Forest Whitaker, welcome to The Daily Social Distancing Show.
It's great to be with you, Trevor. Great.
You have one of the most illustrious careers
that anyone could ever, ever, ever dream of.
I mean everything from Star Wars
to-to Black Panther to Platoon.
Everyone has a favorite movie,
and that favorite movie probably has Forest Whitaker in it.
I-I want to, before which get into this
and talking about your new movie...
Do you have a favorite movie?
That I've done?
Like, your movie that you've done.
Yeah. Do you have your favorite movie, where you go like,
"Oh, that's-that's my favorite movie"?
Different reasons. You know, I mean,
I did like when I worked on Last King of Scotland.
I mean, it was just a full performance for me.
It was like, I was able I express myself
as fully as I can as an artist, and that was great.
Other times, it's, uh, I don't know.
Some of the magic you might get in a Black Panther, or...
or some of the history you might get in, like The Butler.
They're all different, you know? I'm lucky.
-Right. -You know?
I feel like we're lucky. I feel like we're lucky
because we get to... we get... I'd like...
Like, now when you said, "Last King of Scotland,"
the first thing I thought of immediately was,
(with accent): "But you didn't convince me!"
You know what I mean? Like, just...
Like, some of those lines
and the way you live in these characters.
I-I... I sometimes wonder,
are you able to just let the character go
once you've lived in them for so long,
or do they live with you for a little bit after the project?
Oh, sometimes it takes a while to get rid of a character.
It takes a while to shake it off.
It's, you've kind of, like, been doing that 24/7
for months at a time.
And the rhythms and stuff stick with you, and you...
you have to fight to, like, wash them off
-or clean them off, or however you need to do it. -Right.
And then, actually, you know what, Trevor?
I think, uh, sometimes you carry a little piece of that person.
Like, it's like as if you've been reincarnated again,
and you're another... and you carry with you
the way you say a line that came back from another life.
Uh, the way you, like, understand how to...
Like, sometimes I might be working on a car engine.
I don't... I'm not a car person really.
But all of a sudden, I know how to fix everything.
And it's only because of some part I played as a mechanic.
-It's a... -That's hilarious.
-You know? -That's amazing. (laughs)
That's actually amazing.
I feel like you should take more roles
that just teach you things that help you around the house
just so you can, like, fix...
"I need... I need a role fixing fridges, people."
Um, before we get into Jingle Jangle,
I wanted to talk to you a little bit about-about Black Panther.
You know, I-I know chatting to Ryan and Lupita
and everyone who was part of the team that,
you know, the cast-- it was like a family.
You know, you were doing something so special.
You were creating something that, I mean,
reverberated around the world.
As a South African, I still loved the film
because of how you portrayed my people, my country, my world.
Africans loved it, Americans, everyone loved it
because of the story behind the story.
When Chadwick passed, I know that that just shook everyone.
You know, you were somebody who connected
with every young actor in such a special way.
What did... what did he mean to you as a human being,
not just as an actor?
I mean, I think, for people, he acted as a beacon in a way
of, like, being able to fulfill your hopes and dreams,
to be able to, uh, reach the highest heights
and, uh, to be able to contribute and give back.
You know, and not just with love, but with understanding.
I think, uh, that's a-a great gift that he was able
to-to give out to the world, and... and, um,
I think he still does that in-in a way, in a sense
that he allowed us to believe in the possible.
-You know, the... -Yeah.
He, like, rose to do certain great... certain great things,
and revealed, as you say, more things about his culture
and about, uh, his connections. and-and about his spirit.
And revealed this in many different ways
with many different parts that he played and stuff.
He was... he was revealing different histories
and different understandings about different people,
and shining lights on those different things.
And so, I guess I just admired that he did that.
And I-I felt, uh, he was, um... It was in a...
It was a treasure in that way that he gave so many gifts
of his work and himself, you know?
I-I loved how he lived his life.
Um, I also like how you do.
I like how Forest Whitaker seamlessly moves
between emotions, you know?
Maybe it seems seamless on the outside, but, like,
you've-you've acted in some of the most powerful movies
in roles that have shaped how we even see ourselves in the world.
Jingle Jangle is a departure.
I feel like it's the perfect movie for this time.
It's a Christmas musical.
It-it has joy, it has a light spirit.
Tell me a little bit about this project
and why you were drawn to it.
Well, I mean, I did like the themes
which were, you know, really powerful,
which was, in your life and in your family,
you-you can find yourself again and you can rise back up
to be able to succeed and have life again and find joy.
That was really great. And I think, um,
when, uh, David the director--
he had this vision for this film,
and asked me to do it.
And I thought this would be a beautiful gift to the world.
And also, one for me, to get a chance to live
in this kind of energy, this kind of positive feeling
and thought and laughter. It was... It was..
Every day on the set, it was, like,
really full of people, like, uh, like, enjoying themselves
and doing everything they could.
So in the littlest corner of the stage,
they'd be writing a little phrase or something,
because people really cared so much.
It was-was, uh, one of those amazing experiences.
And the director, David-- you know, he had been trying
to get the movie made for, like, 20 years, so, um...
Right. Right.
He would, like, sometimes be just explaining a scene
and being caught up in the set, and all of a sudden, just
started weeping, tears coming down his face.
And, yeah, there were people...
Yeah, just, like, just caught with him, you know,
because it meant so much, and so it became...
-It meant something to us, you know, uh, as a film. -Right.
And-and I think that you can see that joy in the movie.
The movie is full of joy and hope and possibilities.
And-and I think it's necessary right now.
I think it's-it's good for people right now, because
people have been feeling beat down by the pandemic,
beat down by racial injustices,
beat down by society sometimes as a whole.
And-and to have a film like this, I think, that just
tries to lift you up and, like, make you believe
that, you know what, yes, you can fall,
but you can come back.
You can... you can rise back up,
and you can find your joy again, you know?
And, uh, I think the movie does that, and it's fun.
It's funny. It's, uh... it's wild.
You know, it's-it's a lot of different things, so...
It's full of joy, it's full of fun.
It's a... it's a place of hope, and, um,
I really... I really had a great time watching it.
So, thank you so much for joining me on the show.
I know that you're very busy. I appreciate you so much.
Thank you for everything that you've done
and the roles that you've played,
and the way that you've played it.
And, um, uh, thank you so much for being here.
I really do appreciate it.
Thanks for having me. It's great to see you, man.
-Huge fan. -Take care.