*Carl Weber’s “The Man in 3B” arrived in theaters November 6, and EUR chatted with the star of the urban murder mystery, Lamman Rucker, about his portrayal as Darryl Graham – the charming new tenant at a Jamaica, Queens apartment building who rocks his neighbors with his mysterious presence.
The script was adapted by Weber, a New York Times bestselling novelist who recently told the Electronic Urban Report/EUR that he penned the script to ensure it remain true to his original material.
“I wrote the script so it’s going to be as close to the book as possible if I have something to do with it. And that’s kind of the way that I want to do things,” Weber said of his foray into producing urban indie films such as “The Man in 3B.”
Lamman’s take on Weber’s Darryl Graham is captivating and organic, so naturally, we wanted to know how much of Rucker’s persona did he channel to enhance the character.
Lamman: I know what it’s like to be in certain situations. I know what it’s like to have people hating on you. Not necessarily out to hurt me, but what I see as the real operative theme for Daryl is, transition. He’s trying to cope and trying to take his life in another direction. It’s the challenge of trying to do something new and trying to deal with situations in a different way than how he dealt with them before.
A lot of us, we have to be careful not to use habit as an excuse for a lack of discipline or lack of understanding. He’s just gotten to a point where he’s got a certain amount of understanding and he’s got a certain level of commitment about what he wants to do with his life now and at the same time, he still comes from where he comes from and when he sees people not being treated well and when he sees something he wants – he’s still gonna do something about it.
Did you read the book prior to accepting the role?
Lamman: No, I deliberately didn’t. I wanted to be the one to originate Daryl, with Carl’s guidance, who was there on set with us every day. I wanted to base my work on the screenplay not the book, and I trusted my director and I trusted the executive producer, who’s also the writer, who would be there to reel me back in or give me a better idea on exactly what he wanted.
What attracted you to Daryl Graham?
Lamman: I thought it being a mystery thriller was cool. We don’t always see a lot of those with us. Daryl is definitely somebody that I identify with and reminded me a lot of me. I know what it’s like to want to behave one way, but you have to teach yourself some restraint and self-discipline to not to that. Your past can really come back to haunt you if you’re not careful. You can leave it in the past and continue to let it remain in the past as long as you don’t fall back into the same cycle. But soon as you allow yourself to fall right back in, then your past is no longer your past, it’s still your present. So he’s fighting that cycle and that’s something I thought would be fun to explore.
Daryl has so much swag yet so much mystery. Is he the type of guy you would approve of dating your sister?
Lamman: Absolutely. At least I know she would be treated well and she’d be protected. I think that’s exactly the kind of appeal that Daryl has, and we see that from the first moment you meet him. People gravitate to him and he’s got the kind of charisma and appeal that people pay attention to. It’s one of his assets. It’s also one of the things that can get him into a little trouble just the same. Sometimes that charm and appeal can backfire based on people feel about it. If they’re threatened by it, they’re gonna respond to you a lot differently.
“The Man in 3B” is in theaters now.
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