Method Man may be hard at work on his fifth studio album Crystal Meth with his Wu-Tang partner the RZA, but that isn't keeping him from pursuing his acting career. Now, in a recent interview with Global Grind, Johnny Blaze talks about his latest starring role in the indie flick The Mortician.
Meth explained that he was inspired to dip into the independent film market by his "The Wire" co-star Wendell Price, who also co-stars in The Mortician. He explained that acting in an independent feature gave him more freedom to interpret the character he portrays.
"My man [Wendell Pierce] from 'The Wire' had did a few independent movies — you get way more freedom to act when you’re in a independent movie as opposed to being in a well-known television series, where they make you actually stick to the script. So when I actually got my chance at a independent, it was the experience that I wanted, didn’t matter what the part was," he explained. "The director [Gareth Maxwell Roberts] knew exactly how he saw the character and he would give me tips here and there of what that scene should look like. We did two week prep before I even got in front of the character, which was cool for me. I love more prep, the better I think the product comes out. I won’t say it was easy, because it’s always a challenge, but it was fairly easy when someone is giving you the blueprint, right there in front of your face."
Method Man also spoke about his approach to acting some of the challenges it presents. He explained that while the difficulty of roles varies, he always finds it important to completely delve into the world of character.
"Jesus, I don’t know [what the most difficult part of acting is]," he said. "I mean there are different things at different times, depending on the role that you take. The most challenging thing is translating what’s on paper into film. If you don’t have a full understanding of a character, you’re going to fail every time. I try my best to get a full understanding and put myself in a character’s shoes, so to speak. Doesn’t always work, but I do my best."
The Mortician is currently available for purchase on DVD.