Peacock’s latest film Bosco is based on the story of Quawntay “Bosco” Adams, who was sentenced to 35 years for attempted possession of marijuana. With the help of a woman from an ad, he escapes to see his daughter.
Actor and R&B singer Tyrese is cast in the film as Bosco’s father Tootie, portraying a figure who was barely in Bosco’s life and how that affected him through his journey. Tyrese spoke with rolling out about the film, his role and the importance of Bosco’s story.
What interested you in this role?
I felt like I missed out when I wasn’t a part of Straight Outta Compton. You get excited about movies that are real feature films that take place in your backyard where you were born and raised. When I found out about Bosco, he’s an urban legend. Everybody who has been in the hood at some point knows about his story.
The people have been talking about him for so long for so many years like they’re talking about a dinosaur that is not alive anymore, but he’s alive and well. Just on a South Central LA level for me off the top, this is something I knew I could be a part of. I think at a certain point — even though I’m not ready to tell my story — I would be weirded out and uncomfortable about doing anything that feels like a biopic or even having someone to do it on me; we all want our story to be told.
How did other roles prepare you for this one?
I’m playing a father, which is different. In the hood, we always have those fathers who are either super positive and impactful, and then there’s the version of the father when he’s [not] in your life because it’s a lot of deadbeats that are not in their kids’ lives at all. When you are in your child’s life, the question is, what type of father are you? It was clear to me that this father was unpredictable, off the hook and pretty crazy. It was an interesting role and an interesting opportunity to just step in and play this.
What do you think people should know about Bosco and why is it important?
Everybody needs to tell their story in any way, shape or form. So many people are going through things: depression, sadness, suicide. You just never know who’s going to be impacted by hearing your story after you tell it. It’s a waste of time to compare one Black man to another, I just think we all have a story and we should do whatever it takes to get our stories told.
Of all of the years of me being aware of Black living legends — as well as the legends that have come and gone, either being assassinated or deceased — what I always love is that whatever it is they were dealing with and going through, most of the legends and icons didn’t show it. But the moment that you started telling people your story, they’re looking at you like, “Oh my god, I can’t believe that’s your actual life and your story.” Those are the people that I tend to gravitate towards and find myself being inspired by — the people who have been through hell and back and don’t carry it in their day-to-day personality.
