I've mentioned in passing a few years ago
when I met you briefly in Berlin for The Hobbit.
But I'm going to mention again now, because it's first
I've interviewed you one on one. We've got quite cool connection.
When I was about ten years old. Yeah.
I want to. Under 11th playwright in competition. Did you.
Oh yeah. And.
And you played the lead role in my play,
which was your play, Free Meals as the guy with an imaginary friend.
That's amazing.
That's so funny.
Yeah, that was 2000. 2001. End of 2000.
Yeah. Yeah.
Because I'd just done a play at Soho Theater and the same director, John Lloyd,
was then doing the under elevens play.
Yeah. Yeah. Congratulations.
Did you see it?
I did. I was in the front row. I saw it was so good.
Spoke to me before it and sort of said, well, because you mind was the first one.
So I had my kind of. Yeah. On the stage.
That's so funny Stefan.
That's so funny.
Weirdly enough, I know this was not about Black Panther, but
so many of those plays because they're by children.
Yeah. Yeah.
Some of them were like Beckett, or some of them were so surreal
because people don't know the rules yet, so they don't know
what you're not supposed to write about.
So you go, Oh, fine, I'll just write a story
about a big bear or, you know, just anything.
It was so creative.
But yeah, well done.
It's my proudest moment.
My first question, my first official question.
When I first heard this was going ahead, my initial reaction
was what they called me Black Panther without Black Panther.
And then as Time's gone on, I've realized the importance of telling the story.
When I sat in my seat in the cinema yesterday,
I realized, actually, important is an understatement. It's essential.
I think the story is told.
It's what if you remember when Ryan Coogler
first kind of pitched the sequel to you and your thoughts,
and if you were quite surprised that they were at that stage, I'm
going to go ahead with it.
Well, when when Chadwick Boseman died, I like you.
I thought, oh, maybe.
Okay, maybe that's it then.
Because we were actually my memory is that we were waiting for the for this script.
I think it was round about the time that was being delivered and Chad died.
So I thought, okay, so maybe we're not going to do it.
Then obviously everyone got together and
rewrote and came up with this.
And yeah, I had a zoom with Ryan, where he pitched me the the story
and it sounded brilliant and bananas and very, very audacious.
You know, the different worlds that they're bringing in,
new, great new characters.
So yeah, I was in really because it sounded
just mad enough to pull off, you know? And.
And I trust Ryan a lot.
Yeah. He's some filmmakers and he's really.
Yeah, he's really. And he's a good person.
You know, I, I just like him.
I'm very fond of him. Yeah.
And I like working on a set with him. Yeah.
We meet you first, going for a jog, and you're listening to develop Chili Peppers.
And I just wondered, what do you listen to if you go? For one reason I ask.
I know you've got such wonderful taste in music,
so I'm looking mostly just for inspiration.
I listen to all sorts, to be honest.
I don't really I don't listen to gym music.
I don't listen to pumping beats
that makes me want to kill myself in the gym.
So yeah, I don't really listen to get up and go music.
I like things that have a bit of bit of drive, but
I also like, you know, if I go for a run, I can listen to something that's
pastoral and, you know, like not, you know, evokes nature.
Rather, I don't really want to evoke a feeling of being in a Berlin hard house
that doesn't do it for me.
And when I say for inspiration, it's more just to listen to what I'm on the bus.
I don't go running
You'd never know that.
But when you make a sort
of a film like this, is that quite a bit of a sense of relief?
Sometimes it's really
you can talk about it with friends, if only because there's so much secrecy.
And every time there is,
you know,
it's very nice when you can when you don't feel
that you have to edit yourself like I'm doing at the moment.
And also I've not seen the film yet, so
there's a lot either that I don't know and haven't seen or I just can't say.
Yeah, so when it's after the 11th of November, it's going to be really nice
just being able to have conversations about it.
You know, there's a great characters and I mean it just because I mean, I think
one of those characters across your career who is
is very likable, some aren't so likable, but is it does that change
whether you like not not want to sign up for projects
but when you do have that likability of a character
when you do have that affection for that character, does it make you more sort of.
pleased to get to step back into the shoes.
Yes, but I think also it changes because I think Everett
Ross, the way we perceive Ross has changed because the way he's been written
has changed, you know, from the time, you know, I first played him in 2015
in Captain America and when that was his introduction to the MCU.
And then
and you really weren't sure about what side he was on
or whether he was particularly likable or not.
So I didn't see him as particularly likable.
I just saw him as straight as a dime. Quite.
You know, powerful, you know, big swinging pendulums.
But now I think the the
course that he took in Black Panther, I mean, he became more likable
in that he's an ally of that country
and they all sort of help him out where he can.
I think part of the thing of playing anybody is to play them relatable.
They're not necessarily to be likable in a sort of vain way.
But I think whoever you play, you could play the most monstrous person ever.
And you you would still want to play them relatively otherwise.
There's no point.
You know, being more focused on show time thank you very much is thank you
very much is thank you and thank you for that earlier part that you know nice.