WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:00.953
<v ->How old are you?</v>

2
00:00:00.953 --> 00:00:02.130
<v ->Why, you wanna do the Kevin Hart thing?</v>

3
00:00:02.130 --> 00:00:04.650
<v ->I'm trying, Kevin did it, I thought maybe I could do it.</v>

4
00:00:04.650 --> 00:00:06.078
<v ->Do you wanna try again?</v>

5
00:00:06.078 --> 00:00:07.076
<v ->I--</v>
<v ->Can we get</v>

6
00:00:07.076 --> 00:00:08.033
a take two?
<v ->I don't--</v>

7
00:00:08.033 --> 00:00:08.866
<v ->On this?</v>
<v ->I think.</v>

8
00:00:08.866 --> 00:00:09.699
<v ->No let's try again.</v>
<v ->I think we can move on.</v>

9
00:00:09.699 --> 00:00:11.430
[light music]

10
00:00:11.430 --> 00:00:16.080
I'm Franklin Leonard and this is "A List".

11
00:00:16.080 --> 00:00:17.973
Today's guest is Don Cheadle.

12
00:00:20.520 --> 00:00:21.622
<v ->My man.</v>

13
00:00:21.622 --> 00:00:23.473
[Don cooing]

14
00:00:23.473 --> 00:00:26.430
<v ->All right, I have to start with an apology.</v>

15
00:00:26.430 --> 00:00:27.263
<v ->I like it.</v>

16
00:00:27.263 --> 00:00:28.710
<v ->So the thing about this show</v>

17
00:00:28.710 --> 00:00:30.870
is that I ask people for a list,

18
00:00:30.870 --> 00:00:33.270
I use that list because I have a personal interest

19
00:00:33.270 --> 00:00:35.940
in the subject, in this case jazz solos.

20
00:00:35.940 --> 00:00:38.520
I'm a jazz fan, not terribly musically gifted.

21
00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:41.310
You however grew up playing jazz,

22
00:00:41.310 --> 00:00:45.090
have said that playing jazz gives you more joy than acting

23
00:00:45.090 --> 00:00:46.650
which you've been doing for a while now.

24
00:00:46.650 --> 00:00:50.190
So I'm wrenching that into you giving me a list

25
00:00:50.190 --> 00:00:51.780
of your favorite jazz solos

26
00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:54.150
so I can have somebody who knows a lot

27
00:00:54.150 --> 00:00:57.360
tell me someone who does not what I should be listening to.

28
00:00:57.360 --> 00:00:59.115
<v ->I don't know that I know a lot.</v>

29
00:00:59.115 --> 00:01:00.112
<v ->Okay.</v>

30
00:01:00.112 --> 00:01:00.945
<v ->I know what I like</v>

31
00:01:00.945 --> 00:01:03.870
which I don't put on any sort of sliding scale

32
00:01:03.870 --> 00:01:05.392
that's being better or worse

33
00:01:05.392 --> 00:01:06.360
than--
<v ->I think that's</v>

34
00:01:06.360 --> 00:01:07.193
a wise approach.

35
00:01:07.193 --> 00:01:08.790
<v ->I understand my tastes and I like them.</v>

36
00:01:08.790 --> 00:01:11.230
And they're very eclectic and very and I listen

37
00:01:12.080 --> 00:01:12.913
to a lot a lot of different music.

38
00:01:12.913 --> 00:01:15.810
And inside of what people would call the jazz realm.

39
00:01:15.810 --> 00:01:18.241
<v ->You wanna just start with one of them though?</v>

40
00:01:18.241 --> 00:01:19.620
<v ->Where should we start?</v>

41
00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:21.482
<v Don>Let's start foundationally.</v>

42
00:01:21.482 --> 00:01:22.486
<v ->Okay.</v>

43
00:01:22.486 --> 00:01:23.319
<v ->Most people when they think of jazz</v>

44
00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:24.360
and what's synonymous with jazz

45
00:01:24.360 --> 00:01:26.280
they obviously think of Miles.

46
00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:31.280
So maybe Miles solo on "Porgy and Bess", "Summertime".

47
00:01:32.520 --> 00:01:33.353
<v ->I mean.</v>

48
00:01:33.353 --> 00:01:34.948
<v ->Miles Davis [Don mumbling].</v>

49
00:01:34.948 --> 00:01:39.448
["Summertime" by Miles Davis playing]

50
00:01:41.970 --> 00:01:43.950
<v ->Why that one specifically?</v>

51
00:01:43.950 --> 00:01:45.870
<v ->Well it's foundational to me</v>

52
00:01:45.870 --> 00:01:47.940
because it was one of the first albums

53
00:01:47.940 --> 00:01:50.880
that I ever recall listening to

54
00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:53.070
because it was my parents collection, it was one

55
00:01:53.070 --> 00:01:54.674
of their album collections.
<v ->Okay.</v>

56
00:01:54.674 --> 00:01:55.507
<v ->And it was one of the albums</v>

57
00:01:55.507 --> 00:01:58.590
that I actually when I went to college I took

58
00:01:58.590 --> 00:01:59.423
and.
<v ->Oh wow.</v>

59
00:01:59.423 --> 00:02:00.516
<v ->And I stole it.</v>

60
00:02:00.516 --> 00:02:01.349
<v ->I was gonna say, did they give,</v>

61
00:02:01.349 --> 00:02:03.090
did they know that you had taken it

62
00:02:03.090 --> 00:02:03.990
or?
<v ->Once I told them</v>

63
00:02:03.990 --> 00:02:05.370
once I was already gone.

64
00:02:05.370 --> 00:02:06.879
<v ->Did you ever</v>

65
00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:07.740
just call and said--
<v ->I said, "Oh by the way."</v>

66
00:02:07.740 --> 00:02:09.660
<v ->So you grew up in a jazz house then?</v>

67
00:02:09.660 --> 00:02:13.958
<v ->I wouldn't say that, I grew up in my parents,</v>

68
00:02:13.958 --> 00:02:16.110
that was one of the styles of music that they listened to.

69
00:02:16.110 --> 00:02:18.660
So there was Cannonball Adderley in the collection,

70
00:02:18.660 --> 00:02:20.280
there was Miles Davis in the collection,

71
00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:21.870
there was Sarah Vaughn in the collection,

72
00:02:21.870 --> 00:02:23.949
Carmen McRae, there was a lot of just a lot of

73
00:02:23.949 --> 00:02:26.880
the real standard bearers

74
00:02:26.880 --> 00:02:28.320
of the art form.
<v ->And this was what</v>

75
00:02:28.320 --> 00:02:29.970
was playing though at home?

76
00:02:29.970 --> 00:02:30.900
<v ->Yeah.</v>
<v ->'Cause like my house</v>

77
00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:31.970
was like a mo town house specifically.

78
00:02:31.970 --> 00:02:33.360
<v ->It was a Motown house too.</v>

79
00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:34.878
<v ->Okay.</v>

80
00:02:34.878 --> 00:02:35.711
<v ->But I think it was what I played more</v>

81
00:02:35.711 --> 00:02:38.130
and it was what I was really drawn to

82
00:02:38.130 --> 00:02:39.180
more than anything else.

83
00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:42.120
And I started playing sax in elementary school.

84
00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:43.617
It was one of the things that you could do in school

85
00:02:43.617 --> 00:02:44.970
was like, "Do you wanna play an instrument?"

86
00:02:44.970 --> 00:02:46.387
I was like, "Yeah I'll play that,"

87
00:02:46.387 --> 00:02:47.884
"What do you wanna play?"

88
00:02:47.884 --> 00:02:48.887
"Sax."

89
00:02:48.887 --> 00:02:49.720
It was a very it was a lark, it wasn't really.

