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Interview: Affion Crockett

"I like that tie," Affion Crockett said, complimenting my fashion choice for the morning, and his words are well-received. Affion's a really nice guy— funny, friendly, very sharp, and intelligent. He also plays a complete asshole in Soul Men. It shows his versatility as an actor to take on a role like the drug-dealing, wannabe-rapper Lester and execute the role so convincingly. Regarding Affion's transformation into the rhyme-spitting dope dealer, director Malcolm Lee comments, "Affion is extremely talented. He's a very funny guy. He improvised on the lyrics that were written into the script for his rap song. He made all the tracks himself. It was really cool. The purpose of that scene in particular was to show that a lot of today's young artists just usurp music from the giants of the music industry and they don't even pay much respect or know what they're doing. They're just like, 'Dude, that's phat! I'm taking that. That's going to be hot right there.' The fact that Louis and Floyd clobber him in the end is great. [Laughs] They're real men, he's a fake man."

Affion took some time to talk to ARTISTdirect.com about Soul Men, rapping, why Eugene Levy rules, and much more in this interview.

What was it like working with this group of actors and director Malcolm Lee?

I'm a freestyle guy. I'm an improv guy. Malcolm lets me flow. At the same time, I'm up against Sam Jackson who likes to stick to the script. We found a happy medium, though. The beautiful thing is Sam's such a pro that even though he's sticking to the structure, he gave me some lines every now and then. He'd help me to add punches. He'd say, "When I say this, you say this, and it'll be funny." He gave me certain punch lines based on when he said something. You can't go completely off-book. That's where Malcolm would come in and say, "We need to get back to the story." Bernie [Mac] and I were completely off-the-cuff. The scene where he and I are arguing and trading blows in the studio was really just us going at it. That's where the balance comes in. In Soul Men and in his standup, Bernie was pretty much the same. He was raw. He was going to give it to you how he felt it. Both show him being unapologetic for who he is. That's the balance. He gave it to you in this movie. He was very physical. He went back to being raw. He dropped the F-bomb a lot. [Laughs]

It's interesting because you play the young "badass" character, and you're up against Sam Jackson playing the older, wiser "badass." It feels real.

Yeah, for me it was a blessing because Bernie and Sam never looked at me [like], "Here's this young guy coming into the mix." They never treated me as anything less. They were like, "Yo, come on in. Let's make this whole thing work. It's a team effort, and we're going to make it pop!" They enabled me to be the young badass that I was. Giving up their veteran status, they left it at the door and said, "Look, we're going to all play ball here."

There's another layer to your character Lester because he's got his own musical aspirations. Do you have similar musical aspirations as well?

Yeah, I rap. I produce music—not so much that I want to chase the career because I love acting. Acting is my hustle, and that's my main goal. It was great when I saw that Lester was an aspiring rapper because I knew exactly where to go with the character. I knew about the makeshift studios. I knew about putting a sock over the microphone instead of having a pop screen in front of it. I knew about all of that. [Laughs] So it made it easier for me.

It makes the character more complex.

Yeah, exactly! There's definitely more to him. In a perfect world, I'm sure Lester would probably be on the right path. But you know, sometimes in a small town it's very boring. Dudes start trying to find other ways to entertain themselves, whether it's selling drugs, getting involved with guns, or whatever it is. I feel like Lester fell into the trap.

It was interesting to see that Lester jacked The Real Deal's bass line as well.

Right! That's a true statement or reflection of hip-hop versus the '70s and the '60s. That's pretty much what hip-hop was built on: sampling records and rapping over them.

Your rap had a little bit of a Wu-Tang Clan feel to it.

Ya think? It was more like Hustle and Flow. That was a Malcolm beat. He said, "I want this guy to have that Hustle and Flow moment.

What was Bernie like?

I watched Bernie take time out for whomever, whenever. [When] it was four in the morning on set and people would run up and say, "Bernie, can we get this autograph or picture?" he always did it. I learned to never make excuses for why I don't feel like doing something for the fans because Bernie made it really clear that the fans are the ones that make you. That specific lesson is one thing that I will carry and display forever.

Because you were fan of Bernie and Sam, too, it's a good circle.

Of course, and Bernie never denied me when I asked him for something. So why in turn would I do that to someone else? Watching him do it, walk around and shake hands with people in the street or whatever it was, he was just that guy.

Was it tough to act wearing that cast?

[Laughs] Nah, that's what I do! I love physical comedy. It just took me back to when I was a kid watching Eugene Levy in the movie Splash. He ended up getting beat up and turned around, while trying to steal this mermaid. So if he could do it, I could definitely do it. I am the Eugene Levy of Soul Men. [Laughs] Quote that, print it!

—Rick Florino
11.07.08