“Fast Five” opens in theaters on Friday, April 29th and it’s pure perfection. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, The Rock and Tyrese come together for arguably the best movie in the series. The film opens up with an heart pounding break-out scene and is filled with car chases, explosions and funny dialogue.
We caught up with Tyrese at Le Parker Meridien Hotel for an exclusive chat with him and found out all the secrets to “Fast Five,” as well as more about his long travelled road to success.
Check out the interview below and be sure to go see “Fast Five” in theaters everywhere Friday, April 29th 2011.
GlobalGrind: Tyrese, you had some of the best lines in the movie, were there any particular moments you remember looking back at in the film, to check out your work?
Tyrese: To be honest, it was only so many moments I remember checking out playback while we were on the set. Because sometimes when you look at playback too much, you’ll find yourself trying to duplicate some magic that has just been captured. It was also a part of my own strategy. I got a deep voice, but Vin Deisel’s voice is a little deeper, I got muscles but the Rock Johnson’s muscles are a little bigger. I’m not going to try to compete with that, I’m just going to try to bring whatever energy I can and tap into my Roman Pierce energy and have it be consistent with who I was in “2 Fast 2 Furious.”
What did you guys do off set and what was the best part about filming in Brazil?
We were praying, we started holding hands by the water, ‘Let the Lord use you’ (Laughs). We were having fun man! Brazil, every man that is not married or engaged can go out and have the time of their life. I consider Brazil man heaven. It’s a beautiful country, I’ve never seen one woman that was out of shape.
There were a lot of big names attached to this film, did you have a moment when you had to step up your game?
I had to step up my game throughout the movie, imagine doing a scene with that many people, with all levels of star power. I can’t say that I was challenged, but I think once you get a sense of people’s personalities you’re able to operate within that. I can’t crack the same jokes with Vin Diesel that I can with Paul Walker, I can’t do the same with Rock Johnson, I can’t do the same with ‘Cris. You just use your own instincts and feel people out so you can operate within what you know.
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Did you get to take out any of the cars and open them up?
Absolutely, a few of them. I got to take out a police car. To be in the front seat of a police car is exciting.
Who else besides yourself was kind of a jokster on the set?
It was me (Laughs). You’ll see, when the DVD comes out and you got the behind the scenes footage, you’ll see. That’s what it was about.
What was the most challenging stunt for you? What scene blew you away the most?
Honestly, the scenes that blew me away the most, I wasn’t in them. I was like a little kid, you know, all ‘Oooh!’ I don’t know how it was possible because I ended up shooting both “Transformers 3” and “Fast Five” at the same time over 6 months. And I was writing my book. I finished my book.
Who helped motivate you to do so much?
To be honest, I love what I do. I have a real passion for this. I’m from the bottom of the bottom and it’s just unreal. I never want to get used to this. When you’re in the hood, man, before we started making the money we’re now making, you just remember being hungry, stuck, that vulnerable feeling of, ‘Man, where am I gonna get this, how am I gonna get that.’ It’s just that feeling that never goes away. Now that I’ve been exposed to this life and what levels of playing fields there are, they should’ve never showed me this shit!
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You’ve accomplished so much, what keeps you grounded?
I don’t drink or smoke, you’ll never catch me high, ever. I don’t care who you are, what you’re worth, there’s a lot of people sacrificing their sexuality, their spirituality and all the above to get to what they consider the next level. I don’t want it. If I gotta go there, cult, Illuminati, devil worshipping. You’ve heard the rumors of all this stuff that’s been floating around. I don’t want it if God is not in it. So my humility and my feelings and my thoughts come from recognizing where my blessings come from.
You’ve come so far in life and your career, what changed your life?
Information. One of the quotes that really shook my life came from my mentor and good friend Will Smith. He said, ‘You can often tell how far your life and career will go based on the 5 people you spend the most time with.’ I added to that and said, ‘So, if you have a problem with your life, you should have a problem with the people in your life.’ So that was it.
I no longer wanted to be on the receiving end of my choices. I was the victim in my own house because these are the people I invited into my house, these are the people I surrounded myself with. Nobody put a gun up to my head and said, ‘That’s your business manager! That’s your agent!’ So with “Fast Five,” there was a lot of exchange. I mean, I can’t tell you how long I had with Vin Diesel in his trailer, chopping it up, trying to get to the next level in my career. It’s perception and reality. Just because you’re in these mega movies, don’t mean you’re making those mega bucks. So it’s like at this point, it’s just about information.