90
00:02:49.720 --> 00:02:51.709
<v ->It wasn't like this was what's playing at home</v>

91
00:02:51.709 --> 00:02:52.860
so I'm choose it.
<v ->No.</v>

92
00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:54.220
I kind of found it after.

93
00:02:54.220 --> 00:02:56.280
<v ->Okay.</v>
<v ->I started playing the sax.</v>

94
00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:57.240
<v ->When did the acting start?</v>

95
00:02:57.240 --> 00:02:58.830
<v ->Kind of in elementary school.</v>

96
00:02:58.830 --> 00:03:00.090
I had an elementary school teacher

97
00:03:00.090 --> 00:03:01.500
who really was the music teach,

98
00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:03.510
not the music teacher, not the instrumental music teacher.

99
00:03:03.510 --> 00:03:04.343
<v ->Okay.</v>

100
00:03:04.343 --> 00:03:05.900
<v ->I started singing then in the choirs,</v>

101
00:03:05.900 --> 00:03:08.190
and started doing plays there.

102
00:03:08.190 --> 00:03:10.740
I was famously Templeton the rat in "Charlotte's Web".

103
00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:11.640
I know you've.

104
00:03:11.640 --> 00:03:13.582
<v ->I've done the research.</v>
<v ->I know you know that</v>

105
00:03:13.582 --> 00:03:15.630
and you've saw the awards and you saw the write ups.

106
00:03:15.630 --> 00:03:17.731
<v ->It is a legendary performance.</v>

107
00:03:17.731 --> 00:03:20.130
<v ->I'm glad you said it, I didn't wanna have to say it.</v>

108
00:03:20.130 --> 00:03:21.780
So that was when that really started.

109
00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:23.460
And then all through junior high school

110
00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:24.828
it was just music, there was no.

111
00:03:24.828 --> 00:03:25.770
<v Franklin>Right.</v>

112
00:03:25.770 --> 00:03:27.330
<v ->Acting program to speak of.</v>

113
00:03:27.330 --> 00:03:30.420
And then in high school it all sort of came back together.

114
00:03:30.420 --> 00:03:33.000
<v ->And you've talked about sort of</v>

115
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.943
letting jazz go as a professional pursuit,

116
00:03:37.410 --> 00:03:40.860
but the love of the thing persisted.

117
00:03:40.860 --> 00:03:42.390
<v ->Yeah I knew that I was--</v>
<v ->How did</v>

118
00:03:42.390 --> 00:03:43.470
that decision happen?

119
00:03:43.470 --> 00:03:45.540
Like how does one say at the end of high school

120
00:03:45.540 --> 00:03:47.617
like, "Well I'm really good at this thing,

121
00:03:47.617 --> 00:03:49.657
"I'm also maybe really good at this thing,

122
00:03:49.657 --> 00:03:52.950
"but I'm gonna do this one not this one."

123
00:03:52.950 --> 00:03:56.070
<v ->Because the one I didn't do was infinitely harder</v>

124
00:03:56.070 --> 00:03:58.170
than the one that I was going to do.

125
00:03:58.170 --> 00:04:00.540
I grew up with real jazz musicians

126
00:04:00.540 --> 00:04:02.250
that are like went on to have careers,

127
00:04:02.250 --> 00:04:05.670
Ron Miles, Javon Jackson, people that really were about it.

128
00:04:05.670 --> 00:04:07.800
I saw what it took to do that

129
00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:11.310
and I realized that I was not going to shed.

130
00:04:11.310 --> 00:04:13.177
I'm like, "I'm not going to be sitting in a room

131
00:04:13.177 --> 00:04:15.097
"for eight hours studying theory

132
00:04:15.097 --> 00:04:17.760
"and doing soul fashion and running scales."

133
00:04:17.760 --> 00:04:19.620
And you're gonna have to be able to do that,

134
00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:22.020
and also it's not a chore to them,

135
00:04:22.020 --> 00:04:22.853
do you know what I mean?

136
00:04:22.853 --> 00:04:23.686
<v ->Right.</v>

137
00:04:23.686 --> 00:04:25.320
<v ->They have to be talked into doing other things.</v>

138
00:04:25.320 --> 00:04:26.437
It's like, "No you have to go outside

139
00:04:26.437 --> 00:04:28.267
"and put the piano away for a minute,

140
00:04:28.267 --> 00:04:29.580
"you have to stop playing right now."

141
00:04:29.580 --> 00:04:31.050
That's how they approach music.

142
00:04:31.050 --> 00:04:32.448
For me it was always a grind.

143
00:04:32.448 --> 00:04:35.031
[smooth music]

144
00:04:40.770 --> 00:04:43.140
<v ->Let's jump to another solo.</v>

145
00:04:43.140 --> 00:04:45.390
<v ->Another solo, where should we go now?</v>

146
00:04:45.390 --> 00:04:47.561
Let's listen to Oscar Peterson's solo.

147
00:04:47.561 --> 00:04:49.220
<v ->Let's listen to it.</v>

148
00:04:49.220 --> 00:04:50.700
<v ->Let's listen to some Oscar Peterson.</v>

149
00:04:50.700 --> 00:04:52.713
<v ->'Cause this one's ridiculous.</v>

150
00:04:52.713 --> 00:04:57.463
["Tour's End" by Oscar Peterson playing]

151
00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:00.330
So what is it about this solo?

152
00:05:00.330 --> 00:05:05.330
<v ->It's emblematic of his style clearly, very rhythmic,</v>

153
00:05:05.580 --> 00:05:09.060
and no matter how fast he plays it's always melodic,

154
00:05:09.060 --> 00:05:11.160
the structure of it, it makes sense,

155
00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:13.230
it's a story, it feels like it's story telling,

156
00:05:13.230 --> 00:05:15.120
it's not just pyrotechnics.

157
00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:18.900
I feel anyway that it's very, it makes sense,

158
00:05:18.900 --> 00:05:20.910
it's very logical within the framework of the song.

159
00:05:20.910 --> 00:05:22.620
<v ->So what's so interesting to me too about jazz</v>

160
00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:24.750
is it is definite, like you're not just playing

161
00:05:24.750 --> 00:05:26.310
the notes on the sheet music.

162
00:05:26.310 --> 00:05:29.190
There is an incredible amount of preparation

163
00:05:29.190 --> 00:05:33.355
and just like hardcore musical knowledge that goes into it,

164
00:05:33.355 --> 00:05:37.500
but on a day they're improvise,

165
00:05:37.500 --> 00:05:39.420
they're doing something different.

166
00:05:39.420 --> 00:05:42.300
And that's the part that my brain can't process that.

167
00:05:42.300 --> 00:05:43.350
<v ->I couldn't either.</v>

168
00:05:43.350 --> 00:05:45.780
I understood it in a very basic way

169
00:05:45.780 --> 00:05:48.557
and I dipped my toe in it, and I of course had to improv,

170
00:05:48.557 --> 00:05:50.490
I was in jazz bands and all through

171
00:05:50.490 --> 00:05:51.570
high school and everything.
<v ->Good.</v>

172
00:05:51.570 --> 00:05:54.720
<v ->But I knew there was another level to what they were doing</v>

173
00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.120
and the language that they were able to speak

174
00:05:57.120 --> 00:05:58.950
that I wasn't able to do.

175
00:05:58.950 --> 00:06:02.370
Or I was intimidated in many ways by that,

176
00:06:02.370 --> 00:06:04.620
by theory, by scales, by music.

177
00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:05.760
A lot of it's math.

178
00:06:05.760 --> 00:06:06.896
<v ->Right.</v>

179
00:06:06.896 --> 00:06:09.163
<v ->So if you could make that connection</v>

180
00:06:09.163 --> 00:06:10.320
you could probably be very good at that

181
00:06:10.320 --> 00:06:12.570
because you understand what a minor key is,

182
00:06:12.570 --> 00:06:14.640
what a major key is, what Dorian is, what Lydian is,

183
00:06:14.640 --> 00:06:15.473
what makes it Lydian is,

184
00:06:15.473 --> 00:06:17.610
why those intervals are what they are.

