Welcome to the show.
-Wow! -That's very nice.
Are you kidding me?
You're very nice. You're very nice for being here.
I'm a huge fan of you in every single role.
You-you have the ability to transform yourself
in every single role that you...
-You're truly an actor. -Thank you.
You know? Some people act, but you are an actor.
-I really appreciate that. -No, you genuinely are.
Like, you're-you're a Shakespearean-trained actor,
-isn't that correct? -In fact,
there's something I-I want to admit.
Seeing Herman Cain earlier
-and where he had that meltdown... -Yes.
So, if you're... Here's a tip.
If you're doing a Shakespeare play
-and you blank... -Yes.
...which I have done,
just say, "Forsooth, my liege."
(laughter)
"Yon bear."
I've done that. (laughs)
And people think that's-that's what the thing is?
Yeah. Just say "forsooth."
Forsooth? I feel like if Herman Cain said that
in the middle of a thing...
"Who-Who's the leader of Uzbeki... Uzbek...
Forsooth, my liege!"
(laughter)
-You're right. He would be president. -He'd be sectioned.
-He'd be sectioned. Yeah, yeah. -No, he'd be president.
-He would be president. So, uh... -(laughs)
-You're... Welcome to the show. -Thank you.
Congratulations on all of your success.
Let me start off by saying-- I'll be honest with you--
I'm not a big fan of musicals.
-Right. You're not alone. -All right? Right?
And so when they... Here's my thing.
It's just for me, I-I like it when they...
I like it in musicals when they sing,
and then they talk and sing, talk and sing.
I don't like it when everything's...
♪ Let me walk with you to... ♪
I don't... I can't do that.
-But... -Kind of nice though when you do it.
But-- No, no. But...
Flattery. No. But this is completely different.
A lot of people will say, "Oh, Les Misérables, I d--
Like, is that-- Ugh, it's the musical." This is different.
-This is different. -This is the sh-- this is the story
split into six hours, and it is one of the most gripping things
-I have ever watched. -Well, thank you.
Yes, it is, uh, an ad-adaptation by Andrew Davies
from, um, Victor Hugo's original novel.
It's a 1,500-page novel.
A lot of people don't realize
-that's what the musical is based on. -Right.
And, uh, he did an adaptation. So it's six hours from that.
What you get though from this story
that's different from the musical
is you get to focus on moments in the story.
For instance, many people who've watched the musical
will know the-the Anne Hathaway scene where,
-you know, she's talking about selling her teeth. -Mm-hmm.
And you're like, "Oh, that's, like, a cute, fun thing."
♪ I'm selling my teeth, I'm poor, I'm selling my teeth. ♪
-No, I don't. -And then you watch this, and you're like,
-"They're ripping her teeth out." -Yeah. Yes, yes.
Do you think you-you got to capture more
of the gritty nuances of the story?
Well, if you're going to do another rendition
of Les Misérables so soon after the-the musical film,
you better be bringing something different,
something new, something revelatory.
And so what we wanted to do was to really dig into the context,
-the dimension, the complexity, the backdrop. -Right.
The backdrop is post-the French Revolution.
For my, uh, character, for instance, in Javert,
you don't really get to know in the musical
that he was born in prison to criminal parents,
hates that side of him,
transposes that onto Jean Valjean,
which is why he's so obsessed with him.
-Right, right. -You don't get to see the fact
that Fantine fell in love with this aristocrat
and had a baby by him and he abandoned her.
And so she fell through the cracks of society,
and that's why she goes on to sell her teeth
and her hair and all that kind of stuff.
So this is an opportunity to really see the context
behind those characters you love.
When-when you watch this series,
one thing that struck me is,
whenever I watched pieces of Les Misérables, I was always like,
-"Eh, this is happening whenever." -Right.
-I know this sounds strange, but watching this series -Mm-hmm.
felt eerily like things that are happening today.
Absolutely. Absolutely. And that was another focus of ours.
You know, Jean Valjean, for instance,
as played by Dominic West,
he's in prison for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread.
Well, you only have to look at the prison industrial complex
here in America right now--
people who are-- people of color,
people from, um, deprived economic backgrounds
being given disproportionate sentences
for-for crimes that don't warrant that level of sentence.
It's-- (stammers) Indentured servitude--
-it's an extension of slavery. -Right.
This is what was also happening in the early 1800s in France--
um, you know, the-the gap between the haves and have-nots
widening so much, as we are seeing, uh, now,
especially in the West.
That is exactly what was going on back there.
So that's the only reason to do a show like this now,
-is if it speaks to now. -It genuinely
feels like it speaks to now.
Um, you're amazing in it.
Uh, I genuinely recommend everybody goes and watches it,
-but you're not just doing that. -Yeah.
You are one of the hardest people...
hardest-working people I know right now in Hollywood,
because you-you were in Australia, like, now.
-And then... and then, you were in London. -Yes.
When were you... when were you in Australia?
-I was... Last week. -Yeah, and then... and then,
-you're going to London? -Then I went to...
I was in London two days ago.
-And now you're here. -Yes.
