Arts & Entertainment
Michael Ealy: ‘Unconditional’
By Kam Williams Special to
The Skanner News
M
ichael Ealy is already
back on the big screen,
fresh off the phenomenal
success he enjoyed earlier this
year in Think Like a Man, the
$100 million box-office hit that
knocked The Hunger Games out
of the #1 spot. Michael first found
fame in 2002 for his memorable
performance as Ricky Nash in
Barbershop.
His other feature films include
Seven Pounds, 2 Fast 2 Furious,
Never Die Alone, For Colored
Girls, Miracle at St. Anna, Takers
and Underworld: Awakening. In
2007, he received a Golden Globe
Award nomination for his role in
Showtime’s Sleeper Cell. Mean-
while, on TV, he’s appeared in
ABC’s Flashforward and CBS’s
The Good Wife.
Here, the versatile thespian talks
about starring in Unconditional,
an inspirational, faith-based fea-
ture based on actual events. In this
bittersweet tale of redemption, he
portrays Papa Joe Bradford, a guy
with kidney disease who teams
with a recently-widowed, child-
hood friend (Lynn Collins) to
make a difference in the lives of
needy kids in Nashville.
Kam Williams: Hey Michael.
Thanks for another interview.
Michael Ealy: I’m good, Kam.
How are ya?
KW: What interested you in
Unconditional?
ME: It started with the script. I
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kind of fell in love with some of
the miraculous, lyrical and poetic
nature of the writing. Ultimately, I
still had to respond to the role.
And I did respond to the character.
The fact that this guy was a real
person, someone who, after turn-
ing his own life around, was doing
everything in his power to influ-
ence the development of youth in
his neighborhood made me feel
like this was an important movie
to do.
KW: Did you get to meet the
real Papa Joe Bradford in the
process of making the movie?
ME: Yes, sir, and we’re still
good friends to this day.
though he had his own family,
seven kids. Yet, he still finds the
time to be daddy to a lot of other
children, too. He’s there on a daily
basis. I can’t give that. That means
a lot. That is special. That is
extraordinary.
KW: Patricia goes on to say that
friendship is one of the main
themes in Unconditional where
the lead character reconnects with
an old friend. She’s wondering
whether you have a best friend
with whom you would like to
reconnect.
ME: No, me and my three best
friends from childhood never
stopped being boys.
Michael Ealy in a scene from ‘Unconditional.’
KW: Editor/legist Patricia
Turnier says she loves your per-
formance in Think Like a Man
because you made your character
really believable. She asks: What
does Papa Joe’s philanthropy
mean to you?
ME: It’s tough for me to see
Papa Joe as a philanthropist
because I generally think of phi-
lanthropy on a grander scale. For
instance, I consider Bill Cosby a
philanthropist because of all the
colleges and charities he supports.
I see Papa Joe as more grassroots.
With him, it’s not so much about
big changes as it is about an indi-
vidual’s daily effort. It’s a lot like
what a teacher does. When I visit a
school, and students get excited, I
always tell them, “It’s not me you
should be listening to, it’s your
teachers, because they’re here
every day.” It’s that sort of com-
mitment that Papa made, even
September 12, 2012
KW: Patricia also recognizes
you as the love interest in music
videos by both Beyonce’ and
Mariah Carey. She wonders
whether you plan to play the hunk
again opposite a pop diva in
another upcoming video.
ME: No, not really.
KW: On a similar note, chil-
dren’s book author Irene Smalls
asks: Is being so good-looking
ever a drawback because people
try to typecast you in your career?
ME: [Chuckles] Yes.
KW: Irene would also like to
know what’s up next for you.
ME: I am about to start shooting
the remake of
About
Last
Night, an adap-
tation of David
Mamet’s play
Sexual Perver-
sity in Chicago.
KW: Last time we spoke, I
asked you to come up with a
generic Michael Ealy question.
Did you think of one yet?
ME: Yeah, I did, Kam, and I had
it emailed it to you.
KW: My bad. I don’t remember
receiving it. Hope they can send it
again, because I want to start using
it when I interview other celebri-
ties. Let me ask you the Pastor
Alex Kendrick question: What
motivates you at this stage of your
career?
ME: Good question. It’s impor-
tant to me to start challenging
myself more as an artist. I’d like to
try different genres, and not
always take the popular role or the
favorite part. I’m highly motivated
to be flexible. I don’t always have
to play the picture’s moral com-
pass. And I also want to have a lot
more fun.
KW: What would make your
life easier?
ME: [LOL] What would make
my life is easier would be being
able to keep my private life private
as long as possible.