185
00:06:17.610 --> 00:06:20.130
<v ->But it feels almost specific to jazz.</v>

186
00:06:20.130 --> 00:06:21.150
<v ->I think it is,</v>

187
00:06:21.150 --> 00:06:26.150
I think it's as complicated and structured and elevated

188
00:06:26.490 --> 00:06:27.930
as classical music.

189
00:06:27.930 --> 00:06:30.660
But that's the most all the way back

190
00:06:30.660 --> 00:06:32.149
to the first thing you said.

191
00:06:32.149 --> 00:06:33.197
<v ->Right.</v>

192
00:06:33.197 --> 00:06:35.700
<v ->I feel the most engaged and alive when that's happening</v>

193
00:06:35.700 --> 00:06:37.230
because there's no planning,

194
00:06:37.230 --> 00:06:38.850
because you don't know what's gonna happen.

195
00:06:38.850 --> 00:06:39.836
<v Franklin>Right.</v>

196
00:06:39.836 --> 00:06:41.670
<v ->Because it forces you to listen</v>

197
00:06:41.670 --> 00:06:43.590
and be present and in the moment

198
00:06:43.590 --> 00:06:45.210
almost more than any other thing

199
00:06:45.210 --> 00:06:47.487
I've ever, except parenting.

200
00:06:47.487 --> 00:06:48.450
[Franklin laughs]

201
00:06:48.450 --> 00:06:49.770
<v ->But what's wild when I hear you talk about that</v>

202
00:06:49.770 --> 00:06:51.270
is I feel like a lot of actors

203
00:06:51.270 --> 00:06:53.340
talk about their craft of acting in a similar way.

204
00:06:53.340 --> 00:06:55.860
Now there's no like scales and theory necessarily

205
00:06:55.860 --> 00:06:56.733
in the same way,

206
00:06:57.573 --> 00:07:00.480
but again a lot of it is prep prep prep prep prep

207
00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:01.860
but on the day--
<v ->Gotta be in the moment.</v>

208
00:07:01.860 --> 00:07:03.708
<v ->You gotta be in the moment, you gotta be in the pocket,</v>

209
00:07:03.708 --> 00:07:05.820
you're listening to what other people are doing

210
00:07:05.820 --> 00:07:07.200
and you're responding.

211
00:07:07.200 --> 00:07:11.280
I'm curious how your acting education

212
00:07:11.280 --> 00:07:13.770
and your sort of early in your career,

213
00:07:13.770 --> 00:07:16.320
was there overlap in sort of how you thought about that

214
00:07:16.320 --> 00:07:18.150
or were they completely divorced in your mind?

215
00:07:18.150 --> 00:07:21.540
<v ->I think I felt it sort of like kinesthetically.</v>

216
00:07:21.540 --> 00:07:25.650
I understood that there is within the framework of the words

217
00:07:25.650 --> 00:07:27.780
and within the framework of the text, and the play,

218
00:07:27.780 --> 00:07:29.430
and those are the words.

219
00:07:29.430 --> 00:07:30.780
<v ->Right.</v>
<v ->That's what you're saying.</v>

220
00:07:30.780 --> 00:07:31.994
But moment to moment,

221
00:07:31.994 --> 00:07:35.730
how you might engage with another person

222
00:07:35.730 --> 00:07:37.784
is only dictated by what's happening

223
00:07:37.784 --> 00:07:38.790
in the moment.
<v ->Right.</v>

224
00:07:38.790 --> 00:07:40.020
<v ->And if you get something different,</v>

225
00:07:40.020 --> 00:07:42.180
the way you're coming back at them is different.

226
00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:46.970
And a really really smart acting teacher said to me,

227
00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:49.320
and I think it's really true,

228
00:07:49.320 --> 00:07:53.490
that you're only ever trying to do one of three things

229
00:07:53.490 --> 00:07:56.010
when you're engaging in a scene with somebody,

230
00:07:56.010 --> 00:07:58.314
you're trying to make them feel something,

231
00:07:58.314 --> 00:08:03.000
make them understand something, or make them do something.

232
00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:04.923
And sometimes it's a combination of those.

233
00:08:04.923 --> 00:08:08.610
But anything else is just you're not really acting,

234
00:08:08.610 --> 00:08:09.540
you're not really--
<v ->Right.</v>

235
00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:11.610
<v ->Trying to get your goals,</v>

236
00:08:11.610 --> 00:08:13.560
and you're trying to always go after your goal as an actor,

237
00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:15.720
and there's different ways to get that goal.

238
00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:17.550
And there's different outcomes

239
00:08:17.550 --> 00:08:18.900
you're trying to get to musically too

240
00:08:18.900 --> 00:08:19.800
when you're improving.

241
00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:22.290
But it's about being in the moment, being present,

242
00:08:22.290 --> 00:08:24.120
listening, responding, reacting,

243
00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:25.920
all those things correlate to me.

244
00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:28.590
<v ->So I'm getting my notes 'cause I wanna go through a list</v>

245
00:08:28.590 --> 00:08:29.760
of some of your early credits.

246
00:08:29.760 --> 00:08:32.790
So you started working basically as a working actor

247
00:08:32.790 --> 00:08:35.130
while you were at Cal [Franklin mumbling] correct?

248
00:08:35.130 --> 00:08:38.657
So "Colors", "Meteor Man",

249
00:08:38.657 --> 00:08:39.547
[Don laughs]

250
00:08:39.547 --> 00:08:41.617
"Fame", "LA Law" "Hill Street Blues",

251
00:08:41.617 --> 00:08:44.610
"Night Court", "Booker", "China Beach",

252
00:08:44.610 --> 00:08:47.160
the "Golden Girls" spinoff "Golden Palace"

253
00:08:47.160 --> 00:08:48.990
with the "Golden Girls" and Cheech Marin.

254
00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:49.950
<v ->Correct.</v>

255
00:08:49.950 --> 00:08:52.557
<v ->And famously "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air".</v>

256
00:08:52.557 --> 00:08:54.660
<v ->[woman in orange mumbling] We didn't hear you come in.</v>

257
00:08:54.660 --> 00:08:56.310
Jeffrey did you leave the door open?

258
00:08:56.310 --> 00:08:57.455
<v ->Well no.</v>

259
00:08:57.455 --> 00:08:58.288
[audience laughs]

260
00:08:58.288 --> 00:09:00.060
<v ->Well then I guess we must've left it unlocked.</v>

261
00:09:00.060 --> 00:09:01.133
<v ->Well no.</v>

262
00:09:01.133 --> 00:09:02.040
[audience laughs]

263
00:09:02.040 --> 00:09:04.140
<v ->They were gonna give you a spinoff to Fresh Prince.</v>

264
00:09:04.140 --> 00:09:05.465
<v ->Yeah they did, I shot a pilot.</v>

265
00:09:05.465 --> 00:09:07.380
<v ->Where is that pilot now?</v>

266
00:09:07.380 --> 00:09:08.603
<v ->I think you can actually find it</v>

267
00:09:08.603 --> 00:09:10.140
online.
<v ->Is it online?</v>

268
00:09:10.140 --> 00:09:11.580
<v ->I just some it popped up</v>

269
00:09:11.580 --> 00:09:13.320
and I was like, "Oh wow here's the pilot."

270
00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:15.180
<v ->And you also wrote the music for the intro,</v>

271
00:09:15.180 --> 00:09:16.170
is that true?

