Omar Miller is a Fucking Giant, part 1

JB is based off of real-life Syracuse lineman, a man whose story flies a little under the radar. Who was he, and what did playing him on screen mean for you?

I felt this responsibility to make this relationship [to my character] very real, because my character, Jack Buckley, is based on a real man named John Brown. He went to the NFL. He was Ernie Davis’ best friend, to the point where he actually named his son Ernie Davis Brown, who I met out in Syracuse.

Being a black man, how do you feel being a part of two movies with strong roles on screen?

I think it’s essential for the youth of America to see. I think that art can change the world; it has in the past. I think that to play characters that don’t have to be emasculated in any way is an honor and it should happen more frequently. Unfortunately it doesn’t, but when given this opportunity I wanted to take full advantage; so in both films I gave it my all, and I tried to bring as much as I could to stand tall in these roles as I do in my day-to-day life, and show that: you know what? There were dignified individuals in the face of struggle and civil injustice and a difficult, racist period.

This is a time period that the current generation knows only through story. What was most powerful about recreating that time for this film?

The struggle man, the struggle and the pain of being treated as less than, or being thought of as less than a man – for both films. And I think that the mental fortitude that was necessary for individuals to keep a cool head in the face of that sort of ugly, demonic, racism is to be applauded, and each and every story deserves to be told. And for every person that goes to see this story, that's another step farther away that we will make sure that we never return or never allow anyone in our society to be treated with such importance that can be so divisive and ultimately ends up being so transparent and so non-important.

You can't forget your history.

Unfortunately you can forget your history, and that's the thing. That's why it's important for films like St. Anna, and The Express to be made, because you know what? There are kids out there who will see the film who didn't know about a time period when the lunch counters were segregated, or when people were attacked by dogs for a peaceful march. Or when John Kennedy stepped up to the plate and helped sign into law the Civil Rights act – I think it was John Kennedy, it might have been Lyndon Johnson –

It was Lyndon Johnson.

Yeah, but John Kennedy was a major asset, as the leader of the country, to the Civil Rights movement. And it takes all types; it takes all types to get over the hump.

Keeping this nonpartisan, what changes to this country are you looking forward to come November? Whatever happens, it's gonna be a first; it's gonna be big.

I look forward to getting young people to vote. Young people, I think, systematically have been left out of the voting process. It's your own choice every time you choose not to register, and not to vote, but I think there's an element of society that wants older members of society to vote, although the country will belong to young people sooner than it will to those who are older and passing. I think that if young people can become politically active – as politically active as they are in pop culture – if young people can be as concerned with politics as they can be with fame or fortune, then the country can become a better place, and a more informed place, and in turn change the world. For me, I hope to turn the beat around in November, and it starts with each and every person casting their vote.

In terms of your own career direction, you've written for the stage, for film, and for TV, what kinds of directions do you want to take the medium? Which direction do you want to see it go?

I hope to see more. I hope to be a part of a rebirth of a manly cool – a 70s type filmmaking in an honest, and gritty, brutal sense; a movement. I think that other young people I've gotten to work with are also interested in the same thing, so I think that I, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Derek Luke, Rob Brown, all of these guys are interested in creating material that is admirable, yet real. It can be a social commentary, yet at the same time can be funny, and at the same time it can have an effect, so when you leave the movie it's not something you can just flush out. Art doesn't have to be a part of the society of instant gratification we've become so addicted to. We can digest a piece of art and say, 'wow, that movie changed my life!' I would love to see Hollywood make more movies. I would love more diverse films. I'd love to see more people going to the theater to see and support plays. And I would love to see, in the black community especially, quality being supported, instead of "cool." It takes you a while to understand that quality is cool, instead of whatever's popular.

continued in part 2