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(April 7, 2005)

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     Glynn Turman's been in the acting game for a minute. After making his TV debut on the soap opera Peyton Place - playing the teenaged son of Dr. Harry and Alma Miles (Percy Rodriguez and Ruby Dee, respectively) -- Turman made further inroads on the acting scene with his portrayal of "Preacher" in the black film classic Cooley High opposite Lawrence Hilton Jacobs. While the film was made for television, Glynn's theater chops prevailed and he's since moved from television to co-star in feature Hollywood productions like Deep Cover, The Inkwell, How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Men of Honor.

 

     On April 8th Turman returns to theaters all over the country in the action/ adventure Sahara opposite Matthew McConaughey, Penélope Cruz and Steve Zahn. Glynn's latest offering was directed by newcomer Breck Eisner and is an adaptation from Clive Cussler's popular adventure novels that follow the globe-trotting exploits of Dirk Pitt (McConaughey) and Al Giordino (Zahn) who are in search of a Civil War Ironclad buried deep in an ancient riverbed thought to have flowed over what is now known as the Sahara Desert. As the tale holds, Pitt and Giordino cross paths with Dr. Hopper (Turman) and Dr. Rojas (Cruz) -- two physicians working for the World Health Organization who are racing against time to pin-point the source of a deadly virus outbreak which threatens to erupt into an irrevocable pandemic if the source of the disease isn't found. The action/ adventure setting aside, according to the acting veteran, the actual shooting of Sahara proved to be a cross-cultural odyssey in its own right.

 

     "It was an adventure...we went to Africa -- Morocco -- for three months. Barcelona, Spain for a month, London for a couple of weeks... The picture, itself, is an adventure but the filming of the picture was an adventure as well. Meeting the people of Morocco -- a large part of the film was filmed in a small town -- called, Ifuud. Ifuud is caught at a crossroads between the old and the new but the old ways (of living) are still so ingrained...," he says referring to the influx of tourism and international film studios that have began to shoot productions in that part of the globe. "My hat's off to Breck Eisner who had to helm a crew of about 400 -- that [was] just the crew; sand [was] everywhere and that sand," Glynn continues -- unlike the High Desert area -- the sand there is like talcum powder, it's very fine so it just gets everywhere. [Eisner] would not relent, in terms of what he wanted to get [with the cameras] and I think it shows on the film."

 

     Sahara is set in Africa and has a large supporting cast of black actors. While some might take exception to the fact that the main hero in the film is Caucasian and harbor thoughts that the film might be filled with "Tarzan savior" stereotypes that have proliferated on the big screen in the past, Turman's not having any of it. "Well, it's easy to make that argument, it could've been me -- I used to be buff," he laughs "but at the same time that 's not necessarily the story that Clive Cussler wrote [which is] the character that he's had this ongoing series about."

 

     "However,"Glynn continues, "if you read the same books, you'll see that Dr. Hopper is not black. Dr. Hopper is a big, red-headed Irishman -- I play Dr. Hopper," he explains..."on the one hand there were some creative liberties taken. I think that the picture, overall, has some very positive things to say in terms of what that's all about. First of all the head of the operation, who is my character, didn't have to be. She's (Dr. Rojas) is of Latin ancestry, there are both good guys and bad guys who are black -- didn't have to be. So you take the overall, bigger picture -- I think it addressed the situation well. If you take issue with "the Great White Hope Theory," we can always DO that but to what avail?

 

     In addition to his work on the hit prime time HBO series "The Wire" (now shooting it's third season) Turman's been working on an autobiography (untitled as of this writing) and has begun production of a one man play that he'd penned which chronicles his early years when he began cutting his teeth alongside the heroes and she-roes of black theater. "[Moving Man is] taken from a book that I'm writing about my journey. And it's based on a specific segment as to what being in the original production of "A Raisin in the Sun" -- how that affected and changed my life. How I got into that in the first place and the world that I was in that introduced me to that monster of a play."