Wh-Why? What are you doing?
(laughter)
My wife asked the same question. Um...
(laughter)
-Um, I was doing, uh, Peter Rabbit 2. -Okay.
Um, uh, which, uh, we shot in Sydney, Australia
and in London,
much to the joy of my seven-year-old daughter,
who loved the original film, as well.
-Um, and then I'm here with you, of course. -Right.
And then, uh, in about two days, I'm off to Oregon,
where I'm gonna be directing a film,
so, uh, yeah, just keeping busy.
-(audience gasping) -This. No, this is exciting.
-This is really exciting... -(applause and cheering)
because...
-Thank you. -I mean, we know and love you as an actor.
I mean, you're phenomenal on screen, but now,
-this is your first foray into directing. -Yeah.
Uh, it's a... it's a different world,
-and you're working with Oprah on this, as well. -Yup.
Which is... which is not a small...
Is that... is that, like, added pressure, or is it inspiration?
'Cause if Ope... If I was doing anything for Oprah,
I would... I'd just drop things by mistake all the time.
(laughter)
Well, you know, I have a... a wonderful relationship with her.
-We-we... -Oh, I'm sorry. Let me just dust that dirt
off your should... There we go.
-(laughter) -Let me just, uh... Yeah.
Let me just, uh... Sorry. Carry on. Carry on.
There's no way of saying that without it sounding conceited.
-Yeah. -Well, we-we play... we-we played, um,
uh, mother and son in the film, The Butler.
We became very good friends after that.
We became even greater friends
after she helped bring about Selma,
which I was also a part of.
And she's just a huge advocate,
supporter and mother-like figure to me.
So, she, uh... she...
Yeah, she's-she's supporting me in this endeavor.
You go... You're going from-from in front of the camera
to behind the camera, and then, now you're to be trying
-to control what the camera actually records... -Yeah.
because you also have a production company
-that you've started. -Mm.
Why have you started that in particular?
Everyone has a different reason
-for starting a production company. -Mm.
But why did you do it?
Well, I-I grew up loving film and television,
and I rarely got to see myself reflected
in what I loved, admired and was obsessed with watching.
And, you know, as I gained in notoriety,
I feel like, if I'm not part of the solution,
I'm part of the problem.
I've been given a platform, and so, therefore,
I want a different world for my children.
-I want them to see themselves represented on film... -Right.
because it's such a powerful cultural tool for empathy.
I think the more we understand different cultures,
different backgrounds, different peoples,
the more we are less likely to operate in ignorance,
which is where I think prejudice comes from.
You, um...
(cheers and applause)
You work in London, you work in Australia,
-but, uh, you live in the U.S. -Yes.
-And your father lives with you in Los Angeles, -Yeah.
or does he come and visit you quite-quite a lot?
No, no, no. He-he lives, he lives with us.
-Right. -And, um... yeah.
(laughs)
-Wh-what? -Th-th-the reason I'm pausing,
is my dad-- When we lived in the U.K.,
we lived in-in houses
or apartments that we didn't have a yard.
-Now, L.A., as most people know, has a lot of space. -Yes.
And, uh, my dad has become obsessed with leaf blowing.
-Um... -Are you being serious?
No. I'm-I'm absolutely serious.
And so, you know when you-- if you have the gard...
But wait. But I need, I need to paint--
-Paint me a picture of your dad, though. -Okay. Okay.
So where's your dad from? I need to start with that.
Yeah. So my dad's from Oyo Sate in Nigeria.
-Oh, okay. -Um, yeah, so western Nigeria,
-but lived most of his life now in the U.K. -Got it.
And then, he now wanted
to spend more time with his grandchildren.
So your Nigerian dad is obsessed with leaf blowers.
It's-it's cra-- It's crazy.
It's-It's real-- If you knew Nigerians,
you'd know that that was really weird.
-Uh... Th-that he here-- -(laughter)
"What am I going to go out and do the gardening for?"
-So... but... but... -(laughter)
But he is obsessed with infomercials,
so he just sits there and he see--
He's got, like, four different leaf blowers.
"I've got the automatic.
I've got the-- This one has four gears."
And... (mimics motor revving)
And he's like...
(laughter)
Okay. Okay, Daddy, as long as you're happy.
The problem is, he never just does, like,
-the constant... (mimics leaf blower) -Yeah.
Because then, you kind of go,
"Okay, Daddy's leaf blowing. It's fine."
He goes... (mimics leaf blower motor revving in short bursts)
(laughter)
So, for the hour that he's doing this...
-(gasping) -Oh, man. Oh, man.
It's just, like, one leaf at a time.
-It's just like... -One leaf at a time, yeah.
He's so happy when fall comes.
"Aha! The leaves!
(laughter and applause)
Oh, man.
-Oh, goodness. -Well, you know what?
If getting more work means you can buy more leaf blowers
for your dad, I'm excited for both of you.
-Thank you so much for being on the show. -Thank you.
Les Misérables premieres April 14th at 9:00 p.m.
on Masterpiece on PBS.
David Oyelowo, everybody.