Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00It wasn't a whole lot of acting going on in that moment, you know, a lot of that just felt real.
00:04The situation felt real. So, you know, I think at the end of the day, it's a very difficult job.
00:10And again, I don't envy him. You know, I hate what's going on in our society.
00:16I hate that it has happened so much. There's somewhat desensitized to it.
00:22My name's Oakley. It's a pleasure to be speaking with y'all, gentlemen. Thank you.
00:31So for my first question for Ron Rico, this role gave me the opportunity to
00:35play both a police officer as well as a villain.
00:38What was the most exciting part of stepping into this role?
00:41The most exciting part was playing the villain.
00:45But it was definitely close because I always wanted to play a cop.
00:51I played a cop on TV, but somebody doing it in a film that just, I don't know,
00:56it was just definitely a highlight.
00:58But I enjoyed it. You know, he had an interesting turn there, to say the least, at the end of the
01:03film. And, you know, I don't get that opportunity nearly enough. And so, you know, what it's given
01:10to me, I'm going to lean in. And it's great, like I said, to do it for somebody like Tyler Perry.
01:17Um, he loves to lean in. As far as you want to lean, he's going to let you.
01:22So, you know, it was just a win-win on a multitude, you know, of different levels.
01:28So Tyler, for you, what was it like working with Tyler Perry again?
01:31I know he's a frequent collaborator of yours.
01:33Yeah, I mean, I think he, um, as crazy as it sounds, man, he's found an even,
01:39even more efficient way of going about it. You know, because we, I mean, we ran a tight ship
01:45back when we did the haves and have-nots. And, um, as I was mentioning earlier, he still has
01:50the same nucleus around him, um, in terms of like the crew members. So, you know, watching them
01:57work together all these years, and then to revisit the, you know, the studio and be with
02:01them all again, man, they've, they've gelled and, and have even more of a chemistry now.
02:06So it really puts you in the space where you really got to show up ready to work
02:10and, um, and fully equipped and fully prepared to dive in there with them. Because as soon as he,
02:14as soon as we, we jump on that set, man, we're going, we're going, uh, all the way for sure,
02:19pedal to the metal.
02:20So what drew you to the role of Tony? How do you prepare for that character?
02:24I think one of the main things that drew me to him was just, he's much like the story,
02:28it's that he's not what me style. You know, I was, I was telling a bunch of people that it's
02:32almost seems like there's those first two acts, he's like a different character. And, you know,
02:36by the time that, that, that switch flips at the end, you know, you kind of get a good, um,
02:41there's a full spectrum of the human that he really is, you know? And I think that was,
02:45that was probably, you know, having, having a multitude of sides and layers and having that
02:49type of arc is what really, really, um, attracted me to the character for sure.
02:54So around Rico, uh, the film, it explores themes of power, justice, abuse of the system,
03:00manipulation, a whole bunch of things. Um, from your character's perspective,
03:04what do you think this film is saying about law enforcement and accountability?
03:08Oh boy. Uh, uh, you know, what, what is, what is the film saying? I think, um,
03:15that's a tough question. You know, I think the pursuit of justice, you know, we follow Marley's
03:20character trying to get to the bottom of it. And, uh, and she's met with obstacles along the way.
03:25Um, I think the one thing that I, that I certainly took from it is that it's a difficult job.
03:31Uh, again, I don't envy any of our men and women in law enforcement. Uh, just, just kind of just
03:37as an actor dropping into that scene where, uh, Caleb, um, uh, shoots Rodney, uh, just to even
03:45be present, you know, as an actor that, that, you know, my job is to live in that moment, man,
03:50it's a scary moment, you know, and I honestly wasn't a whole lot of acting going on in that
03:55moment. You know, a lot of that just felt real. The situation felt real. So, you know, I think
04:00at the end of the day, it's a very difficult job. Um, and again, I don't envy him. Um, you know,
04:07I, I hate what's going on in our society. I hate that it has, it's happened so much. There's,
04:13uh, somewhat desensitized to it. You know, I think that's just so sad to say, but, um,
04:20probably didn't do a great job answering this question. If there was a really,
04:24I'm going to say this, there was a, there was an image award for, uh, worst answer probably
04:32will win it. So I don't know. It's tough. It's tough. This is the part of this junket that,
04:38that makes it difficult. But again, it's a Testament to, to Mr. Perry and how he writes,
04:43like, you know, we have, we got this thing going on over here that, that that's something we can
04:48talk about all day. And then we got this thing going on over here. That's something that,
04:51it's part of the film. So it's, it's tricky. It's tricky.
04:55So Tyler, Tony's relationship with Marley, that's a central theme in the story. Um,
05:00what was it like working with Kat Graham to bring the evolution to life on screen?
05:05Great. You know, Kat is so, um, it's so, it's so easy to play that role, like one way, you know,
05:13and she was just so, Kat was so intuitive, like, like energy wise. I remember, um,
05:20and she's also just so gracious with her time. You know, we talk often about how, you know,
05:24Mr. Tyler Perry runs a tight ship, very efficient. So we, the last thing we have is like extra time
05:29in between scenes, you know, but she was always there for me if we wanted to run some extra lines
05:34or to have a conversation about, um, you know, just our characters, perspectives, or just to,
05:39you know, even just ping pong ideas off of each other. So, um, man, she, she just went above and
05:43beyond her call to duty and not only, um, you know, bringing justice to her role, but also to
05:49be a, you know, that type of a teammate to, to the whole cast around myself included.
05:54Now Tyler Perry, he's been known for these, uh, unique stories. Um,
05:58Ron Rico, what was your first thought when that script came across the desk, man?
06:01Oh God, my first thought was, I can't remember. When I first read it, I thought, um,
06:10I didn't know if my character was bad. I didn't, I didn't really know what that term was. I knew
06:14he was interesting, but I, I didn't have a beat on him. Um, and so when I got to the part, you know,
06:20where I realized, you know, there was a smile, um, that kind of, kind of, kind of came over my
06:25face when I got to that part in the script. Um, and so, yeah, you know, for me, it was just
06:30excitement to, to one, just get to play in that world again. And, and then to do something that
06:36was, is, is, you know, just kind of different for me. I don't get these opportunities often. So
06:42again, I thank, uh, thank Mr. Perry for, for seeing that character in me and trusting me to
06:47bring that character to life. Well, thank you gentlemen. I really appreciate y'all time.
06:53Thank y'all so much. Yes, sir. Appreciate you.