272
00:09:16.170 --> 00:09:17.003
<v ->Yeah.</v>

273
00:09:17.003 --> 00:09:18.180
<v Franklin>Tell me more.</v>

274
00:09:18.180 --> 00:09:23.180
<v ->Well at that point I was doing a lot in studios,</v>

275
00:09:23.790 --> 00:09:24.623
I thought I was going through,

276
00:09:24.623 --> 00:09:27.660
again I was never completely dropped the idea of music,

277
00:09:27.660 --> 00:09:28.493
it was always--
<v ->Right.</v>

278
00:09:28.493 --> 00:09:29.820
<v ->In the sidecar.</v>

279
00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:32.220
And I wanted to take a crack at the theme song.

280
00:09:32.220 --> 00:09:33.398
They're like, "Go ahead."

281
00:09:33.398 --> 00:09:36.445
[upbeat music]

282
00:09:36.445 --> 00:09:39.912
♪ Some folks they say there's only one way ♪

283
00:09:39.912 --> 00:09:43.873
♪ To live your life live your life ♪

284
00:09:43.873 --> 00:09:47.370
So I set off in my producing friend Kenny Finch

285
00:09:47.370 --> 00:09:50.066
wrote the theme song, and it's the one,

286
00:09:50.066 --> 00:09:51.644
I don't know that ultimately we would've used it,

287
00:09:51.644 --> 00:09:52.647
[Don laughs]

288
00:09:52.647 --> 00:09:53.644
<v ->But that is</v>

289
00:09:53.644 --> 00:09:54.651
the theme song that--
<v ->But it's the one</v>

290
00:09:54.651 --> 00:09:55.650
you hear in the show

291
00:09:55.650 --> 00:09:56.652
and you hear me singing.
<v ->All of the--</v>

292
00:09:56.652 --> 00:09:57.787
<v ->I'm singing and you hear it yeah.</v>

293
00:09:57.787 --> 00:10:00.370
[smooth music]

294
00:10:04.650 --> 00:10:06.780
<v ->So "Devil in a Blue Dress"</v>

295
00:10:06.780 --> 00:10:10.620
was probably a turning point I feel like career-wise,

296
00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:13.470
because you were all anyone was talking about

297
00:10:13.470 --> 00:10:14.610
coming outta that movie.

298
00:10:14.610 --> 00:10:16.200
I mean the movie was incredible.

299
00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:17.700
Didn't realize you had also worked

300
00:10:17.700 --> 00:10:19.453
with Carl Franklin prior.

301
00:10:19.453 --> 00:10:20.970
Was it his thesis film?

302
00:10:20.970 --> 00:10:22.538
<v ->Yep.</v>

303
00:10:22.538 --> 00:10:25.200
<v ->So his AFI thesis starred Don Cheadle.</v>

304
00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:28.020
<v ->Which is why I almost didn't get "Devil in a Blue Dress".</v>

305
00:10:28.020 --> 00:10:28.853
<v ->What do you mean?</v>

306
00:10:28.853 --> 00:10:31.320
<v ->Well because Carl sort of had cemented in his mind</v>

307
00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:32.643
that I was that.

308
00:10:32.643 --> 00:10:33.645
<v Franklin>Kid.</v>

309
00:10:33.645 --> 00:10:34.770
<v ->19-year-old kid that he--</v>
<v ->Right.</v>

310
00:10:34.770 --> 00:10:36.420
<v ->Had worked with and he never saw me</v>

311
00:10:36.420 --> 00:10:39.210
as a dude that could ever be Denzel's contemporary.

312
00:10:39.210 --> 00:10:40.043
<v ->Right.</v>

313
00:10:40.043 --> 00:10:41.190
<v ->And Denzel's 10 years older than me,</v>

314
00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:43.650
so he's like it's just not going to work.

315
00:10:43.650 --> 00:10:45.967
And then Denzel's like, "Well I'll age down five years

316
00:10:45.967 --> 00:10:47.167
"you'll age him up five years

317
00:10:47.167 --> 00:10:49.470
"and then we'll be contemporary's, it's not a big deal."

318
00:10:49.470 --> 00:10:51.570
<v ->So Denzel had to convince Carl.</v>

319
00:10:51.570 --> 00:10:53.550
<v ->I mean we could do a whole thing</v>

320
00:10:53.550 --> 00:10:55.336
on how it actually came together.

321
00:10:55.336 --> 00:10:56.333
<v ->Okay.</v>
<v ->Which is how</v>

322
00:10:56.333 --> 00:10:57.180
a lot of my career's come together.

323
00:10:57.180 --> 00:11:00.420
And one of these songs which is "Personal Mountains"

324
00:11:00.420 --> 00:11:01.980
also plays a part in this.

325
00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:03.347
You wanna, should we listen

326
00:11:03.347 --> 00:11:04.344
to that?
<v ->Yeah let's listen</v>

327
00:11:04.344 --> 00:11:05.352
to that now.

328
00:11:05.352 --> 00:11:06.203
<v ->"Personal Mountains", Keith Jarrett.</v>

329
00:11:07.261 --> 00:11:12.261
["Personal Mountains" by Keith Jarrett playing]

330
00:11:12.630 --> 00:11:13.800
<v ->Explain what you mean</v>

331
00:11:13.800 --> 00:11:14.910
how this all ties to--
<v ->I'll try to do it</v>

332
00:11:14.910 --> 00:11:16.200
really fast but it's hard.
<v ->Okay.</v>

333
00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:18.540
<v ->'Cause it's a very long story.</v>

334
00:11:18.540 --> 00:11:19.770
My agent read the book,

335
00:11:19.770 --> 00:11:22.440
said, "This is you, you've gotta get in on it."

336
00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:24.600
Everybody in the town and all over the country

337
00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:25.650
was going in on this part.

338
00:11:25.650 --> 00:11:26.580
<v ->Right.</v>
<v ->Running their mouths.</v>

339
00:11:26.580 --> 00:11:27.720
I couldn't get an audition.

340
00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:29.587
She's like, "Doesn't make any sense, you know Carl,

341
00:11:29.587 --> 00:11:30.847
"you did the movie together.

342
00:11:30.847 --> 00:11:31.710
"Why isn't he calling?"

343
00:11:31.710 --> 00:11:33.757
I said, "Well he knows me, if he thinks I'm right for it

344
00:11:33.757 --> 00:11:34.590
"then he'll call me."

345
00:11:34.590 --> 00:11:36.750
The day that I heard that it was coming

346
00:11:36.750 --> 00:11:39.330
I had started listening to this album

347
00:11:39.330 --> 00:11:41.430
and something just made sense.

348
00:11:41.430 --> 00:11:43.290
Again I can't tell you why, I don't know why,

349
00:11:43.290 --> 00:11:45.900
it's some cosmic esoteric whatever,

350
00:11:45.900 --> 00:11:48.643
that the "Personal Mountains" made sense.

351
00:11:48.643 --> 00:11:51.570
This would be a personal mountain for me

352
00:11:51.570 --> 00:11:53.010
if I climb this mountain.

353
00:11:53.010 --> 00:11:54.390
And I know it's gonna be life changing

354
00:11:54.390 --> 00:11:56.125
if this happens for me,

355
00:11:56.125 --> 00:11:56.958
I know it's going to change everything,

356
00:11:56.958 --> 00:11:58.680
but I don't have to go out for it,

357
00:11:58.680 --> 00:11:59.970
I don't have to go to it,

358
00:11:59.970 --> 00:12:01.860
all I'm supposed to do is my work,

359
00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:03.570
all I'm supposed to do is focus on me

360
00:12:03.570 --> 00:12:05.700
and it's gonna come to me if it's meant to come to me.

361
00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:06.690
I'm not chasing it.

362
00:12:06.690 --> 00:12:09.120
And I listened to this track,

363
00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.090
this is the only piece of music I listened to

364
00:12:12.090 --> 00:12:16.080
for months, literally it's all I listened to.

