There are some things that have taken place that most urbanites never thought would happen in their lifetime:
African Americans (Denzel Washington, Best Actor) and (Halle Berry, Best Actress) winning Academy Awards in the same year; a natural disaster (Hurricane Katrina) practically wiping out an entire major American city; a black man (President Barack Obama) being elected to the most powerful position in the world; and a Cleveland sports team winning a championship in the modern era. Oh wait, that still hasn’t happened … we’re dreaming.
And then there’s another thing we thought would never happen: a nonwhite, foreign-born, non-English speaking individual landing ashore in America, then learning to speak fluent English — without even a trace of an accent — and going from tennis player to model to actor to Hollywood heartthrob … and inevitably the perfect package of family man, father, entertainer and actor.
And he is playing in a James Bond-type thriller drama on prime time TV (NBC) with another nonwhite whom he’s married to on the show. The couple engage in cloak-and-dagger espionage affairs and kick butt around the world at the behest of the elite spy agency, the Central Intelligence Agency …
Wait a minute, that person actually does exist. We know him as actor Boris Kodjoe.
Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw play Steven and Samantha Bloom, a happily married, ordinary couple who own their own business, Bloom Catering, but double as spies for the CIA in the NBC drama “Undercovers.” The show was created by the ultra-talented J.J. Abrams. “Undercovers” debuts Wednesday, Sept. 22.
This is a dream that has actually come true. Just ask Kodjoe.
“I’m very excited. This is a dream come true for me. And this character, Stephen Bloom, [is] pretty much like James Bond. He gets to travel throughout the world to do a whole bunch of action, martial arts, [and] speak different languages … go undercover [and] do different characters,” Kodjoe says. “And he’s married at the same time, so you have elements of action, drama, comedy [and] romance all packed into one. And that alone is a dream come true for an actor.”
Portraying a character that engages in plots and subplots of international intrigue is one thing. But Kodjoe is not naïve. Perhaps at a deeper level than most, he is cognizant of the significance of the show and his potential role as a pioneer.
“It’s like, look, we’re in a global playground. Everything is global and diverse and multi-everything. Multiple languages, different mentalities and everything is cross-pollinating so quickly that TV and movies here have to catch up. It’s not about that anymore. It’s about creating content that people find pleasure in watching, maybe even get inspired by. And if the lead happens to be black, then they happen to be black,” says Kodjoe.
Kodjoe has had practice participating in a project that was considered groundbreaking. Viewers discovered Kodjoe playing opposite his now-wife Nicole Ari Parker in the trailblazing Showtime series “Soul Food,” a drama series transferred from the successful motion picture of the same name. If anything, Kodjoe wants this show to not only entertain, but to show the limitless possibilities that exist in this country and the world, despite the economic times.
“I was amazed. I always viewed America as the land of opportunity and that you can make it from a dishwasher to a millionaire. I just didn’t understand how we could limit ourselves and put ourselves down to the point where it’s crippling — and especially [with] all that’s going on with the black president. There’s so much motivation going on right now. There’s so much positive energy going out there right now that I hope people would take this show as another piece to change those negative paradigms and change their subconscious to make something positive happen for themselves,” he says.
With Blair Underwood playing the president of the United States in another NBC drama series, “The Event,” there is a belief in some quarters of the community that one of the original three television networks is making a concerted effort to be inclusive culturally.
“I think there is a concerted effort by NBC. But [it’s] also a sign of the times. It’s pure, smart business,” Kodjoe says. “At the end of the day, they are not running a charity. They are running a business. And NBC Universal is a very powerful business … so it’s just something that makes sense.”
What doesn’t make sense to Kodjoe is the nation’s part-time obsession with superficialities, such as looks. He knows that the opposite sex thinks he’s pretty, but he has worked hard to perfect his craft and be taken seriously as an actor.
“I know it means a lot over here. It is something I have to get people to see beyond. Because I am a businessman, I’m an entertainer, I’m an artist, and I wanted people to take me seriously, to see beyond their own sort of limited, preconceived notions. And that was one of the reasons I was sort of proud that I was able to do Broadway with Cat on a Tin Roof [and] James Earl Jones. Because I was able to see my hard work paid off.”
And it’s paying pretty dividends, not just in currency, but also in choice acting roles. In addition to “Undercovers,” Kodjoe stars as one of the survivors of the deadly T-virus and hordes of flesh-eating zombies in the motion picture Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D. The horror flick along with the “Undercovers” television show enables Kodjoe to experiment and showcase his skills as a stuntman.
“I did my own stunts, and it’s physically very demanding. It’s so much fun and I feel so blessed that anything that they asked me to do, I would do it.”
And that’s the point. Once people take a moment to move past those superficialities Kodjoe mentioned, they will find an inspiring story of a person who has traversed, — both physically and metaphorically — great distances to manifest his destiny.
“That’s a pretty big step and it takes a lot of work to go from a language to a language that you’ve never spoken before to the point people assume that you are from that country,“ he adds. “I don’t know any other actor [who] has done that. There have been plenty that have an English accent [that] have come over, who now speak without an accent, but I don’t’ know anyone who’s come from a different language to be taken seriously as an American actor.”
Good point. And it’s because Kodjoe has worked so hard and poured so much of himself into getting to the plane that he is perched on right now that he doesn’t chance engaging in behavior that would jeopardize it all. Our blogs and headlines bleed with ultra-talented entertainers’ transgressions that threaten to destroy the very thing they spent their lives working toward. Not Kodjoe.
“To me, it’s about priorities. My wife is the most important thing in my life, as well as my kids. So I would not do anything to jeopardize that relationship. To me, it simple math. Do I want to be with my wife and kids or be by myself? It’s that simple,“ Kodjoe says. “If people organize their priorities and [are] clear about what they want, they wouldn’t jeopardize that on a daily basis. But maybe they are not clear about what they want. Maybe they don’t want to be married or be parents. I don’t understand some of the choices they make.
“At the end of the day, you always have the choice. You don’t have to do the drugs if you don’t want to. You don’t have to sleep around if you don’t want to. You don’t have to be caught in the middle of the night doing some strange stuff. Even with the people you hang around with [and get into trouble with], you still made the choice to hang with these people,“ says Kodjoe. It’s for this very reason that he meticulously scrutinizes the parties and events that he chooses to go to. “I get invited to all kinds of events. There are so many variables that I can’t control. If I don’t want to be caught up in some mess, maybe I shouldn’t go.”
Instead of indulging himself in fleeting — and oftentimes destructive — moments of immediate self-gratification, Kodjoe has spent his adult life crafting situations that bring lasting joy to himself and to others. His ALFA clothing line, on www.boris-world.com for example, is working to revolutionize the apparel industry by making custom-made shirts and suits for a bargain-basement price. Talk about a dream come true.
“It’s actually my brother Patrick who came up with the concept and we developed [it] together. We come in different sizes and shapes, and when you buy off the rack, it never fits. But you can’t afford custom shirts. It’s like $200.”
Through a partnership with a company in Thailand that has been making clothes for 30 years, men are able to design their own top-quality shirts for as little as $30. “It’s basically affordable luxury. You are your own designer. You pick the design; you pick the color, cuff, the buttons, [and] the threads. Put your initials where you want. You don’t pay taxes; you don’t pay customs, because it comes right from the factory to you. [Customizing your own shirts] teaches you how to measure yourself, and you get your shirt in 15 days,” he says.
With that, the conversation concludes, and Kodjoe returns to redesigning what a modern-day matinee idol looks like.
Visit rollingout.com for video footage of Boris Kodjoe.
