Oyelowo fulfills directing passion
While starring in films such as “Selma” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” actor David Oyelowo discovered a new passion: directing.
Oyelowo was inspired to step behind the camera after learning different nuances of the craft from respected directors such as Ava DuVernay and Will Gluck. His desire to act and direct in the same movie grew even more after seeing successful efforts from his friends Nate Parker in “The Birth of a Nation” and Joel Edgerton in “The Gift.”
For years, Oyelowo picked their brains to feel confident enough to make a leap of his own, and the actor’s directorial debut, “The Water Man,” recently arrived in theaters.
Oyelowo said he learned about having a grasp on the movie’s theme from DuVernay. He credits Gluck with teaching him the importance of a director capturing all of the elements in a film: wardrobe, photography, editing — as well as each actor’s performance.
“I’ve sort of had my own film school through working with several great directors,” said Oyelowo, who stars in the film with Rosario Dawson. “(Directing) came as a byproduct of my acting career. I wanted to direct because I’ve been around some of the best people in the world.”
“The Water Man” tells a story about a boy named Gunner who is looking to save his severely ill mother, played by Dawson. The boy and his friend venture into a remote forest to search for a mythical figure, who Gunner believes carries the secret to everlasting life.
Oyelowo said he was drawn to the script because the story reminded him of his favorite fantasy films such as the ’80s classics “The Goonies” and “Gremlins.”
“Those films have some heavier themes where kids are still involved,” said Oyelowo, who plays Gunner’s father, Amos. “This film has that sort of a young person in jeopardy theme, which I loved growing up.”
Oyelowo said the film’s driving force is Gunner, played by Lonnie Chavis, 13, who stars on NBC’s drama series “This Is Us.”
“It’s the power of sacrificial love,” Oyelowo said. “You have this kid who is prepared to risk everything to save his mother. You have this father who is prepared to save his son. You see a family who is imperfect, but they have a love that I think is pretty much perfect. They define sacrificial love. She’s ill, but she doesn’t think about herself. She’s thinking about the relationship between her son and husband.”
Oyelowo said he wants to direct more projects, if he can juggle that with his busy acting career. He likes mixing reality and fantasy, but he’s also passionate about telling African stories.
“I think there are just some incredible stories that are not sequels or remakes,” Oyelowo said. “In some ways, they’ve slept on Africa as a producer of great stories and great content. I really want to be a part of seeing those kind of stories in a global presence.”
May 16 birthdays: Actor Danny Trejo is 77. Actor Pierce Brosnan is 68. Actor Debra Winger is 66. Singer Janet Jackson is 55. Singer Ralph Tresvant is 53. Actor Tracey Gold is 52. Actor Tori Spelling is 48. Actor Megan Fox is 35. Actor Jermaine Fowler is 33. Actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster is 31. Actor Miles Heizer is 27.