365
00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:18.030
So months went by, months went by,

366
00:12:18.030 --> 00:12:19.950
couldn't get an audition, couldn't get an audition.

367
00:12:19.950 --> 00:12:21.161
She's like, "You gotta call,"

368
00:12:21.161 --> 00:12:22.080
I'm like, "I'm not calling him."

369
00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:23.190
If he--
<v ->And that's a long,</v>

370
00:12:23.190 --> 00:12:24.150
I mean they were going

371
00:12:24.150 --> 00:12:26.010
to everybody then.
<v ->Months, everybody.</v>

372
00:12:26.010 --> 00:12:31.010
So I was in a ear nose and throat doctors reception area.

373
00:12:31.214 --> 00:12:32.047
[Don laughs]

374
00:12:32.047 --> 00:12:33.630
<v ->Not where I thought this story was going but.</v>

375
00:12:33.630 --> 00:12:34.659
<v ->You can't.</v>

376
00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:35.656
<v ->Continue.</v>

377
00:12:35.656 --> 00:12:36.660
<v ->You could never anticipate it.</v>

378
00:12:36.660 --> 00:12:39.120
And the room got very very crowded,

379
00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:42.030
and I kept moving further and further toward the door

380
00:12:42.030 --> 00:12:43.590
as more people came in.

381
00:12:43.590 --> 00:12:47.610
And the door opens and bangs into me and it's Carl.

382
00:12:47.610 --> 00:12:50.040
And this two seconds after he walks into the room

383
00:12:50.040 --> 00:12:51.397
the receptionist came out and said,

384
00:12:51.397 --> 00:12:52.957
"There's too many people in this room,

385
00:12:52.957 --> 00:12:54.150
"who was the last one in here?"

386
00:12:54.150 --> 00:12:55.927
And she pointed at Carl and me and she goes,

387
00:12:55.927 --> 00:12:57.583
"You two, go in that room."

388
00:12:57.583 --> 00:12:58.830
[Franklin laughs]

389
00:12:58.830 --> 00:13:01.235
<v ->Yeah that is the universe.</v>

390
00:13:01.235 --> 00:13:03.809
<v ->And the two of us went in a room by ourselves</v>

391
00:13:03.809 --> 00:13:06.870
and just caught up on old times,

392
00:13:06.870 --> 00:13:07.703
what's going on, what's going on.

393
00:13:07.703 --> 00:13:09.120
He said, "You know I'm doing this movie."

394
00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:11.710
I was like, "Yeah I've heard about the movie."

395
00:13:11.710 --> 00:13:12.877
[Franklin laughs]

396
00:13:12.877 --> 00:13:14.280
And he just dropped it,

397
00:13:14.280 --> 00:13:15.113
and we went on and talked about other stuff.

398
00:13:15.113 --> 00:13:16.230
And then the next day my agent called

399
00:13:16.230 --> 00:13:17.167
and said, "I don't know what happened

400
00:13:17.167 --> 00:13:18.824
"but he wants to see you."

401
00:13:18.824 --> 00:13:20.077
I was like yeah of course.

402
00:13:20.077 --> 00:13:24.750
<v ->"Hotel Rwanda" obviously Academy Award nominated for it.</v>

403
00:13:24.750 --> 00:13:27.690
Paul obviously just got released from detention.

404
00:13:27.690 --> 00:13:30.570
What is that like for you as an actor who played him?

405
00:13:30.570 --> 00:13:34.819
Like it's gotta br surreal having played a real life figure

406
00:13:34.819 --> 00:13:38.045
and then to have him be detained.

407
00:13:38.045 --> 00:13:39.720
Talk to me about that.

408
00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:42.090
<v ->Well the experience was one thing,</v>

409
00:13:42.090 --> 00:13:46.260
and what it did for my career was one thing,

410
00:13:46.260 --> 00:13:48.930
but what dwarfed that in many ways

411
00:13:48.930 --> 00:13:52.312
is what it triggered as far as me binge an activist

412
00:13:52.312 --> 00:13:54.840
and learning about what was happening

413
00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:57.180
and being pulled into this stream of activism

414
00:13:57.180 --> 00:13:58.830
that was already happening before I got there.

415
00:13:58.830 --> 00:14:00.570
But sort of being pushed to the front of it,

416
00:14:00.570 --> 00:14:03.750
like oh finally we have a mouthpiece.

417
00:14:03.750 --> 00:14:04.980
<v ->What was that like though?</v>

418
00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:08.130
<v ->It's learning like oh this is how I can be a,</v>

419
00:14:08.130 --> 00:14:10.080
this is my function in this space.

420
00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:11.880
And I was like oh this is how that works,

421
00:14:11.880 --> 00:14:15.570
when I show up to this thing people can rally around that

422
00:14:15.570 --> 00:14:18.090
and I'm not the expert on this,

423
00:14:18.090 --> 00:14:20.670
I'm someone who's learning as I go along,

424
00:14:20.670 --> 00:14:22.080
but the fact that I'm doing it

425
00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:24.450
while people are putting a camera in front of me,

426
00:14:24.450 --> 00:14:25.680
and putting a microphone in front of me

427
00:14:25.680 --> 00:14:27.232
allows me to throw that focus on them.

428
00:14:27.232 --> 00:14:30.570
And the day he was kidnapped,

429
00:14:30.570 --> 00:14:31.760
let's just call it what it is,

430
00:14:31.760 --> 00:14:36.720
I was on calls to the state department and the White House,

431
00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:40.170
and I was trying to find ways to get him out.

432
00:14:40.170 --> 00:14:41.090
With his family and other people

433
00:14:41.090 --> 00:14:42.090
that were working--
<v ->Yeah of course.</v>

434
00:14:42.090 --> 00:14:42.960
<v ->On his behalf too.</v>

435
00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:46.500
But again it's like yeah step up.

436
00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:48.390
<v ->And you stepped up I feel like in other ways too</v>

437
00:14:48.390 --> 00:14:49.980
I mean your "Saturday Night Live" appearance,

438
00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:52.350
which was a subtle, just the tee shirt.

439
00:14:52.350 --> 00:14:55.650
But I mean how do you think about using those moments?

440
00:14:55.650 --> 00:14:57.780
Is it just like what this is a moment

441
00:14:57.780 --> 00:14:58.920
where the cameras are on me,

442
00:14:58.920 --> 00:15:01.080
I should make sure they're on somebody else too or?

443
00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:05.700
<v ->Basically yeah, but I never expected</v>

444
00:15:05.700 --> 00:15:07.860
to be in this position.

445
00:15:07.860 --> 00:15:10.560
I wanted to act because I thought it was fun

446
00:15:10.560 --> 00:15:12.870
and it was interesting and I wanted to get girls.

447
00:15:12.870 --> 00:15:16.020
But I really was scratching an itch

448
00:15:16.020 --> 00:15:17.610
and something that was really interesting to me.

449
00:15:17.610 --> 00:15:22.080
I never thought that it would be beneficial to other people

450
00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:24.990
and help bring things to the fore

451
00:15:24.990 --> 00:15:26.850
that were struggling to be brought to the fore.

452
00:15:26.850 --> 00:15:29.130
So that's how it's important to me to use it.

453
00:15:29.130 --> 00:15:32.310
If it was just trying to get to the front of the line

454
00:15:32.310 --> 00:15:34.050
and get best seats at a restaurant,

455
00:15:34.050 --> 00:15:37.350
or free tickets to a game, or free swag,

456
00:15:37.350 --> 00:15:41.190
then it's like that's not why to have the light,

457
00:15:41.190 --> 00:15:43.890
to have the light is to use the light.

