Tyrese Gibson
The Black And Blue star on people skills, snacking and stealing chairs...
What’s the first thing you do on set?
I’m a people person, right, so I get to know the people I’m working with. That is very, very important.
What do you take on set with you?
I don’t have any traditions. I don’t have to travel with a gem. I don’t have any rituals, other than prayer and people skills. What I have found is that naturally a lot of actors are very competitive. And I’m not. I am like, “Yo, we are here to try and do something great. And you’re on some competitive shit, and worried about who’s outshining who?” All this petty shit you could never imagine goes on at that scale.
Do you use your phone on set?
I listen to a lot of gospel music. I’m an R&B singer, so I’m loud. I’m an alpha, an energy. But I’m as soft and emotional as it gets. Before I shot the scene [in Black And Blue] with them arresting me in the store where I cry, I looked at a bunch of videos online. Eric Garner, all of this police brutality. I used all of that to make sure it was fresh in my head.
Hot or cold lunch?
Both. It tends to be hot, but by the time I eat it, it’s cold. I never get to it. “Your lunch has been served, sir.” I’ll be like, “Thank you so much.” An hour, two hours go by... I’ve never used the microwave in my trailer. I just eat it as soon as I finally get to it.
What about craft services?
Oh, man, ‘crafty’ is fucking dangerous. I’m a snacker, bro. I’m just chumming away at all of the crafty. They might as well just give me my own private ‘crafty’, because I eat everything.
Ever sleep on set?
Yeah, absolutely. People have no idea how challenging making Fast & Furious movies is, because naturally I’m intense and serious. I don’t crack jokes all day, bro. Fast & Furious requires caffeine from Starbucks, and five-hour energy drinks from America that I have to FedEx [to London]. I’m a night owl, and I have to be the guy on set cracking jokes and carrying the torch of charm and charisma. Black And Blue, I can wake up two minutes before it’s time to shoot a scene, and use the fatigue.
Best on-set experience?
No two experiences are the same. But the role in Black And Blue was a gift. And the reason it’s a gift is because I did it to myself. If you keep hitting the same note on the fucking piano, then that’s the note that everybody’s going to look for. Bong... Bong... Roman Pearce... Bong... Bong... Fast & Furious… They forgot about Four Brothers. They forgot about Baby Boy. They forgot about these dramatic roles where I’m doing my shit as an actor. So it meant the world to me to be opposite someone with the respect and credibility of Naomie Harris. I almost didn’t get the gig because some people assumed that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her.
Worst on-set experience?
I’ve only experienced this once, and I won’t say who, but there was this method actor that I’ve just worked with, and there was just no communication, no dinner or catch-a-vibe hang-out. It really made it challenging to tap into what we were there to do. Like, literally, “Don’t talk to me... Now we’ve got to be on camera together. Good luck.”
Ever stolen anything from a film set?
I have a collection of movie-set chairs that I get from the props department. Clapperboards, I love those too. I have one from the Transformers set that has Shia LaBeouf, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg’s signatures on it. I have 10 movie chairs in my garage. I can’t even pull my car in. JF
ETA | 25 OCTOBER / BLACK AND BLUE OPENS LATER THIS MONTH.
‘i’m loud, i’m an alpha, an energy. But i’m as soft and emotional as it gets’