Arts & Entertainment
Michael Ealy: The ‘Think Like a Man Too’ Interview
F
or the last few years,
Michael Ealy has
been red-hot, jumping
from TV to film and back to
TV, seamlessly. He recently
starred in the sci-fi televi-
sion
series,
“Almost
Human,” for which he
earned an NAACP Image
Award nomination for Out-
standing Leading Actor in a
Drama Series.
Earlier this year, he
starred in the remake of
About Last Night, and prior
to that on the TV series
“Common Law.” He also
completed impactful, multi-
episode arcs on CBS’ hit
series “The Good Wife,”
and on the Showtime series,
“Californication,” while
concurrently shooting the
feature adaptation of the
renowned theatre produc-
tion, For Colored Girl’s
Only, Who Consider Com-
mitting Suicide When The
baby, Elijah.
C ELEBRITY
I NTERVIEW
by Kam
Williams
lege, including the Off-
Broadway hits Joe Fearless
and Whoa Jack. It would
not be long thereafter before
Michael nabbed guest-star-
ring television roles on
“Law & Order” and “Soul
Food.” And he was subse-
quently cast in the films
Kissing Jessica Stein and
Bad Company.
While visiting his friends
in Los Angeles, Michael
heard about auditions for
Barbershop. After placing a
call to his manager and a
few rounds of auditions, he
K a m
Williams: Hi
Michael,
thanks for the
time, bro.
Michael
Ealy: What’s
up, Kam?
KW: Tim
[Director Tim Story] man-
aged to reassemble the
whole cast for the sequel.
How’d he make that hap-
pen?
ME: It’s a miracle that
everybody’s
schedule
opened up. I think part of
the genius of it was that they
made the decision early, and
said, “Next summer, we’re
going to try to knock this
out.” So, everyone kinda
made sure that they were
available. We also had such
a good time making the first
We had such a good time making the first
one that everybody jumped at the chance to
come back and do a sequel with the same
cast and same director.
Rainbow Is Not Enough for
Tyler Perry Studios and
Lions Gate Films.
Prior to that, he was hand-
picked by Will Smith to
co-star in Seven Pounds,
and by Spike Lee to join the
ensemble of The Miracle at
St. Anna. Michael’s riveting
performance was lauded in
this true story of four Buffa-
lo Soldiers who risked their
lives to save a young Italian
boy while behind enemy
lines.
A student of history and
supporter of education,
Michael participated in the
History Channel’s docu-
mentary series The People
Speak, based on Howard
Zinn’s acclaimed book
where one of the historical
figures he portrays is “Mal-
colm X.” He earned a
Golden Globe nomination
for his lead performance on
the Showtime mini-series
“Sleeper Cell” where he
portrayed Darwyn, a Mus-
lim FBI agent sent
undercover to infiltrate a
terrorist cell in Los Angeles.
He was tapped by Oprah
to star opposite Halle Berry
in the Harpo Films telepic
“Their Eyes Were Watching
God.” The TV special
received rave reviews and
was viewed by over 26 mil-
lion people. Michael earned
an NAACP Image Award
nomination for Outstanding
Actor in a Television
Movie, Mini-Series or Dra-
matic Special for his
portrayal of “Teacake”.
landed the role of “Ricky
Nash,” a two-strike offend-
er. In terms of the tabloids,
the blue-eyed hunks was
named one of People maga-
zines’ “On the Verge” actors
in the magazine’s “Sexiest
Man Alive” 2002 and 2013
issues. Furthermore, he was
named one of E! Entertain-
ment Television’s “Sizzlin’
16” of 2004 and appeared
on the cover of Essence
magazine’s “Hollywood
Screen Gems” for their
April 2004 issue.
Michael resides in Los
Angeles with his wife
Khatira Rafiqzada and their
one that everybody jumped
at the chance to come back
and do a sequel with the
same cast and same director.
That’s an opportunity you
just don’t get very often.
KW: And did you enjoy
yourself as much the second
go-round?
ME: I definitely did,
although being in Vegas for
two or three months obvi-
ously presented a whole
new set of challenges, since
it’s a place that most people
visit for only two or three
days. You had the heat and
the extreme air condition-
ing. And also constant, con-
stant stimulation, whether
it’s people getting drunk out
of their minds, couples get-
ting married, people going
to strip clubs, prostitutes or
whatever. It’s Sin City! It’s
hard sometimes to stay
focused on your job when
there’s so much going on
around you, as well as peo-
ple following you around.
There were plenty of dis-
tractions. So, I wouldn’t say
it was as easy as shooting in
L.A. Location is a factor. If
you have to go somewhere
to work, it helps to be
focused.
KW: As usual, I have a lot
of questions for you from
fans. Harriet Pakula-Tewe-
les says: This isn’t your first
sequel. You also did Barber-
shop 1 and 2. What is it
about them that calls you
back, and will you be doing
Barbershop 3.
ME: [Chuckles] I think
what happened on Barber-
shop also kinda happened
on Think Like a Man, and
the irony is that both pic-
tures were made with the
same director, Tim Story. It
just doesn’t happen often
that the movie you shot for
$12 million ends up making
$90 million. That’s very
rare. So, when you catch
lightning in a bottle like
that, you jump at an oppor-
tunity to come back and do
a sequel. You’re lucky if one
out ten movies you make
gets a sequel.
KW: So, will you be
doing Barbershop 3?
ME: I don’t even know
whether that’s in the works.
KW: I spoke to Ice Cube
a few weeks ago, and it
looks like a go. It already
has a page up at imdb.com,
although no director has
Michael Ealy
been named.
ME: Really? Well, they
haven’t come to me yet. So,
I don’t know anything about
it.
KW: What about Think
Like a Man 3?
ME: I don’t see why not,
if we can bring back the
exact same producer, cast
and director.
KW: Marcia Evans says:
I’m a fan of yours, big time.
I think the chemistry you
have with Taraji [co-star
Taraji P. Henson] in Think
Like A Man is awesome. I
appreciate the message your
characters’
relationship
sends to the audience that
falling in love can be sexy
and respectful.
ME: Thank you.
KW: She goes on to say:
I’m a history buff and I love
the TV series “Finding Your
Roots” with Dr. Henry
Louis Gates where he
explores the lineage and
genetics of some prominent
people. When I see you
onscreen with those blue
eyes, I wonder if you have
personally researched your
genealogy?
See MICHAEL EALY
on page 11
The Silver Spring, Mary-
land native appeared in
several stage productions
after graduating from col-
June 25, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 7