Columbus Short Talks Cadillac Records & Paparazzi

Photography by Sam Comen

One of our most anticipated movies of the year, Cadillac Records'a musical biopic about the epochal music label Chess Records'hits theaters today. And we haven’t been anticipating it just because it’s written and directed by Darnell Martin (if you didn’t know, she was the first African American female director to have a major movie studio back her film), that’s just an added bonus. We’re also amped because the cast is ridiculous'Adrian Brody as Leonard Chess, Beyonce as Etta James, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Mos Def as Chuck Berry and relative newcomer Columbus Short as Little Walter. Smells like a banger to us.

We profiled Columbus Short in our December/January issue’s “Upstarts” column because we think out of all the young dudes coming up in the game, there’s a good chance he’ll do some damage. Unlike most young gunners, he’s shying away from the easy money and meticulously picking his roles (hey, Stomp The Yard > You Got Served). In this uncut version of the interview, Short gives his thoughts on Tyler Perry movies, his future projects and why he’s not trying to wind up like Brandon Routh. Who? Exactly!

Interview By Damien Scott

Complex: Many people don’t know this, but you were in Stomp. How did that come about?

Columbus Short: Well basically, when I was a kid, my mom took me to a McDonald’s commercial and I just froze up, man. I got shy. I wasn't ready for it at the time. So she waited till I got a little older and when I was 10, I started auditioning again and it was just a passion. But then I moved to Orange County and then when I went to high school, I started getting into musicals and Broadway and that became a passion. So I joined the cast of Stomp.

Complex: What’s been your favorite movie to be in so far?

CS: Cadillac Records by far. I did that with Beyoncé, Jeffrey Wright, Adrian Brody, and it was the most artistic fulfilling experience ever. It’s why I signed up to be an actor. And it isn't a huge movie. It’s very much a critically acclaimed movie and that's what its about. It’s not always about the money. It was a fantastic, wonderful experience.

Complex: I don’t know, any movie with Beyoncé, Jeffrey Wright and Adrian Brody is pretty huge. Let’s talk about it'you play Little Walter. How did you prepare for that role?

CS: Lawrence Fishburne got me his dialect coach and I started going to a dialect coach, ’cause Little Walter was Cajun. He spoke French from the Bayou and I started learning how to play the harmonica. So I was doing that, I lost 25 pounds and immersed myself in blues.

Complex: I’ve read that you want to bring back the films that portray classy, well-to-do black families. There’s no doubt that there needs to be more of them. Are those the types of films you want to do the most?

CS: I see them as viable in the market place. Not necessarily that I want to do those films. Whatever genre of film it is there should be an expectation of classiness and artistic merit to every project. When you say you like Cloverfield, it’s a high end Godzilla movie, but there was something artistic about it and interesting and different. When you think about movies like This Christmas, it could’ve been more of a Tyler Perry, Madea movie, like how we always see black people represented. But it was a little classier, even in the way it was shot, a little more artistic. A higher level of writing.

Complex: You have your own production company, so I’m guessing those are the type of films you’ll be cranking out. What are y’all working on?

CS: Well we have a couple of projects coming out. One of them is called 40 Thieves, which is about the first black crime syndicate in Harlem in the 1970s. Another film is a City of God-type of film. Other thought provoking, fresh films.

Complex: What role do you play in the company? Do you do any writing, or do you just oversee the projects?

CS: I do a lot of writing. I wrote one script like 3 years ago. It's been trying to get made for a while and its basically about a bunch of kids who take their high school hostage, but our production kind of got shut down when the Virginia Tech thing happened. It was just bad timing. So that was the last script I wrote and I've been working so much that I haven't gotten a lot of chance to write too much so I've been producing, acting and developing.

Complex: There was that rumor going around that you turned down the role of Green Lantern. Superhero movies are money in the bank, why not do it?

CS: Yeah, well I feel like there's a lot of other good looks without doing the superhero movie. Like Shia Labeouf, as big as he is, he got the opportunity coming from a movie like Distrubia. After the success of Transformers, he gained a huge audience, but I feel like his success is a slow gradual build. Like look at Brandon Routh, who played Superman. Where's Brandon Routh? You know what I mean? I’d rather take the slow route with building a fan base as opposed to a billion people seeing your movie and being like, “That movie sucked, but it made $200 million dollars.” Great. I'd rather be in a $10 million dollar movie that makes 90 and have more success. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to be doing these big $100 million box office movies, I just want to build a stronger foundation as a credible actor so that people will trust my decision making when I do take those risks.

Complex: There was also a rumor that you were getting it in with Britney Spears while you were choreographing for her. You were all over the gossip mags.

CS: Yeah, that was a learning experience right there.

Complex: Is that why you’re not all over Hollywood now, partying with starlets?

CS: It put things into perspective. You don't want to be chased by people with a camera for no reason. Well, some people do, but I didn't like how my friend Kate Beckinsale had people waiting for her at the bottom of the hill for her to leave. She can't even go to the grocery store and do regular business without people following her. It's kind of obnoxious. But we singed up for it. I know I want to keep anonymity as long as I can.

Complex: It seems, with the ability to dance and act, that you could be more of an old fashioned entertainer.

CS: Absolutely, that's what I'm bred for. At the school I went to they were breeding a bunch of beasts. All over at Julliard schools and performing art schools they breed that. It’s hard to find that in the Hollywood business. But I want to bring that level of expertise to Hollywood. Because there’s a difference between a quality actor and a movie star. Gene Kelly was an anomaly. Hopefully we can find some more guys out there like that

Complex: What does the future hold for you?

CS: I feel like there's nobody after Will Smith and nobody after Denzel Washington and I've had two wonderful blueprints to witness and to admire and to aspire for. So I'd love to be the perfect combination of the two.