Jurnee Smollett Was ‘Called Out’ Set by Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington it helped Jurnee Smollett learn that there really is such a thing as “overcorrection.”
Smollett, 38, recalled some helpful advice during the interview Order the costar Jude Law for Us WeeklyThe first element in the discussion. He asked Law, 51, if he relied on a workout schedule before the start of the project, and the actor admitted that he doesn’t want to over-prepare himself before a scene.
“I love rehearsing, but you have to know – I mean, I’m trained in theater, so for me, rehearsing is important,” Law explained. But the difference with rehearsing a movie is you have to know when to go, ‘Okay, that’s enough.'”
Smollett shared, “I had an experience where I doubled. … I was making a movie [where I got] to sit and go, ‘I am lost and have found nothing.’ And I was called out, I was called there. It was The Great ControversiesDenzel Washington was our director.”
Law asked him what it was like to have Washington talk to him when he was 19 years old on the set of the 2007 drama – one of his first major film roles as an adult. “It was amazing. “It was like a master class,” Smollett said. “It was a big debate. It was the first debate we filmed. The film is about the debate. We had gone to a debate camp. He was with us in the tests, we talked to each other.”
Smollett had all the confidence in the world when he arrived that day, but he quickly realized he lacked the spark he needed. “In my head I said, ‘I’m going to crush this man. I’m going to kill this scene.’ I got there and I was dead. I had practiced a lot, and he knew it. He came to me and said, ‘You practiced a lot.’ And I was like, ‘I know, I didn’t get anything.’ And he said, ‘Okay, we’re going to shoot everybody and we’re going to shoot you at the end and then you’re going to be free.’ And at that time, I was uncomfortable, man, I wasn’t.”
As Washington’s advice seemed ineffective, Smollett began to worry. “I was confused. … They love this special shoot around me and everything [and] I still know that I am not in the pack,” he recalled.
Washington came to him again with another piece of advice. “That’s why actors who are directors are sometimes the best,” he explained. “He just said, ‘If you’re going to ask a question, get an answer,’ and he left.” It opened my mind.”
Smollett went on to explain that in this film his character was given the task of “arguing whether or not black people can go to certain universities.”
“[My character] I want to be a lawyer, so I will have to be able to access certain universities,” he continued. “It was a personal thing. … [I was] to fight for your life. Such power, that’s what I noticed in him saying, ‘Get the answer.’
Law said, “And it just clicked.”
“And it clicked,” he confirmed. “And taking what’s on film now, I get emotional, [because it’s] a surprising thing after whispering that in my ear.”
“A good place to study, isn’t it? In Denzel Washington’s hands, that’s amazing,” Law noted.
“It’s a safe place to fail a lot,” Smollett said.
The two noticed that Order director Justin Kurzel it was just as accurate. “I was thinking about Justin when you were talking about that — even though he’s not an actor, he was insightful,” Law said. “Another thing I liked apart from the work I was doing with him was watching him work with other people. It’s just such a natural understanding as well [he] he knew when to be warm and generous.”
Kindness and generosity were necessary behind the film, which follows Law and Smollett as FBI agents who track down a group of white men who plan to overthrow the government.
Order it’s in theaters now.
Reporting by Kat Pettibone and Mandie DeCamp
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