458
00:15:43.890 --> 00:15:45.570
<v ->So let's talk about "Secret Invasion".</v>

459
00:15:45.570 --> 00:15:46.460
<v ->Wonderful, it's out yeah.</v>

460
00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:47.986
Dope right?
<v ->Let's talk about superheroes</v>

461
00:15:47.986 --> 00:15:49.700
for a minute.

462
00:15:49.700 --> 00:15:50.699
<v ->Okay.</v>

463
00:15:50.699 --> 00:15:52.140
<v ->I'm just curious what it's like to prepare for a role</v>

464
00:15:52.140 --> 00:15:54.308
where your job is literally saving the world.

465
00:15:54.308 --> 00:15:55.320
I'm--
<v ->Steroids.</v>

466
00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:56.353
<v ->Obviously talking about "Captain Planet".</v>

467
00:15:56.353 --> 00:15:57.832
[lively music]

468
00:15:57.832 --> 00:15:58.978
<v Captain Planet>With your powers combined</v>

469
00:15:58.978 --> 00:16:01.415
I am Captain Planet.

470
00:16:01.415 --> 00:16:02.415
<v ->Go planet!</v>

471
00:16:03.870 --> 00:16:06.150
<v ->Well planet-eers, what seems to be the problem?</v>

472
00:16:06.150 --> 00:16:09.000
Oh no steroids on that, that was all in the suit,

473
00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:10.320
it was all padded.

474
00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:13.530
<v ->You notoriously engaged in blue face for that role.</v>

475
00:16:13.530 --> 00:16:14.363
<v ->So?</v>

476
00:16:14.363 --> 00:16:15.570
So what?
<v ->Do you wanna apologize</v>

477
00:16:15.570 --> 00:16:16.813
to the people of "Pandora"?
<v ->I don't care.</v>

478
00:16:16.813 --> 00:16:18.210
Nope.

479
00:16:18.210 --> 00:16:19.043
I'll do it again.

480
00:16:19.043 --> 00:16:20.400
<v ->Do we think that the people,</v>

481
00:16:20.400 --> 00:16:22.860
that Pandoran's are blue because of "Captain Planet"?

482
00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:25.680
<v ->I don't care about why they're blue,</v>

483
00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:29.460
I'm not into Pandoran rights, I'll do it again, dare me.

484
00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:31.680
<v ->Cancellation incoming.</v>

485
00:16:31.680 --> 00:16:32.640
<v ->Keep it blue.</v>

486
00:16:32.640 --> 00:16:33.473
<v ->Okay but seriously,</v>

487
00:16:33.473 --> 00:16:36.720
on "Secret Invasion" this blew my mind,

488
00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:40.262
I feel like you and Samuel L. Jackson

489
00:16:40.262 --> 00:16:42.930
have been working for as long as I have been

490
00:16:42.930 --> 00:16:44.130
aware of actors--
<v ->Okay take it easy.</v>

491
00:16:44.130 --> 00:16:44.963
[Don laughs]

492
00:16:44.963 --> 00:16:46.616
Calm down.

493
00:16:46.616 --> 00:16:47.449
<v ->How old are you again?</v>
<v ->You're not that much</v>

494
00:16:47.449 --> 00:16:48.616
younger than me.

495
00:16:48.616 --> 00:16:49.620
<v ->How old are you?</v>

496
00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:50.621
<v ->Why, does it matter?</v>

497
00:16:50.621 --> 00:16:51.634
Do you wanna do the Kevin Hart thing?

498
00:16:51.634 --> 00:16:52.632
<v ->I'm trying.</v>

499
00:16:52.632 --> 00:16:53.629
<v ->Okay go again.</v>

500
00:16:53.629 --> 00:16:54.635
<v ->How old are you?</v>

501
00:16:54.635 --> 00:16:55.830
<v ->You know, right now I'm 57-years-old.</v>

502
00:16:55.830 --> 00:16:56.936
<v ->Damn!</v>

503
00:16:56.936 --> 00:16:57.769
<v ->I'm not.</v>

504
00:16:57.769 --> 00:16:59.220
<v ->I'm sorry.</v>

505
00:16:59.220 --> 00:17:00.053
I'm sorry.

506
00:17:00.053 --> 00:17:02.070
Kevin did it, I thought maybe I could do it.

507
00:17:02.070 --> 00:17:04.230
<v ->It wasn't that good, do you wanna try again?</v>

508
00:17:04.230 --> 00:17:05.063
<v ->I--</v>
<v ->Can we get</v>

509
00:17:05.063 --> 00:17:06.660
a take two on this?
<v ->I don't I think.</v>

510
00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:08.040
<v ->No let's try again.</v>
<v ->I think we can move on.</v>

511
00:17:08.040 --> 00:17:08.873
<v ->No I think</v>

512
00:17:08.873 --> 00:17:10.082
we should try again.
<v ->I think we should move on.</v>

513
00:17:10.082 --> 00:17:11.250
I wanna talk about Sam Jackson.

514
00:17:11.250 --> 00:17:12.274
<v ->All right, we'll move on.</v>

515
00:17:12.274 --> 00:17:13.770
<v ->All right, this is the time y'all have acted together.</v>

516
00:17:13.770 --> 00:17:15.030
How is that possible?

517
00:17:15.030 --> 00:17:17.580
<v ->I don't know, we've complained about it</v>

518
00:17:17.580 --> 00:17:19.800
to the Marvel people every movie like.

519
00:17:19.800 --> 00:17:20.818
<v ->I mean separate from the Marvel people,</v>

520
00:17:20.818 --> 00:17:22.068
like it just blew, like I literally,

521
00:17:22.068 --> 00:17:25.380
I could not believe it when I saw that that was true.

522
00:17:25.380 --> 00:17:27.240
I went on Google trying to disprove it

523
00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:28.469
like a idiot.
<v ->No it's the truth.</v>

524
00:17:28.469 --> 00:17:30.900
I think it's his fault personally,

525
00:17:30.900 --> 00:17:33.540
if I'm gonna lay blame at somebody's feet.

526
00:17:33.540 --> 00:17:34.640
I think he was scared.

527
00:17:35.550 --> 00:17:37.320
<v ->I mean it wouldn't be the first one.</v>

528
00:17:37.320 --> 00:17:38.760
<v ->Correct.</v>

529
00:17:38.760 --> 00:17:40.440
Facts as the kids say.

530
00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:42.090
<v ->But how was the experience?</v>

531
00:17:42.090 --> 00:17:42.960
<v ->Terrible.</v>

532
00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:43.980
Actually it was great.

533
00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:45.684
Sam and I have

534
00:17:45.684 --> 00:17:46.860
been friends for many years.
<v ->Thank you.</v>

535
00:17:46.860 --> 00:17:49.500
<v ->We golf together, I've seen him on stage,</v>

536
00:17:49.500 --> 00:17:53.142
Sam's a great actor, no BS.

537
00:17:53.142 --> 00:17:54.630
We had a great time.

538
00:17:54.630 --> 00:17:56.462
I think no cap is what I'm supposed to say,

539
00:17:56.462 --> 00:17:57.654
no cap.
<v ->No cap as</v>

540
00:17:57.654 --> 00:17:58.487
the kids would say.

541
00:17:58.487 --> 00:17:59.320
<v ->As the kids.</v>

542
00:17:59.320 --> 00:18:00.153
<v ->Are the kids even saying that anymore?</v>

543
00:18:00.153 --> 00:18:00.986
I don't even know.

544
00:18:00.986 --> 00:18:01.819
<v ->I don't know, they've probably moved on</v>

545
00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:02.652
to something else.
<v ->I would assume so.</v>

546
00:18:02.652 --> 00:18:05.235
[smooth music]

547
00:18:09.810 --> 00:18:10.950
Having done almost everything

548
00:18:10.950 --> 00:18:12.570
is there anything else you wanna do?

