Will The Real Mike Epps Please Stand Up
Words by
DeWayne Rogers
Images by Scott Hebert for Steed Media Service
Mike Epps is one hilarious dude. But you can’t really tell that by watching his latest flick, Next Day Air.
In the film, which is as unexpectedly violent as it is good, Epps steps
into a role that many might not envision for him — that of a serious
actor with range. But according to Epps, this was all a part of his
plan to expand his horizons as an artist. So as Epps sat down with rolling out
to reveal the details of his new mission in life, we were thoroughly
impressed with his foray into serious subject matter … although he
still threw in a few jokes for good measure.
We
just saw Next Day Air, and were surprised by how dark it was. How
excited were you to step outside of your comfort zone and try something
different?
When you’re in a business and you look
for challenges and try to grow as an artist, then these are the types
of opportunities that you like to approach. And, of course, I’ve always
wanted to break outside of what people thought that I could do. This is
a different role that really isn’t a stretch for me because I am
hip-hop, and I am from the streets — and I do know about all of the
different drug paraphernalia that was in the movie.
It’s a fine line though, right? While you want to grow as an artist, you also want to do the things that people love about you.
I’ve been blessed enough to have all of these different facets of
myself where I can be funny one minute, and be mean the next. But I get
what you’re saying, and that has really been the reason that I have
done a lot of comedy movies for so long. That’s what people know me
for, and that’s what people paid to come into the theater to see me in.
But like this movie here, I was funny in the beginning of it, and as
the movie went on, things got darker and I was able to show more range
as an actor. So it’s all up to me to pick the right kind of movie, and
the right kind of script that will allow me to give people what they
know, and still be able to stretch out a little bit.
You’re touring again. How difficult is it for you to jump back into stand-up?
I’ve been doing comedy for so long now, that even if I’m not on the
road, it’s still so natural for me. To me, comedy is like riding down
the street, or going to the gas station. It’s just a part of everyday
life for me. So no matter where I’m at, or what I’m doing, I’m always
cracking jokes. And I’m always going to crack jokes no matter what.
I’ll never get ‘Hollywood’ and think that I’m too good for that. It’s
just who I am. So I make sure that I keep telling jokes, and I make
sure that I keep doing the regular people things every day. Now, of
course, there are some things that I can’t do anymore because I’m in
show business, but for the most part, I live a regular life. And I make
sure that I do that so my work can be compelling and touch people in a
way that makes them think that they know me.
Is your on-screen persona that far off from the real Mike Epps?
I run into people that have been watching me long enough to think that
they know who I am. So I have to keep telling people that it’s my past
that made me who I am. So if you don’t know my past, then you don’t
know me. You’re just getting what I’m presenting to you.
Speaking of what you’re presenting, you’ve got a new DVD out called ‘Funny Bidness.’ Tell us about it.
The DVD that I came up with is something that I’ve been working on for
a couple of years now. I’ve got live sketches on there like ‘In Living
Color,’ and I’ve got live underground footage of me doing stand-up, as
well as interviews. So people really get to see another side of me —
and they get to see me interacting with people in my regular, everyday
life. It’s to the point where if people really want to know how I get
down, then they can just watch this DVD, and get a good idea of how I
am in the streets.
What is your biggest flaw, and how are you working to improve it?
I
think that one of my biggest flaws was that I had this perception of
what white people were [like] … before I got into show business. And
I’m starting to realize with age that you don’t have to edit nothing.
You can be yourself, and you can work with white people, and you can
work with all types of different nationalities and colors. I used to be
intimidated by that a little bit.
So did you behave differently around white people?
I just never knew what to say to them, or how to be with them, because
I never thought they were going to accept me. It felt like an audition
with them all the time, because in my mind, it kept leading back to the
fact that I’m just a black guy to them. And I guess that is one of my
flaws — especially being in Hollywood. This is an industry that makes
billions of dollars, so I have to come to terms and address my mind
frame, and how I view people and how I think that they view me, if I am
really going to make it out here.
Speaking
of the way people perceive you, one of your acting colleagues, Wood
Harris, said that he doesn’t think that you understand how much people
love and respect what you do. What do you think about that?
I don’t want to know that s—. To be honest with you, I think that’s
what’s killing us. I think that’s what really kills an entertainer. I
don’t know what people think of me, and I don’t want to know it. I got
in the business to entertain and to make great comedy and leave a
legacy. To me, that kind of gets in the way when you get all caught up
in what people think about you. Once you start reading your own
articles, and you start believing your own hype, it’s all downhill from
there. And I think people want me to act like that. They want me to pop
my collar and act a little more Hollywood … but that’s not me. I’ll
find out how people feel about my work by them continuing to
participate in what I do.
