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Arts & Entertainment Celebrity Interview: Corey Hawkins see what’s going on a little more clearly. Hopefully, this film will continue the dia- logue, because we definitely attack the subject without letting up, in the same way N.W.A. attacked it back then with the record Straight Outta Compton. KW: What message do you think people will take away from? CH: It might sound like a cliché, but what we re- ally want is for people to feel inspired. If you look at what the people we portray in this movie accomplished and where they came from, I hope people take away that you can achieve anything. I hope it inspires young kids growing up in inner-cities like I did to make positive choices in the circumstanc- es they were given. You feel this movie. You feel L.A. You feel the humiliation. You feel the pride. You root for them. You laugh. You cry. You really go on a ride without even knowing it. I love seeing everybody’s re- action to it, whether they’re black, white, Latino or Asian. It’s such a powerful story. KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read? CH: Your Face in Mine. I was also reading The Circle, which is sort of a commentary on the dan- gers of social media today. It’s a very powerful novel. Corey Hawkins in ‘Straight Outta Compton’ By Kam Williams For The Skanner News S traight Outta Corey! Born in Washing- ton, D.C., on Oct. 22, 1988, Corey Hawkins stud- ied acting at Juilliard before making his big-screen debut in 2012 opposite Bow Wow in Allegiance. The next year, he appeared in Iron Man 3 with Robert Downey, Jr., and in Non-Stop with Liam Neeson the year after that. Here, he talks about his breakout role playing Dr. Dre in Straight Outta Comp- ton, a biopic about the leg- endary rap group NWA. Kam Williams: Hey Co- rey, how’s it going? Corey Hawkins: Awe- some, Kam! Awesome! I’m on cloud nine! KW: What interested you in Straight Outta Compton? Were you a fan of NWA? CH: Absolutely! I was definitely a fan of NWA growing up. I was a fan of their music because it hit so close to home. I grew up in the DMV [Washington, DC metropolitan area]. I always liked their music and honest music in general. KW: How did you ap- proach playing Dr. Dre? Did you consult him for point- ers? CH: I spoke with him every day. He was on set every day. He didn’t want me to imitate him or mim- ic him or do an imperson- ation. He didn’t want me to stare at him and watch how he moved. Because of my training, he was willing to trust the craft. He just want- ed me to capture what NWA spoke to in terms of their lyrics and in terms of what they were representing as young black artists coming out of Compton. KW: I recently inter- viewed Ving Rhames, who also graduated from Juil- liard. Are you also an advo- cate of studying acting? CH: Definitely! In fact, Ving and I spoke at the pre- miere, and he was very sup- portive of me and very pos- itive about the movie. He’s a great guy! And, yes, I am an advocate of what I did as far as training, especially as an African American in this business. It’s getting better, but there’s still that stigma that we can only do one thing. I hope to break down that barrier and play whatev- er type of character in what- ever genre of picture I’m interested in. But you need the versatility to be able to do that, and the versatility comes through your train- ing. I think Juilliard was a great playground for that, because you could be open to anything. It was very dis- ciplined, so you know, tech- nically, how to get to where you need to get to. KW: It also helps when you have colorblind casting being encouraged by peo- ple on the others side of the camera, like writer/produc- ers like Shonda Rhimes. CH: Yeah, Shonda... and the writer on Gabrielle Union’s show, “Being Mary Jane,” Mara Brock Akil. There are so many differ- ent writers and producers behind the scenes who are pushing for us now. That’s what we need more of, the people creating the stories. We can’t expect others to write our stories. That’s where I hope to get one day, and I look at Cube [Ice Cube] as a mentor now, be- cause I see what he’s done with this film. Straight Out- ta Compton isn’t just any old rap biopic, but a story about complex characters, and that’s what you get on- screen. KW: The film is also very timely, given its focus on police brutality and the re- cent rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Is that a lucky coincidence or divine intervention? CH: It might be divine intervention, Kam, because this script had been circu- lating for the past thirteen years. It’s sad that the is- sue is still relevant. Being a black kid in Compton, you shouldn’t feel like you’re living in a war zone. As the society devotes more atten- tion to the issue, I think po- lice officers are starting to August 26, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 9