 

     For all intents and purposes, one could consider Turman an elder statesman of sorts. Although he's been acting for over 3 decades, he too knows that he had to stand on the shoulders of giants who came before him and is matter-of-fact when pointing out that undeniable truth. "If it wasn't for Lorraine Hansbury, there wouldn't have been a place for August Wilson. She was a black woman who wrote the first Broadway drama, which was produced on Broadway by a man named Phillip Rose, it starred Sydney Poitier and Ruby Dee and Claudia McNeal, Louis Gossett, Ivan Dixon and I-- those were just the ones onstage," Glynn reflects. "Douglas Turner-Ward, who co-founded the Negro Ensemble Theater Company and Lonnie Elder who wrote the movie "Sounder," so on and so forth," says Turman in homage to the legends who helped him find his voice on stage "All of these people were in this one production -- Beah Richards, was understudying Claudia McNeal. Lloyd Richards directed "A Raisin in the Sun" --  he's the one who directed August Wilson's first play and got August Wilson to become the giant that he is... if you just take the names that I just told you and the people who are still [inspired] as a result of that -- people who contributed to it -- it's proof-positive of the power that this woman, who 45 years later intrigued P-Diddy, the hippest cat in the new millennium, to come about and say "hey, I want to do this [play]" and to have him later say, "that's the hardest [thing] I've ever done in my life.  But," Turman continues, " what he did, as a result of doing that play, is introduce a whole [new] group of youngsters to Broadway, who never would've [otherwise] gone to see a Broadway production, necessarily -- had it not been for his celebrity. He used his celebrity well [and that] is what I expressed to him when we met."

 

     All of that aside, the Glynn doesn't mince words when asked his opinion about the deluge of singer/rapper/ actors that seem to be usurping a lot of the roles from long-time black thespians who, like himself, came out of theater first. "I've always looked at myself as just an actor, like a carpenter or any tradesman, that's my craft...that's what I do," he says. "It doesn't matter where I do it as long as I am doing it as well as I can, in as good a project as I can. I'd like to make a lot of money, and sometimes I have, but sometimes I haven't made [anything] but I've been acting -- I took the initiative that I would define myself as opposed to being defined"

 

     It's been said that one of the hardest toughest parts about being a working black actor in Hollywood is actually securing the work and Glynn has stood the test of time by consistently securing roles in features and TV but it's not lost on the veteran of stage and screen that he's building a legacy of his own. "A Different World," of course, was a milestone...an endeavor -- we take a lot of pride in what we were able to accomplish with that," the actor says of the popular syndicated Cosby Show spin-off. "Cooley High's one of my favorite films that I've been a part of -- not just because I was in it but -- because it was such a wonderful film," says Turman beaming with pride, "I guess three generations now, recognize me from Cooley High -- it's fantastic."

 

     Sahara opens nation wide on April 8th -- Chris Pryor

 

RTSC Best Bets – Home Entertainment
   Blade: Trinity, This action-packed conclusion to the global smash-hit vampire trilogy will be available on April 26, 2005, as a double-disc, Platinum Series™ DVD from New Line Home Entertainment. Starring  Wesley Snipes Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds, the DVD is dripping with special features, including a sixteen-part behind-the-scenes documentary.  IT also includes 10 minutes of never-before-seen footage, as well as commentaries from the director, cast and crew. 

 

RTSC Best Bets – Music
   Introducing Gordon Chambers (Chamber Music) After a decade of penning hits for others, Grammy award Winning songwriter Gordon Chambers Chambers takes his turn in the spotlight, putting his acclaimed skills to work for himself.  Introducing Gordon Chambers, features special music cameos from guest artists like  Carl Thomas, Glenn Lewis, Roy Hargrove and Mike Phillips. Produced by Chambers alongside a string of notables -- Troy Taylor, Barry Eastmond, Prince Charles Alexander and Brian Bacchus this CD is a must have for music lovers everywhere. Visit www.gordonchambers.com for more information.

 

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