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GLYNN TURMAN: Illustrious actor snags Emmy nod
Q&A by Larita Shelby - Additional reporting by Kenya M Yarbrough
Finally, Turman is getting his due from the primetime Emmy Awards, nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama for his role on “In Treatment”
RadioScope/EUR’s Larita Shelby, who co-stars with Turman in the upcoming film “Kings of the Evening” talked with the actor – now Emmy-nominated actor – about his award nod, his illustrious career, and his new project.
LaRita: I’ve watched you and enjoyed you and had the opportunity to be on the set with you in two productions and feel very special to know you.
Q: You were a young man starting out on Broadway and now 50 years later to finally get one of these coveted nominations. What does it mean now?
“I’m enjoying it for what it is. I’m absolutely honored. And for it to come this late in my career – it really gives me a special appreciation for it. You know that old saying ‘Good things come to those who wait.’ And though I’ve been working hard, but not towards that particular goal, this I something to show that my work ethics have been acknowledge and I’m very humbled by it.”
Q: When it comes to these awards, for many of our greatest performers it hasn’t been their thing to get that trophy as any form of validation, but getting it does feel good.
“It’s an acknowledgement that I don’t take lightly. The fine actors in the same category that I’m in are actors whose work I’ve respected over the years. So I’m proud to be amongst my peers; ones that I respect as well.”
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Glynn Turman in 'Kings of the Evening'
Q: Not many people get the opportunity to transcend one phase or facet of Hollywood to the next. Can you demystify the process of having staying power?
“I don’t know if there is any mysticism or mystery to it. It’s a combination of a couple of things: desire – loving what I do, and then just outright stubbornness. I have a strong desire to be in this business. I love the fans and the work and the opportunity to express myself. When you come across those obstacles that any person in their right mind would say, ‘Hey, who needs this?’, I guess I just have a stubborn streak that says, ‘I’m going to buck this’ and I look up and 50 years later, here I am. I’ve been blessed to be able to feed my family and raise my kids and do the best I could by them doing something that I love to do.”
Q: You’ve strategically been a part of many quality productions. Many of the projects you’ve been involved in have become classics. Was this all by design?
“I wish I could say it was by some inner strength that I was able to say no [to mediocre jobs], but that is in fact not the case. In many instances I would have sold my soul for a job. These were the cards that were dealt me and after a while it seemed as though the parts that came to me were parts that had that kind of integrity to them. I don’t know if my reputation over the years garnered that or if that’s just the way the cards played out. Sometimes the price for the great roles in between is very severe in terms of trying to put food on the table. At the same time, when you look over the long stretch, it does make me feel good that I’ve been a part of so many projects that people really respect and really feel strongly toward. That my name can be associated with them – I don’t’ know how that happened.”
Q: This could make a greater impact on you career in your future. Can you expound on the win?
“I do want to win the award. I’m not one of those actors that say, ‘Oh that doesn’t mean anything.’ I’m competitive by nature. I rodeo and compete in the rodeo circuit so you must know that I have a competitive nature somewhere in there, so of course I want to win. But at the same time, I’ve been in the business a long time and I know that that’s not always the case. I know what has happened and I take that with me. The fact that I will now be always known as an Emmy nominee; to have that on my resume and to be introduced in the future as ‘Emmy-nominated actor Glynn Turman,’ is something that cannot be taken away from me. That attached to my signature is a win. That has put me in a category of those who have that honor attached to their name and I’m very, very pleased to have that. Now, if I should win, I certainly hope that my managers and my team are able to turn that into both financial and further work. But that’s a part of the business. It’s show business.”
Q: Your new film “Kings of the Evening” will be to the industry and the world, what “The Color Purple” was to it 20 years ago. I predict that what “In Treatment” is for your Emmy nomination, that “Kings of the Evening” is that for your Academy Award nomination. You transcended that role and just became an all-encompassing entity that embodied the character of Clarence Brown. Can you tell why you think this is an important movie, why you took the role, and what your hope is in terms of that movie having mass appeal?
“You’re talking about a movie that I’m really proud to have my name attached to it; to have my name a part of this movie that has classic written all over it. ‘Kings of the Evening,’ written by Robert and Andrew Jones. I’m honored that this film has been made about the human spirit told through four characters in a boarding house, led by a wonderful cast including Tyson Beckford, Lynn Whitfield, Reginald T. Dorsey, who also produces the film, and James Russo. It’s a film set during the depression, but managing to capture that time the triumph of what the human spirit can overcome. The character of Clarence symbolizes the spirit of the time in terms of what it is to hit up against a wall that will not crumble, a wall designed to defeat you, a system designed to make you feel less than what you’re worth, a world that gives you glimpse of what hope is and then holds it out as a carrot that dangle in front of you. He’s, as they all are, are trying to reach that carrot. He’s come to the end of his rope. It seems unattainable. It was his ever trying to get to that carrot that drew me to his character. You see the dimmer of light slowly fading from his eyes. Those elements are always challenging to play for an actor, and if you’re able to achieve that it’s very artistically rewarding feeling and that’s what I was growing for. People seem to think I’ve achieved some measure of success in doing it.”
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