549
00:18:12.570 --> 00:18:14.100
<v ->Listen to another track.</v>

550
00:18:14.100 --> 00:18:15.150
<v ->Listen to it.</v>

551
00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:17.220
<v ->Let's listen to Jaco's "Portrait of Tracy"</v>

552
00:18:17.220 --> 00:18:20.244
off of the self titled "Jaco Pastorius" album.

553
00:18:20.244 --> 00:18:25.244
["Portrait of Tracy" by Jaco Pastorius playing]

554
00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:31.160
<v ->Okay so why Jaco and why this specific Jaco solo?</v>

555
00:18:31.740 --> 00:18:36.570
<v ->Because this is the first time for I think a lot of people</v>

556
00:18:36.570 --> 00:18:41.520
that they heard harmonics as music.

557
00:18:41.520 --> 00:18:43.350
Harmonics for a bass player,

558
00:18:43.350 --> 00:18:45.460
for a lotta strings players, guitar players too,

559
00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:47.940
mostly just use to tune the instrument.

560
00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:48.773
<v ->Right.</v>

561
00:18:48.773 --> 00:18:52.260
<v ->And Jaco for him it sounded like music.</v>

562
00:18:52.260 --> 00:18:54.487
He would say, "Never just play scales to play scales,

563
00:18:54.487 --> 00:18:56.700
"play your scales but always make it musical."

564
00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:57.533
<v ->Right.</v>

565
00:18:57.533 --> 00:19:01.980
<v ->And to hear the invention in that sort of creative mind</v>

566
00:19:01.980 --> 00:19:04.950
of this person who changed and revolutionized

567
00:19:04.950 --> 00:19:07.410
bass playing for everyone, and still,

568
00:19:07.410 --> 00:19:09.180
again that's like foundational.

569
00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:11.010
<v ->Well and it's interesting 'cause it sounds like nothing</v>

570
00:19:11.010 --> 00:19:13.182
that had really come before it.

571
00:19:13.182 --> 00:19:14.580
<v ->And it wasn't like anything, no one had ever,</v>

572
00:19:14.580 --> 00:19:16.860
I don't believe instead of maybe

573
00:19:16.860 --> 00:19:18.240
there were some circles inside

574
00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:19.320
and people had heard him doing it,

575
00:19:19.320 --> 00:19:21.470
but no one on a grand scale had heard anyone go,

576
00:19:21.470 --> 00:19:25.277
"I'm gonna turn all these harmonics into a song."

577
00:19:25.277 --> 00:19:26.110
<v ->I mean yeah it's amazing.</v>

578
00:19:26.110 --> 00:19:29.130
So let's talk about the rest of your career.

579
00:19:29.130 --> 00:19:29.963
Again.
<v ->It's over?</v>

580
00:19:29.963 --> 00:19:30.947
Why do you say like, "The rest of it" like?

581
00:19:30.947 --> 00:19:33.659
<v ->Well I mean the rest continuing on.</v>

582
00:19:33.659 --> 00:19:34.681
[Don sighs]

583
00:19:34.681 --> 00:19:35.520
<v ->'Cause that's.</v>
<v ->It's not over yet.</v>

584
00:19:35.520 --> 00:19:36.948
This interview might--
<v ->That sounded</v>

585
00:19:36.948 --> 00:19:37.781
crazy.
<v ->Do it but.</v>

586
00:19:37.781 --> 00:19:40.148
<v ->You should really think about how you frame shit.</v>

587
00:19:40.148 --> 00:19:43.590
<v ->The ongoing nature of your career.</v>

588
00:19:43.590 --> 00:19:44.423
<v ->Better.</v>

589
00:19:45.317 --> 00:19:47.550
<v ->I feel like you've done everything.</v>

590
00:19:47.550 --> 00:19:49.220
You've worked with everyone,

591
00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:51.570
you're one of like 50 living people

592
00:19:51.570 --> 00:19:53.520
who have like an EGAD nomination

593
00:19:53.520 --> 00:19:54.660
which puts you in a category

594
00:19:54.660 --> 00:19:57.417
with like Sidney Poitier in "Middle Street".

595
00:19:58.740 --> 00:19:59.573
<v ->I didn't know that.</v>

596
00:19:59.573 --> 00:20:02.772
<v ->You're playing basketball with the president,</v>

597
00:20:02.772 --> 00:20:03.960
and you keep working,

598
00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:08.280
you've been working since you were early 20's late teens.

599
00:20:08.280 --> 00:20:11.100
No one has a bad thing to say about you.

600
00:20:11.100 --> 00:20:12.360
<v ->We're gonna change that.</v>

601
00:20:12.360 --> 00:20:14.251
<v ->But how?</v>

602
00:20:14.251 --> 00:20:16.110
On a macro sense how?

603
00:20:16.110 --> 00:20:18.060
I know it sounds ridiculous, but like.

604
00:20:18.060 --> 00:20:20.820
<v ->I don't know.</v>
<v ->That is extraordinary.</v>

605
00:20:20.820 --> 00:20:21.653
<v ->Is it?</v>

606
00:20:21.653 --> 00:20:22.486
I mean I.

607
00:20:22.486 --> 00:20:24.090
<v ->There are not a lot of other Don Cheadle's running around.</v>

608
00:20:24.090 --> 00:20:26.430
<v ->I guess there aren't, and I don't know how.</v>

609
00:20:26.430 --> 00:20:29.310
<v ->Post facto not even like you couldn't figured out a plan</v>

610
00:20:29.310 --> 00:20:31.032
that would've gotten you here but like

611
00:20:31.032 --> 00:20:31.865
what you--
<v ->Right 'cause there's</v>

612
00:20:31.865 --> 00:20:33.990
no plan, you've hit up on it, there is no plan.

613
00:20:33.990 --> 00:20:37.140
You keep your head down, you keep working.

614
00:20:37.140 --> 00:20:38.460
I think I've been very fortunate

615
00:20:38.460 --> 00:20:40.417
that the things that I was drawn to went

616
00:20:40.417 --> 00:20:44.370
and that I've been blessed

617
00:20:44.370 --> 00:20:46.740
and been very right placed right time.

618
00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:48.540
I mean think about that story I told you.

619
00:20:48.540 --> 00:20:50.518
Those kinds of things quite honestly

620
00:20:50.518 --> 00:20:53.025
have happened for me, to me,

621
00:20:53.025 --> 00:20:55.680
over and over and over again.

622
00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:59.340
And I have not tried to orchestrate it,

623
00:20:59.340 --> 00:21:01.290
I've just tried to be very genuine

624
00:21:01.290 --> 00:21:04.260
about the things that I find

625
00:21:04.260 --> 00:21:07.620
that are compelling to me and interesting to me.

626
00:21:07.620 --> 00:21:12.310
And luckily other people find them the same

627
00:21:12.310 --> 00:21:14.806
and they get made.

628
00:21:14.806 --> 00:21:17.760
A lotta people are drawn to things

629
00:21:17.760 --> 00:21:18.840
and attracted to things

630
00:21:18.840 --> 00:21:21.300
and put their energy into things that don't go.

631
00:21:21.300 --> 00:21:23.526
And fighting uphill.

632
00:21:23.526 --> 00:21:25.500
And I've had those, Miles took 10 years to make,

633
00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:26.730
you know so that's like.

634
00:21:26.730 --> 00:21:28.470
<v ->And you had to write it, and direct it,</v>

635
00:21:28.470 --> 00:21:29.490
and star in it.
<v ->And produce it,</v>

636
00:21:29.490 --> 00:21:31.574
and crowdfund for it.
<v ->And learn the trumpet</v>

637
00:21:31.574 --> 00:21:32.572
for it as I just learned which is crazy.

638
00:21:32.572 --> 00:21:33.870
<v ->All that.</v>

639
00:21:33.870 --> 00:21:35.910
<v ->I just yeah I think we should put this on the record</v>

640
00:21:35.910 --> 00:21:37.980
'cause I don't know that people realize this.

