FROM
MENACE TO MAN
By Joanna Chaundy
Many
of us, when we hear the name Larenz Tate, instantly think of
his character, O'Dog, the trigger-happy thug in the Hughes
Brothers 1993 blockbuster film, Menace II Society. After making
his reputation with the "young, black and just don't
give a fuck," role in both this and Dead Presidents, he
has developed into an all round talented actor. Love Jones showed
us a softer, more vulnerable character, enabling him to break
away from the typecast hoodlum roles.
He has continued to extend his repertoire in Love Come Down,
directed by Clement Virgo, which has just opened in London.
Love Come Down is a gripping story of two brothers, one black,
one white who have bottled up a tragic family secret for more
than a decade. Larenz Tate's character, Neville, is a struggling
comic and drug addict, who confronts his problems after meeting
his girlfriend Niko (Deborah Cox). The film is a dark, powerful
study of human frailty.
"I
didn't want to get type cast as a street, thug hoodlum.
I wanted people to see that black men can be sensitive, caring.
We fall in love, we get our hearts broken, we break hearts,"
he tells me.
Larenz, on his first trip to London, certainly comes across
as anything but the mindless menace that made his name. He is
polite, thoughtful and unlike so many celebrities, he's
on time!
Love Come Down also sees Tate's debut as producer. "I
met the director, Clement Virgo, who also wrote the movie, and
I thought the story was great and wanted to be a part of it
and lend my services as an executive producer, to oversee and
godfather the picture." He laughs as he speaks, "to
be honest, I have been pretty much involved with a lot of my
films in that way, but now I actually get the credit for it."
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Playing
opposite him, is early 90's rnb singer, Deborah Cox, of Who
Do You Love fame. She plays a singer in this her debut movie.
"Deborah Cox wasn't the first choice, but once we had
a chance to meet her and spend time with her, we felt she was
the best person to play it. We wanted someone who was fresh and
different and she gave us exactly what we needed."
This is his third successive film in a row that contains the word
Love in the title. So I wonder if the tough guy that he plays
so well is now a thing of the past. He assures me it isn't. "I've
had a lot of positive response, clearly from the females, they
love to see date films. But at the same time, there is a male
fan base that prefers more action and more of the tough guy."
These people will be pleased to know that he has recently completed
an action film, Diablo, with the anything but mushy, Vin Diesel,
where they play undercover cops.
He also plans more collaboration with the Hughes Brothers. "Menace
II Society really broke barriers, because it depicted a lifestyle
of the way people live that we don't get a chance to see
in that vivid, detailed manner." If there's anything
that links Menace with Love Come Down, it ‘s that he's
captured harsh reality albeit from a less violent perspective.
"There are people in the world that are caught in a lifestyle
of negativity, but are actually good people. It's just their
circumstances from a social and economical standpoint."
I was curious as to which of the characters he's played were
most like himself. "There's a piece of me in all of
them actually." No this doesn't mean that he shoots
people in grocery stores when they insult his mother, but he does
lay claim to an occasional "hot temper." But he has
an easy sense of humour too. When I suggested, jokingly, that
he follow in the footsteps of Brad Pitt, in playing in a British
movie, he cracks up with laughter at the thought of doing a British
accent. "I would HAVE to work on that."
I ask him the obvious question, that if he is now producing films,
will he go into directing? "I would like to direct, no time
soon though, cause when you're making a film, it really is an
art. It's not something where you just wake up one morning and
say ‘I want to direct a movie.' You really have to put your
heart and soul into it."
When Larenz's publicist subtly hinted that my interview time was
up, I had one last question that had been eating at me for years,
is he married? But as his character, Darius, in Love Jones says;
"Never ask a question you don't wanna know the answer to!"
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