This, for example: “There are negative portrayals and perpetuations of the black experience — and there are enough of those,” Parker told BuzzFeed News.
Nate Parker while promoting Beyond the Lights on Oct. 6, 2014, in Los Angeles.
David Buchan / Getty Images for Westfield
Nate Parker, star of the upcoming movie Beyond the Lights , knows a thing or two about fighting for what's important to him. The measuring stick for Parker, who turns 35 this month, is that a role has to break away from the mold of what we might normally see black male actors take on over and over again.
And Kaz Nicol, his character in Beyond the Lights, which opens Friday, does exactly that. Kaz is the classic good-guy cop who wants to make a difference. And he's also the love interest of pop star Noni Jean (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), acting as her savior and, ultimately, her biggest supporter.
"I think that everyone has a reason to choose the path. And for me, my choices are motivated by creating balance in the field," Parker told to BuzzFeed News during a phone interview. "Obviously there are stereotypes — there are negative portrayals and perpetuations of the black experience — and there are enough of those. I made a decision very early in my career that I would not do any film that would denigrate the sacrifices of people that came before me. And I don't have to. It's like Paul Roberson did something for Sidney Poitier, Sidney Poitier did something for Denzel Washington, Denzel Washington has done something for me and … it's blasphemous for me to backtrack or to dismantle the structure they have fought so hard to build."
Nate Parker stars in Beyond the Lights.
Suzanne Tenner/Relativity Media
But making that choice comes with sacrifice, Parker admitted with a laugh. He's married and has four daughters, but he says it's been relatively easy to stick to his guns. And his budget.
"I think that Huey Newton said, 'A revolutionary must first realize that he's doomed.' And I think looking at the talent, looking at the trajectory of young films and filmmaking that represent us, if I were to try to fit myself into that mold, I would be feeding that negative perpetuation by picking something that I didn't think was responsible. So it's a very, very, very conscious effort for me, but it comes at a cost," Parker said. "I don't make five movies a year. But I'm not interested in making five movies a year. I make one movie a year or two movies a year, and then I spend the rest of the time with my family. I make my films, they feed me and my family and they improve the images of my people, and then in the meantime, I live within my means so I don't have to have anyone over my back, pressuring me to do something I don't want to do."
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