641
00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:41.580
I knew that you were a jazz musician of some talent,

642
00:21:41.580 --> 00:21:44.400
I did not realize that you learned to play the trumpet

643
00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:46.170
in order to play Miles Davis.

644
00:21:46.170 --> 00:21:48.840
<v ->The first time I actually picked up the trumpet</v>

645
00:21:48.840 --> 00:21:52.110
to play it for a role was when I did Rat Pack

646
00:21:52.110 --> 00:21:53.430
and played Sammy Davis Junior.

647
00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:54.902
<v Franklin>Okay.</v>

648
00:21:54.902 --> 00:21:56.580
<v ->And he played the trumpet, he played the drums,</v>

649
00:21:56.580 --> 00:21:58.500
he did gun twirling, he played the piano,

650
00:21:58.500 --> 00:22:00.390
obviously he sang, he tap danced.

651
00:22:00.390 --> 00:22:04.890
And interestingly enough I was offered that role

652
00:22:04.890 --> 00:22:07.590
very early in the casting process of that movie,

653
00:22:07.590 --> 00:22:09.090
but they never addressed the racism

654
00:22:09.090 --> 00:22:10.560
that Sammy had to deal with.

655
00:22:10.560 --> 00:22:13.958
They never addressed how he was the butt of all the jokes

656
00:22:13.958 --> 00:22:15.210
in the rat pack.

657
00:22:15.210 --> 00:22:16.980
And the scenes were in there

658
00:22:16.980 --> 00:22:18.450
but they never had him reacting to it,

659
00:22:18.450 --> 00:22:21.249
and responding to it, and I said, "It has to be there.

660
00:22:21.249 --> 00:22:22.980
"You can't just go--"
<v ->Yeah you can't escape that.</v>

661
00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:24.720
<v ->Something has to happen.</v>

662
00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:27.870
So they kept kicking that can down the road,

663
00:22:27.870 --> 00:22:28.950
and so I was like,

664
00:22:28.950 --> 00:22:31.230
well I'm not gonna say yes until it gets addressed.

665
00:22:31.230 --> 00:22:33.654
And then very last minute they said,

666
00:22:33.654 --> 00:22:35.677
"How about if we do it like this in this scene,

667
00:22:35.677 --> 00:22:36.510
"and we do this."

668
00:22:36.510 --> 00:22:38.947
And I said, "How about if on stage after they make the joke

669
00:22:38.947 --> 00:22:41.047
"just put a camera behind and let me turn

670
00:22:41.047 --> 00:22:44.527
"and let me really show you what the feeling is,

671
00:22:44.527 --> 00:22:46.537
"it's even better than writing a scene about it.

672
00:22:46.537 --> 00:22:47.880
"Let's see it."

673
00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:48.990
Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

674
00:22:48.990 --> 00:22:50.580
my name is Sammy Davis Junior.

675
00:22:50.580 --> 00:22:52.157
<v Audience Member>Oh boy.</v>

676
00:22:52.157 --> 00:22:52.990
[crowd cheering]

677
00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:54.267
<v ->And I would--</v>
<v ->Let's hurry up here Sam,</v>

678
00:22:54.267 --> 00:22:55.147
your watermelon's getting warm.

679
00:22:55.147 --> 00:22:58.147
[everyone laughing]

680
00:22:59.610 --> 00:23:01.650
<v ->And then he can turn around and put his face back on.</v>

681
00:23:01.650 --> 00:23:02.813
It's pagliacci and he's back performing

682
00:23:02.813 --> 00:23:03.814
and it's all good.

683
00:23:03.814 --> 00:23:06.840
Said, "Let's just pull the curtain back and show that."

684
00:23:06.840 --> 00:23:07.897
They're like, "Okay we'll do that,

685
00:23:07.897 --> 00:23:08.940
"are you gonna do the part?"

686
00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:10.710
And I was like, "Okay I'll do the part."

687
00:23:10.710 --> 00:23:12.540
Now what I did to myself though

688
00:23:12.540 --> 00:23:14.310
was painted myself into a corner now

689
00:23:14.310 --> 00:23:16.316
'cause I had to learn trumpet,

690
00:23:16.316 --> 00:23:18.150
I had to get tap dancing lessons,

691
00:23:18.150 --> 00:23:19.710
I had to get drum lessons, I had to get,

692
00:23:19.710 --> 00:23:22.620
so I basically just threw myself back in school

693
00:23:22.620 --> 00:23:23.460
which was great.

694
00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:24.390
So it was just--
<v ->What's the most</v>

695
00:23:24.390 --> 00:23:28.140
obscure talent that you have borne of your acting career?

696
00:23:28.140 --> 00:23:30.240
I mean gun throwing's gotta be up there.

697
00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:31.230
<v ->Sure let's go with that.</v>

698
00:23:31.230 --> 00:23:32.063
<v ->All right fair enough.</v>

699
00:23:32.063 --> 00:23:33.750
<v ->That I had, because.</v>

700
00:23:33.750 --> 00:23:35.040
<v ->You couldn't do it now</v>

701
00:23:35.040 --> 00:23:35.873
if asked.
<v ->I couldn't do it no.</v>

702
00:23:35.873 --> 00:23:37.328
I'd shoot you--
<v ->Fair enough.</v>

703
00:23:37.328 --> 00:23:38.327
<v ->Right in the leg.</v>

704
00:23:38.327 --> 00:23:39.360
<v ->Are you gonna do an album at some point?</v>

705
00:23:39.360 --> 00:23:41.340
<v ->I'd love to do it, I'm not gonna play on it,</v>

706
00:23:41.340 --> 00:23:42.846
but I would just love to curate it.

707
00:23:42.846 --> 00:23:44.040
<v ->You're not gonna play on it though?</v>

708
00:23:44.040 --> 00:23:44.873
<v ->I'm not gonna play on it.</v>

709
00:23:44.873 --> 00:23:46.500
You don't want me to play on it.

710
00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:48.240
We wanna hear great music.
<v ->Just like a triangle</v>

711
00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:49.230
like somewhere in the back?

712
00:23:49.230 --> 00:23:50.063
<v ->There you go.</v>

713
00:23:50.063 --> 00:23:51.505
<v ->I'm just saying</v>

714
00:23:51.505 --> 00:23:52.440
just be on the track.
<v ->Triangle, triangle.</v>

715
00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:53.640
<v ->But yeah, curate just,</v>

716
00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:56.010
I mean I feel like you could just put those calls in,

717
00:23:56.010 --> 00:23:58.320
put people in the studio, and say just "Go."

718
00:23:58.320 --> 00:23:59.580
<v ->And you have to pay 'em.</v>

719
00:23:59.580 --> 00:24:00.750
<v ->You got money.</v>

720
00:24:00.750 --> 00:24:02.100
<v ->Get outta my pocket, how much,</v>

721
00:24:02.100 --> 00:24:03.022
what are you talking about?

722
00:24:03.022 --> 00:24:04.290
<v ->I don't know, you're in the Avengers franchise,</v>

723
00:24:04.290 --> 00:24:05.295
I'm just assuming.

724
00:24:05.295 --> 00:24:06.128
[smooth music]

725
00:24:06.128 --> 00:24:07.380
<v ->That money's spoken for.</v>

726
00:24:07.380 --> 00:24:08.379
<v ->Fair enough, you got kids.</v>

727
00:24:08.379 --> 00:24:10.350
<v ->And I have four elephants.</v>

728
00:24:10.350 --> 00:24:12.930
<v ->These are the stuff people don't know.</v>

729
00:24:12.930 --> 00:24:14.100
Don thank you for coming.

730
00:24:14.100 --> 00:24:15.400
<v ->Thank you for having me.</v>