Harry Lennix, a distinguished figure in the entertainment industry, has captivated audiences with his versatile performances across stage, television, and film. His upcoming role in Purpose at the Steppenwolf Theatre promises to be another landmark in his illustrious career. Lennix approaches his craft with a deep commitment to authenticity and a nuanced understanding of character development, ensuring every performance is memorable. In an exclusive interview with rolling out, Lennix shares insights into his roles and what audiences can anticipate from Purpose.
How do you go about choosing your roles?
The fact of the matter is that most of the roles you know choose me. We try out for any number of things; some of them you get, and some you don’t. Of course, you have to be a little after exercise and a little discretion, and what you know is something you might want to do; not everything that comes across the desk is appealing. But I’ve been very, very blessed in my career in terms of being able to choose from a number of roles of great substance and quality. I usually look for dimensionality, you know? A place to journey to a character [with a story arc] with a beginning, middle, and end.
What are your thoughts on AI in relation to writing and even how entertainment will be brought to the public in the future?
It is the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences, so we [must] remember that this television academy [is also] science. [We] should embrace it. Now, I am not fooled into thinking that some machine is ever going to have the kind of subtleties and nuances and all of that stuff that people that real people do unless those people are telling it precisely what to do, which creates an incredible amount of work. [We’ve] always thought that the machines [will] be taking over since they started making machines.
What can people expect from you and Purpose?
I love this play. [It] will be a unique and [rare] opportunity to see the inner workings of a [political dynasty family]. I play a [reverend] character who doesn’t have a church, so if you think of somebody like the Reverend Jesse Jackson, one of my personal heroes, Al Sharpton, even though he did have a church. I’m kind of basing my character, or what I’m doing, on the great Wyatt T. Walker. They actually did have churches, but this particular character does not, yet he’s managed to create a dynasty.
Some of his children are going into politics; another is going into culture and art. [What] goes on in such a family will be very interesting to the audience. What drives people to get into this life? Public life. But also to maintain dignity, integrity, and purpose for what they do for their community and people, the country, and their legacy. [Brandon’s] language and the characters he creates in the situations he creates in this particular case will be very compelling.
Purpose runs at the Steppenwolf Theatre from March 14th to April 21st, 2024. Get your tickets now.
