Roderick Lawrence is a highly talented emerging actor, as well as the owner and founder of his production company, Black Man Films. Even though the company is relatively new, it has already made a name for itself in the industry. Black Man Films has won major awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at Dances with Films: LA, Best Narrative Short at the Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival, and Best Student Film at the Detroit Black Film Festival. Roderick is a driven and focused individual, with a strong work ethic, and his commitment to excellence is evident in the accolades his company has already received. With his attitude and dedication, I am certain that many more awards and successes are sure to come his way soon.
What was the audition process like for your role as Ike Turner in the Tina Turner Musical?
My first audition was to replace someone on the Broadway show before it closed about 5 years ago. They ended up not bringing in someone new to fill the role but moving someone up from the cast instead. Then, I had one audition for the tour and a meeting with the team. It went well but didn’t go my way. This past January without even auditioning again they called me and asked if I was still interested in the role. It was something I thought had passed & that I had been overlooked for & they called me later with the offer.
Is this your national tour debut? And if so, did you feel any pressure about stepping into such an iconic role?
No, it isn’t. I have done The Lion King and I also have done a bunch of other shows In New York and around the country such as August Wilson’s Seven Guitars at Arena Stage in DC; I played Jesus in Godspell in Pennsylvania and Ramses in Prince of Egypt in Utah.
What is one of your favorite stories that either you or a close colleague of yours have been able to bring to life so far that we should be on the lookout for?
My colleague Cameron Carr was our assistant director for Speak Up Brotha! Just made his directorial debut, sponsored by Fuji, with a short film called Harlem Fragments. I played the lead in it. It was about a Wall Street black man losing his job and the turmoil that the family experiences in the aftermath. Set in the early 2000s, it deals with marital problems and the recession. I shot it the week before I went on tour. It will be on the festival circuit early next year.
What can you tell us about your short film Silent Partner & will it become a feature film?
We are shooting the feature film in December. It was a COVID-19 baby about microaggressions and black mental health how I realized these microaggressions in white spaces were affecting my everyday life and how tough of a time I was having while navigating through it. We could all relate to it and I’m so excited about the feature film.
So, the name of your film company Black Man Films makes a bold statement. Share with us why it resonates with you. Would you like to tell stories specifically from the Male perspective?
Black Man Films came about when we started the production company. Salma (co-founder) asked me if I wanted a production company, which I hadn’t even thought of up to that point. My film Silent Partner was the idea first, but when she asked me about it the first thing that came to mind was “Black Man Films”. I told her if we have a domain name available, we will have a production company if not we don’t. I wanted something bold that represented not only myself but us as a people. Still, Black Man Films represent black men & women equally not one gender over the other. For Silent Partner the feature film we are looking at all female directors. For Speak Up Brotha! We had all female department heads. It is just about representing the culture in a bold way, authentically and beyond, and we also represent other minorities. We want to represent our women in ways they have not been represented and represent men in a way that is not a monolith.
How Does Being an Academy Award Qualifying Production Company Feel?
Honestly, I feel like we haven’t done anything yet. That is how I feel and that is how I navigate the spaces in trying to be great. I am grateful for the acknowledgment, but that does not validate us. We haven’t done anything so far. The only thing we have done is represent us authentically and I’m proud of the work we have put out.
Why did you feel your short film Speak Up Brotha! inspired by iconic black romance films such as Poetic Justice would greatly impact audiences.
I think 90s black love films were told in a beautifully authentic, nuanced, cultured way that we have gotten very far away from in our storytelling today. Poetic Justice, Love Jones, and Brown Sugar were our golden era of Black Cinema. I thought that using the things that they did so well and then adding things that we never talked about (black mental, black anxiety, love languages, communication barriers) was a beautiful mix. I thought it was the best way to talk about what we wanted to talk about.
As an actor on stage and in film, and the founder of your own production company, do you prefer taking center stage & being more in the spotlight or working behind the scenes in a supporting role instead? Why?
I am definitely best used as an actor on the stage and the screen. That is where my gifts and talents are. I try to lend my voice to things behind the scenes, but I leave that up to the black experts around me as opposed to doing their jobs. We work based on knowing that we are the best at what we do and operate that way.
What would you tell other filmmakers out there who aspire to create such as yourself, yet are letting maybe fear or obstacles keep them from getting started?
What are you scared of? Where is the fear? How long are you going to let yourself get in the way of what you know you’re supposed to be doing? I would say, give it 150%, don’t let anyone tell you no, and step back and evaluate how it turned out. Ask yourself these key questions. Was it great? Was it not great? Should I be doing something better? If so, what? Don’t ever let someone tell you that you cannot do something.
It may seem like Roderick has already achieved a lot to the casual observer. He has conquered the stage with his successful performances in many plays, and is currently starring as Ike Turner on Broadway. In addition to this, he has started a film production studio called Black Man Films. Roderick believes in creating inclusive spaces for diverse stories to be told by women and men. He proudly shares that many projects in his studio have been helmed by female directors, producers, and department heads. While Roderick acknowledges his early successes, he also recognizes that he has a lot more to give to continue expanding his contributions to making films that our culture can be proud of. He is equally skilled in stage, screen, and running projects behind the scenes. One thing is certain, Roderick Lawrence is ready to put in his all to assure the highest quality of work that he has committed himself to do. His growing fan base has already become accustomed to seeing him deliver, and his current award-winning film can be found at https://speakupbrotha.com. I believe that the best is yet to come for Roderick and his team, and I am thrilled for this positive and inspiring individual.
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