South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Wayans makes dramatic departure
Marlon Wayans has transformed into a white woman for “White Chicks,” a baby for “Little Man,” seven people for “Sextuplets” and a streaker in a time loop for “Naked.”
“I can’t wait to just play a regular Black man,” he says.
He got his wish in the new Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect,” now in theaters, in which he plays Ted White, the singer’s first husband and manager. Jennifer Hudson stars as Franklin.
Wayans says taking on dramatic roles such as this one is a breeze, compared to comedy. He also took a dramatic turn in “Requiem for a Dream” (2000).
“I find drama to be a fun vacation from comedy,” he says. “Comedy is so hard — we just make it look so easy. But it requires so much time and energy. Drama is a ‘lay off the gas, putting the car in cruise control.’ ”
He says he enjoys being able to dig into his emotions. “I like tapping into that when it comes to drama, to unlock pain and allow myself to be vulnerable.”
He says that requires trusting the script, the director and his co-stars.
Wayans, 48, was quickly attracted to the dynamic script and the idea of taking on a different kind of role in “Respect.”
“It’s a departure from anything I’ve ever done,” he says. “(White is) the villain and the leading man at the same time.
“He was dangerous, sweet, a little crazy, romantic, a guardian, a lot of different things. I wanted to take an unlikable character and make him lovable, then make him hard to hate. I wanted him to be complex. I didn’t want to just play a bad guy. I wanted to play a guy who
is damaged and insecure.”
White loved Franklin, and Franklin loved White, Wayans says. “We wanted to show that story. We thought that would resonate more with the audience.”
Preparing for the role was challenging, Wayans says, because not a lot has been written about White, and there isn’t a lot of video of him. Even with limited research opportunities — he read “Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin” — Wayans was able to capture some of White’s cadence while also creating his own interpretation.
Wayans says the role was more of a commitment than a challenge.
“I just had to do the work,” he says. “I came to work prepared. I worked with my acting coach, worked with my vocal coach and worked with my movement coach.”
While basking in his biggest dramatic role,
Wayans remains firmly planted in comedy. A new stand-up special, “Marlon Wayans: You Know What It Is,” is now streaming on HBO Max. Wayans says what he loves about his comedy now is that the more he performs, the more personal it becomes, making it more relatable to audiences.
“I’m talking about real stuff,” he says of his stand-up. “I’m not reaching for the comedy anymore; it’s coming to me. It gets easier when you start being truthful.”
Aug. 22 birthdays: Anchor Morton Dean is 86. Journalist Steve Kroft is 76. Actor Cindy Williams is 74. Guitarist Vernon Reid is 63. Actor Regina Taylor is 61. Drummer Debbi Peterson is 60. Actor Ty Burrell is 54. Chef Giada De Laurentiis is 51. Actor Rick Yune is 50. Comedian Kristen Wiig is 48. TV host James Corden is 43.