I have no problem with hip hop. In fact, in my time, I’ve downloaded one or two Wu-Tang Clan songs onto my iPod. But I am in no way, shape or form an avid hip hop fan, let alone have any clue what to talk about when the subject comes up.
And yet, this past week I found myself face to face with none other than the infamous Method Man, who appears in the upcoming sure-to-be indie hit, The Wackness, directed by Jonathan Levine. The hip hop giant is featured in the pic as a drug dealer named Percy, complete with a Jamaican accent. The film chronicles the story of a recent high school graduate (Josh Peck), making ends meet as a pot dealer while struggling to find some sense in the confusion of his late teenage years. The story is set in 1994, against the backdrop of “the greatest year in hip hop history.”
I’ll be the first to admit that at a towering 6’3, I couldn’t help but be a bit intimidated by this hip hop legend. While attempting to not look completely clueless, we talked about everything from the 90s, to Elijah Wood, to baby gangsters.
Method Man
Sarah Mitchell: So, how did you get involved in this project?
Method Man: Well, I wanted to do something independent. I asked my manager if I could do something independent, anything independent, really. But it had to be quality. So when Jonathon (Levine) called and I got the script….read it, liked it, said, “This is hot right here.” I want to work with these dudes. Plus, he was giving me the opportunity to do something I hadn’t done before, with the whole accent thing. It was cool. I had fun.
SM: So how much research did you have to do for this role?
Method Man: I had to go deep, deep, deep, deep, deep into my method acting….to get a “higher” understanding of the character. You know what though, I did have to practice my accent, my dialect for Percy.
SM: Being a hip hop artist yourself, what do you think of the film’s soundtrack?
MM: Honestly, I think the music should have gotten the credit because it definitely pushed the story along in certain areas.
SM: Are there any songs you would have liked to of seen put in the soundtrack that weren’t?
MM: I would’ve put some West coast music in there because that was when we really got introduced to Snoop. He has had a big impact on hip hop.
SM: So, how has the transition from hip hop artist to actor been for you?
MM: I haven’t had any problems with it. I feel like if you can entertain 30,000 people in the stadium, you can get in front of one camera in a room full of people and do you thing. But that just doesn’t work for everybody. I know that you have to take this business seriously. There are people that go to school and train to be actors and actresses. You can’t just come in here with your B game and everybody’s on their A game. Not only do you have to show up, you have to show up.
SM: How is it working in the film industry?
MM: You know what, it’s different with everybody, I think. Some directors know how to direct actors. Some directors just direct cameras. You have some sets that are real cool, others are real stiff. Some people like to be shot then done. Others like to do 12 shots. But the thing about independent is I think you’re measured by the level of the people that you’re in your scene with. Let’s put it that way. The best analogy I can come up with for that is everybody’s taking a picture together and the picture’s perfect except for one person, fucked the whole picture up, you know what I mean? I don’t want to be that one person.
SM: How long were you on set?
MM: One day. I’m fast, baby.
SM: Did you come to set any other days?
MM: I came for one day when they were filming the graduation scene. That was the first time I met Jonathan and I was expecting to see some old dude. Did you meet Jonathan yet? He looks young, he looks real young. I was like, “Go ahead with your young ass.” There were three reasons why I did the movie; one was Sir Ben Kingsley, two was I wanted to do the independent thing and three was after I met Jonathan, I was sold.
SM: So, your scenes were filmed in New York.
MM: It was filmed in Brooklyn. Comfortable as hell. When I first got there, Sir Ben, he’s coming out of his trailer and the dude was just all comedy. Didn’t make me feel out of place, didn’t make me feel like I didn’t deserve to be there. Everybody was on the same level.
SM: Who was the biggest Method Man fan on set?
MM: I can’t answer that. Like I said, we were all on a level playing field. Nobody was awestruck with anybody.
SM: Nobody was begging you to do a verse?
MM: Noooooo. When you’ve got Ben Kingsley and Method Man on the same set, I’ll go with Ben. I’ll go with him every time. The way the man walks.
SM: Why do you think Jonathan chose 1994 to represent to epitome of the hip hop movement in the 90s?
