Tyler
Perry &
Keshia
Knight Pulliam
The Anatomy Of
Comic Relief
Story by
Roz Edward
Images by Scott Hebert for Steed Media Service
Tyler
Perry has done more than just make a name for himself. The writer,
actor, producer and director has been dubbed ‘The Talented Mr. Perry,’
‘Tyler the Titan’ and ‘Perry Prolific.’ Thanks in large part to the
always irreverent, pistol-packing Madea character who is one part
nurturer and five parts fun-loving malcontent, Perry’s been able to
expand his interests to television production (“House of Payne” and
“Meet the Browns”) and more recently the opening of Tyler Perry
Studios. And if there haven’t already been enough accolades, the 40th
NAACP Image Awards, which Perry hosted, solidified his wunderkind
status, with Perry and his “House of Payne” cast winning awards in
every category they were nominated in. And while the New Orleans-born
playwright and thespian oozes charm and charisma, it is his unabashed
sincerity and genuine ability to relate to his audiences — stage and
screen — that gives fans a personal affinity with the man and the
character.
Keshia Knight Pulliam, winner of the best supporting actress award at
the 40th NAACP Image Awards for her role as Miranda on Tyler Perry’s
“House of Payne,” has
traveled a very different path to reclaim her celebrity status. Having
been hugely successful, albeit at a much younger period in her life, as
the adorable and irrepressible Rudy, the youngest child of the Huxtable
clan in the acclaimed TV sitcom “The Cosby Show,” Pulliam is poised to
move on to more mature and more challenging roles.
In Perry’s latest film the actress portrays an emotionally scarred and
hardened inmate who is befriended and mothered by Madea.
Pulliam had this to say about her role, her career and her future:
The
Candace character is a big departure from that of Rudy the innocent.
Did having been so well remembered and loved in that role present a
drawback professionally or hinder your career?
I
think everything has its pluses and minuses, but overall the positive
far outweighs anything else, so that’s what I focus on. The opportunity
to be part of history and not just television history, history in
general … and for generations 25 years later, after the debut of ‘The
Cosby Show’ to still watch it and enjoy it, some [viewers] experiencing
it for the first time — that’s a blessing.
What were the challenges for playing Candace, a drug-addicted prostitute?
It
was a challenge, but it was a welcomed challenge, and it was something
that I decided to take on. I wanted to do something that was very
different from what my audiences were used to. [She] was a much darker
character. She wasn’t happy and she had life experiences which were
just absolutely unimaginable, but that’s what I was looking for. I was
looking for a challenge and she gave it to me.
Having
been a child star what advice would you offer to parents of children in
the industry regarding maintaining their images and avoiding some of
the pitfalls?
Make it a hobby, don’t put the
pressure on them to make it a career. If it unfolds into a career
wonderful, but at the end of the day they have to enjoy what they’re
doing. If they don’t [enjoy it] you can’t push them. … Also make sure
they spend time with their peers to make sure that they really enjoy
childhood.
Was your mother a stage mother?
No,
my parents were regular parents, very much so. My parents are still
together and they made it a point for me to still have interactions
with kids my own age, and to still go to regular school, and to still
do all the things that little kids do. I always say that I had the best
of both worlds. I had a phenomenal career and I got to go home and play
with my friends, so I had an experience that most people are never
afforded in their lives. I have no regrets.
Who has been a mentor to you in your career?
Honestly,
for me, I learned from everyone, it hasn’t been one specific person.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with the greats — from Bill Cosby to
Tyler Perry, and then Beauty Shop with Queen Latifah and
Billy Woodruff, who directed it, and a lot of different people. I
learned from every situation and opportunity that I had.
While
humor and tragedy — or comedy and drama, were at one point distinctive
and separate types of theater, Perry has so blurred the line between
the two that audiences regularly anticipate the emotional diversion and
welcome the comic relief in a Tyler Perry production. Following the
Beverly Hills screening of Madea Goes to Jail, he explained to ro the
methodology behind the madness.
There
are some poignant and very moving story lines juxtaposed to the comedy
in this film. How difficult is it to marry the two art forms?
The
reason I do that is because when I’m writing I am the audience member
and [sometimes] I say ‘Whoa this is too deep, I’ve got to lighten up,’
so then I’ll switch up and go find Madea so I can laugh and have the
audience laughing with me. What’s important to me is that I’m leaving a
message and messages are very important to me, but the laughter is just
as important. It’s very difficult to have a drama do well or to sell a
drama, so you throw some comedy in there and keep the drama and it’s
the best of both worlds.
You have entered into an unprecedented partnership to distribute the movie Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, which
won the Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic at the 2009 Sundance Film
Festival. Why is support for this type of project so important to you?
I
wanted to support the actors, and Lee Daniels who directed it. When you
see the film, it is so powerful [but] it couldn’t be a Tyler Perry film
because of the profanity and the abuse. It’s way too far left from
anything I can put the Tyler Perry brand on, but it so important that
people see it to understand what a lot of children in the inner city go
through. Oprah and I teamed up to do this because it haunts you after
you leave [the theater] and it spoke to me, and it spoke to so many
people. I think that every black person who has experienced something
like this or knows someone who has will be moved by it. And every
person who is not black who sees this will have a better understanding
of what a lot of little girls go through in the projects.
You
are Madea, Uncle Joe, Brian the nephew, as well as the director and now
a studio magnate. Why have you taken on so many hats?
I
was broke when I was doing the plays and I learned to do everything all
at once. I wouldn’t know how to do just one thing. You know how black
folks do, we do it all, and we get our hustle on and we learn how to do
everything. I was the janitor, I was loading the set, I was going on
stage acting, I was adjusting lights, I was turning up the soundboard —
so when I got to film it wasn’t a transition.
The
synergy between you and the actors — on stage as well as on screen — is
always evident, but how is that relationship impacted when you get on
the other side of the camera as the director?
It’s
always give [and] take. I’m always respectful and they are always
respectful, so even if I’m not getting what I want, I’m very clear
about how to get it so that’s it’s not offensive and it works well.
I’ve never had an issue with the going back and forth [between actor
and director].
Should you win an Oscar, whom would you thank?
More
than anything, I have never written anything for an award or for a
critic. It’s all about the people. How can you not thank God, and
everybody does whether they mean it or not — but how can you not thank
the people for their support?
How has your spirituality helped you stay on course?
It
has helped me navigate all of it from day-to-day, even this thing
called fame, which has an ugly side to it. I’ve seen the worst of what
people can be and what family and friends can be. I’ve seen the worst
of what people will do to try and extort you. If it wasn’t for my
faith, I’d be in jail because I would have probably gone gangster. But
[my faith] is what has kept me holding it all together.
Are we going to see more Madea plays?
I
would love to do one more tour. If I could find the time, I would go
out on the road from Thursday to Sunday for about two years, just
shutting it down from [one] end of the country to [the other]. I think
I’m going to do it.
Any way you play it, Madea movies
are always a draw, Perry is at the height of his game and Pulliam is
back with a vengeance. It is the perfect storm.
