Friday, February 25, 2005
CONSTANTINE'S DJIMON HOUNSOU
The Continuum today concludes its series of interviews with the cast of Constantine with Djimon Hounsou, who plays Papa Midnight.
Below is an edited transcription of a roundtable interview.
Question: How much fun did you have playing this character?
Hounsou: It was fun. It was fun. You could obviously tell that Papa Midnite was fun, and I had a great time with him. Obviously, Papa Midnite has a great sense of business.
Question: Did you do much research for the role?
Hounsou: I really think this is one movie you don't want to research because of the subject matter. I don't really want to go and see Hell, you know? Or see anybody perform exorcisms.
Question: How does the movie reflect good and evil?
Hounsou: It reflects a lot on what we do here on Earth, how we go about dealing with one another and how our state of mind is, as well. The purest hell that I can talk about is the negative mind and the greed of people. That's Hell.
Question: How much as an actor do you do things differently on each take?
Hounsou: It's not so much about doing things different. It mostly has to do with comprehending the text and being accurate to that moment and making that moment accurate in reading. Whatever it takes -- if you have to alter it. There can be different ways of saying the same thing. To portray different feelings, there are different ways. It's the choice you make, and the choice of the director's to take you on.
Question: Do you like direction?
Hounsou: Yeah, I do like direction. Because my point of view is not necessarily the best point of view and can never be the only point of view of things. And that's Papa Midnite talking -- the politician.
You have to rely on the great vision of the director, who's completely removed from the performance. You have to be removed; you have to be objective of the story.
Question: Did you read any comic books to prepare for the role?
Hounsou: No, I did not. I found it could have been too distracting. The comic books are one story, but you have to give credit where credit is due: Akiva Goldsman. He did a great work on making the story stand on its own without having to go in to other areas.
Question: Is there anything about Papa Midnite that you relate to?
Hounsou: I definitely relate to his witchcraft sort of side. That's where I did some of the experiences with my traditions in Africa. Those were some of the areas where I draw, just seeing people doing spiritual or tribal sort of ceremonies and so forth, some of the things that we do in Africa.
Question: What did you think when your first saw your set, the club? Was it how you envisioned it when you read the script?
Hounsou: Not quite. I mean, obviously, I never thought it was that huge. I'm coming to think of it now as a very powerful house. You have the luxury of giving the half-breeds one place to coexist. That place has to be very, very strong. No matter how you look at it, (it's) very powerful.
Question: What was it like working with Keanu Reeves and how does he stack up with some of the other actors you've worked with like Russell Crowe?
Hounsou: It was cool. At the end of the day, we're all very different people, just because of our conditioning and so far. Russell Crowe is Russell Crowe, and Keanu Reeves is Keanu Reeves. And they're all special in their own rights. But I had a great time working with Keanu Reeves and seeing how anal he is about work. I mean, he works hard at his craft. Looking at his dedication and looking at his body of work, it's like, "Wow!" The guy's still very serious about it.
Copyright © 2004, The Comics Continuum