MM: I guess for this film and for Jonathan and Jonathan’s life it was. For me, it was 1990, as soon as the 90s hit. Matter of fact, as soon as reggae wasn’t in all this anymore, it was something different. So whenever that popped off. But for Jonathan I guess ’94 has a kind of symbolism to it that from what I’ve seen in the film, he’s drawing from personal experience. That’s how I took it. Because you can’t pick those songs. Its not like the dude reached into a hat, said, “Ok, we’ll do this song.” No, he’s drawing from personal experience.
SM: There’s a Wu-Tang song in the soundtrack.
MM: When we were doing it, I had no idea. I sat in Sundance and I saw the film. You can only read (the script). You can’t put the music in your head as you read. That’s the only time I saw it in my head, was reading it. Just sitting at Sundance and hearing the songs, it brought me to like…because those were big years for me right there. It reminded me of riding in the car and you hear a song on the radio. The radio ain’t too loud, it’s real nice and low and you hear that song on the radio. For me it’s Frankie Beverly, “Before I Let You Go.” Turn it up. Now you’re cranking it and it’s taking you somewhere. You’re in your head now, you’re in your head. And by the time the song’s over, you can’t described the feeling. But by the time the song is over you’re calling your aunt you haven’t spoken to in seven years or your grandma, just to see how she doing.
SM: So what future projects are you working on now?
MM: Me and Redman working on our next album. That should be out in September. I have a comic book coming out called “Method Man.” That should be out by the end of July. Going on the Rock the Bells tour. And I did an episode of Burn Notice, a hot show on USA. You know, that network that made Monk.
SM: How has working in television been?
MM: TV is restricted in a lot of ways. But The Wire, that was crazy. I don’t want to sound like I’m repeating myself, but that was comfortable too. Nobody was accommodating any egos. In movies, they just take longer. It takes so damn long. TV, you’ve got your weekend, knock a whole episode out. Next week, knock a whole episode out. Sometimes with movies it could be 3 or 4 months to a year. When they did this Lord of the Rings thing, what was that? 2 1/2 years, 3 years? You’ve got to be kidding me. This dude came home dressed weird as hell, Elijah Wood. I don’t know if you saw him when he came back home. Seriously, he was wearing knickers and shit…he’d grown these side burns and he had this outfit on like little lost farmer boy or something like that.
SM: What was it like working with Jonathan Levine?
MM: I liked him as a director because I like a director with a lot of energy. Yelling at everybody and stuff like that. But when he sees what he likes, he’s not afraid to get out of his fucking chair, run all the way over, say, “That’s the one I want right there!”
SM: Is there anybody you still want to work with?
MM: Acting-wise, so many. I want to do a scene with (Don) Cheadle, just so I can bite off of him…his sight and his power.
SM: How was is working with Josh Peck?
MM: I didn’t know who he was at first and he knew it. And I asked my kids and they were like, “Who, the fat one?” So kudos to him. I give him nothing but love and respect because he lost all that weight. I look at some of the old Drake and Josh’s. Man, he was a big kid. He did his thing. We spoke off-set and I was impressed with his hip hop background. I’m hoping he was impressed with my comedic background. That’s pretty much how he started out, as a comedian. See, I pay attention. We talked for a minute and I liked the kid a lot, he’s a cool dude. No ego, no nothing. Olivia (Thirlby), the same way. I like being on a level playing field like that, where nobody knows who nobody is and then all of a sudden you see them at the president’s house chillin’ or in the award-winning movie Juno, see.
SM: What would be your ideal film project?
MM: I want to do a movie like that Bugsy Malone movie I saw when I was a kid. With Scott Baio and all the kids. They were kids playing grown-ups, though. Dope things with a kid twist on it. They played gangsters and when they shot their guns, instead of shooting out bullets they would shoot out custard. They would kill you with cream pies and stuff like that. It was nuts. I think that was Michael Jackson’s favorite movie, too. Go figure.
Stay tuned for more interviews from the cast of The Wackness.
Sony Pictures Classics opens The Wackness in New York and Los Angeles on July 3rd.
