursday, Nov. 8, Fishburne — now a regular and executive producer on the hit TV series “Black-ish” — will be honored with the Charles Krug Legendary Actor award at the Napa Valley Film Festival, which runs Wednesday to Sunday, Nov. 7-11:
Q: How does it feel to be receiving the legendary actor award at the Napa Valley Film Festival?
A: I’m honored, in a word. It’s very kind of them. Q: Do you have any memories of the Bay Area?
A: I do, largely through my association with Francis Ford Coppola. There were also the “Matrix” sequels shot there.
Q: What is your secret for career longevity? A: I have a need to try different things. I like to keep it fresh. I also like working with new directors — I’ve worked with a lot of first-timers. Q: Who are some of the directors who have influenced you? A: Coppola. “Apocalypse Now” was film school for me. I learned so much from that experience in real time — all the crew, the process of filmmaking. It took two years to shoot. The film was an education in itself.
Q: Your mother had a big impact on your career.
A: My mom (Hattie) recognized that I had a gift for the arts. She was the first one who pushed me in that direction. I resisted for a while, but at age 9, I finally gave it a chance. My mom was also an educator, so I was exposed to a lot of different things. I was interested in a lot of different people and cultures. Her influence cannot be underestimated.
Q: How do you decide whether a role is for you?
A: The first thing is, whether it speaks to me on a personal level. Does it scare me? Is it a story that I’m interested in being part of the telling? Q: What single piece of advice would you offer to an aspiring actor? A: “Don’t let these motherf—ers tell you no.”
Q: What is the biggest single lesson that you have learned during your career?
A: Too many. Patience is a really good one. I learned that early because of “Apocalypse Now.” The public did not receive the film well at first, and it took 15 years for them to consider it a masterpiece. That’s how I got there on patience. Q: You started out as a child actor and became successful without any formal acting training. A: Kids are natural actors. If acting is largely playing make-believe, which I think it is, I started acting from that place.
Q: Describe your transition from being a child actor to a grownup actor.
A: It was a rough time. ‘Apocalypse Now’ was just out, and it was not received well. I wasn’t 12 and cute anymore. I was 18 and still felt like I was the boy next door, but (casting directors) saw a 26-year-old who just got back from Vietnam. To them, I was tall, black, imposing — and a threat. I wasn’t getting a lot of work. People didn’t know what to do with me. Villains and thugs and pimps — that’s the work that was available to young black men at the time.
Q: How did you overcome that?
A: People could see the anger. I got humbled. That was the turning point — learning humility. It came from within. Q: What are you favorite roles?
A: Jimmy Jump (a psychotic killer in “King of New York”) and Othello. These roles are so diametrically opposed that it’s hard to believe the same actor played them. But I think I’ll be remembered for Morpheus (from “Matrix”).
Q: How do you feel about that?
A: I think it’s awesome. I have to be remembered for something. (laughs)
Q: Your thoughts about playing Pops on “Black-ish”?
A: The grandpa chair is very comfortable. I’m digging it. I’ve always played older than my age. I’ve been called an old soul. Now, my age is matched with my experience, so it’s a really wonderful moment. The show has great humor, but it’s about real stuff — and that’s always been important to me.
Q: Is there a question I haven’t asked that you would like me to ask? A: Yeah. Where do I think the (entertainment) business is?
Q: So?
A: With social media and streaming, things are changing so fast that it’s really hard to keep up. I hope that it’s still about content, not your Instagram page or what you were doing last with whom. I’m not comfortable if it ceases to be about the work. Fame was always part of it, sure, but not at the expense of doing good work.
David Lewis is a Bay Area freelance writer.