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Blake Anderson On ‘Dope,’ Playing A Drug Dealer And Not Cutting His Hair [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]
Blake Anderson stars in festival hit Dope, Rick Famuyiwa‘s coming of age film about an ambitious East L.A. kid named Malcolm, who finds himself thrust into the world of drug-fueled underground parties.
Blake Anderson ‘Dope’ Video Interview
In Dope, Anderson plays Will Sherwood, a dealer who helps Malcolm and his similarly studious pals unload the stash of drugs they come into through the Internet. To play Will, Sherwood found it easy to get into the mindset of a drug dealer.
“My father,” Anderson quipped when asked who he based the seedy character on. “No, actually I’m kidding, but yeah, I kind of just thought of the way someone would deal drugs on the street and then the Internet. It’s easy to incorporate that. It’s part of our everyday lives.”
Overall, acting in Dope didn’t have too many challenges for Anderson, who credits that to the talented actors in the movie’s cast, which includes Shameik Moore, Zoe Kravitz, Kiersey Clemons, Tony Revolori, A$AP Rocky and Rick Fox. However, the script required Anderson to drop a racial epithet, which wasn’t particularly enjoyable for the actor.
“You know I don’t use the “n-word” in my everyday life, so it wasn’t exactly fun to do,” Anderson told uInterview, adding, “But it’s just what’s in the script so it’s just a word. It doesn’t have any power if you don’t give it any power.”
In addition to his acting and comedic chops, Anderson has become known for his mass of brown curly hair. Asked whether or not the myth was true that he had been forced to cut his hair upon his arrival in L.A., Anderson revealed that it was nothing but a myth – though there was that time he worked as pizza delivery guy.
“That’s a Wikipedia rumor. I’ve never cut my hair for anybody or anything,” Anderson told uInterview. “Except for maybe my pizza delivery job because it was a restaurant and they said I had to put my hair in a ponytail so I would clip it up underneath my… It’s a long story, but I’ma keep it growing.”
Dope hits theaters June 19.
Article by Chelsea Regan
My character Will in the movie ‘Dope’ is a way for our main characters to sell the drugs they stumble upon via the Internet.
My father. No, actually I’m kidding, but yeah I kind of just thought of the way someone would deal drugs on the street and then the Internet. It’s easy to incorporate that. It’s part of our everyday lives.
You know I don’t use the “n-word” in my everyday life, so it wasn’t exactly fun to do, but it’s just what’s in the script so it’s just a word. It doesn’t have any power if you don’t give it any power.
Nothing was too challenging just because it was such a fun movie to be a part of and all the actors I was working with were awesome. It’s such a good energy the whole time so there wasn’t anything that felt like “ugh this was hard for me.” If you watch the movie, you’ll see my scenes are pretty fun and comedic so it wasn’t a lot of heavy lifting.
Well, what I think is really cool about ‘Dope’ is it’s about people or kids that are in a situation, in an environment, that tells you what you should be, but they don’t want to be what the rest of society thinks they should be, so it’s kind of about just being yourself and original and not following the path that society sets out for you.
That’s a Wikipedia rumor. I’ve never cut my hair for anybody or anything. Except for maybe my pizza delivery job because it was a restaurant and they said I had to put my hair in a ponytail so I would clip it up underneath my... It’s a long story, but I’ma keep it growing.
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