Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones, A Raisin in the Sun, Lilies of the Field, In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. Morgan Freeman in Glory, Driving Miss Daisy, Lean on Me, The Shawshank Redemption and Million Dollar Baby. Denzel Washington in Glory, Malcolm X, The Hurricane and Training Day. Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction and A Time To Kill. Fourteen unforgettable big screen performances that were delivered by four talented African-American actors all at the top of their game.
Last month, I paid tribute to 10 African-Americans actresses (Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Whoopi Goldberg, Pam Grier, Debbi Morgan, CCH Pounder, Jurnee Smollett and Alfre Woodard) whom I felt delivered superlative performances on the big screen yet didn’t receive the critical and/or audience attention they deserved. As I’ve come to find out, I was not alone in these feelings. Now it’s time to spotlight five unsung performances delivered by five talented African-American actors, some of whom I already mentioned above.
Next week, in Part 3, I’ll highlight five more exemplary performances by African-American actors on the big screen. And within the next couple of weeks, I’ll again sing the praises of African-American actresses on the big screen whom I neglected to mention the first time around.
Samuel L. Jackson in Jungle Fever
If you’ve ever known a crackhead or been around a crackhead then you know it takes an extra-special kind of talent to convincingly play a crackhead. In Samuel L. Jackson’s case, there was a third component at play in his riveting performance as Gator, the doomed, crack-addicted older brother of Wesley Snipes’ philandering architect in Spike Lee’s incendiary 1991 interracial romance. Jackson, himself a recovering drug addict, had just completed rehab a mere two weeks before production started. His counselors and others had advised him not to tackle the role, that slipping into Gator’s drug-addicted shoes so soon after kicking his own drug habit would surely trigger a relapse. Committed to his newfound sobriety, Jackson stayed with the project and gave what is arguably the finest performance of a person battling addiction ever to grace the big screen. He was still detoxing while filming , so his haggard look in the film wasn’t achieved through makeup. His performance so impressed the jury at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival that they created a standalone Best Supporting Actor prize in order to reward his work in the film; later that year the New York Film Critics Circle (who are notoriously hard to please) named him best supporting actor of the year, as did the less-prestigious Kansas City Film Critics Circle.
Derek Luke in Antwone Fisher
Back in 2002, when Denzel Washington was looking for the right actor to play the real-life title character in his directorial debut about a troubled young navy crewman, little did he know that his film’s writer already knew the actor who would eventually go onto play him. Luke was working on the Sony Pictures lot (in the gift shop) when he asked the real-Antwone Fisher, who worked as a security guard on the same lot, for a copy of the script he had written about his life. Luke then went to the film’s casting session unannounced and gave what he describes as a “terrible” audition, so terrible, in fact, that he started crying. However, the casting director must have seen something because he was invited to audition again and eventually won the highly-coveted role. When Luke won for Best Male Lead at the 2003 Independent Spirit Awards, he dedicated his award to his wife – whom he brought up to the stage – and revealed to the crowd how just a few years earlier he had been a waiter at that same event. The audience erupted in applause.
Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor
Perhaps the most talented stand-up comedian of his generation, Eddie Murphy has never really been given his due as an actor. From his film debut in 1983’s Trading Places to his Oscar-nominated turn in 2006’s Dreamgirls, Murphy has often been better than the material he’s given, even in his paycheck roles (of which there are arguably many). Though in the case of his larger-than-life turn as the title character in this 1996 remake of the 1963 Jerry Lewis classic, Murphy finally had the role and the material that allowed him to showcase his full range as an actor. On paper, the film’s premise shouldn’t work: the fat guy triumphs in a battle of wills over his suave alter-ego and gets the girl. So, in short, you’re asked to root for the fat guy over his in-shape competitor. And guess what? Audiences from all walks did, which makes The Nutty Professor one of the most successful politically-charged film – that few moviegoers recognized as such – a major Hollywood studio has ever made. If that isn’t the direct result of a genius (Murphy) at work, then I don’t know what is.
Wesley Snipes in New Jack City
Al Pacino has gone on record as saying that his favorite film role is that of Miami drug lord Tony Montana in 1983’s Scarface. In the 28 years since the film was released, it’s acquired a loyal cult fan following, especially within the world of hip hop. In many ways actor-turned-director Mario Van Peebles’ first feature film is the cinematic cousin to Scarface. Snipes kills the game as ruthless Harlem drug lord Nino Brown, who, like a lot of men in the hip hop culture, grew up idolizing Tony Montana and his central mantra: “The World is Mine.” Charismatic as they come and every bit as cold-blooded, Nino is out to not only take drug dealing and distribution to the next level, he also fully intends to rule the world. And the thing is, Snipes makes you think this scumbag has the sheer force of will to pull it off. Or die trying.
Denzel Washington in Philadelphia
As is often the case in a two-hander film like Philadelphia, Denzel Washington’s superb work as the homophobic lawyer who represents an HIV-positive lawyer (Tom Hanks, in an Oscar-winning performance) in a wrongful termination suit against the law firm he worked for, was unfairly overlooked. Hanks, himself, has gone on record as saying that he’s constantly inspired by Washington’s choices as an actor, and has incorporated some of those into his own work. High praise, indeed. Funny enough, it could have been Washington up there on Oscar night accepting the award for Philadelphia as he was originally offered Hanks’ part but opted for the less flashy role because he felt it posed the bigger acting challenge. He was intrigued by the journey a bigoted man would have to take in order to become more enlightened about something that was foreign to him, that he was led to believe was unnatural and morally reprehensible. The quiet dignity and grace that Washington brings to the role and film made Hanks’ heartbreaking work possible. Again, high praise, indeed.
