{"id":207149,"date":"2019-03-27T03:13:11","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T07:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=207149"},"modified":"2019-03-27T03:13:11","modified_gmt":"2019-03-27T07:13:11","slug":"with-black-panther-and-now-us-winston-duke-is-on-a-roll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/03\/27\/with-black-panther-and-now-us-winston-duke-is-on-a-roll\/","title":{"rendered":"With ‘Black Panther’ and now ‘Us,’ Winston Duke is on a roll"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For Duke, it meant looking for something completely different. The Tobago-born, U.S.-raised Yale master of fine arts grad had been toiling in television for years to get this sort of chance, and he was not going to allow anyone to pigeonhole him. (File Photo<\/a>: @winstoncduke\/Instagram<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2013 Winston Duke went from relative obscurity to being a household name with his first film and he wasn’t even the lead, or second or third performer listed for that matter. That the first film in question was \u201cBlack Panther\u201d didn’t hurt, but that Duke still managed to stand out as rival Wakandan leader M’Baku amid such star power and spectacle is all the more impressive.<\/p>\n

But how do you follow that kind of breakout? For Duke, it meant looking for something completely different. The Tobago-born, U.S.-raised Yale master of fine arts grad had been toiling in television for years to get this sort of chance, and he was not going to allow anyone to pigeonhole him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was absolutely nothing but potential at that point,\u201d Duke, 32, said of his raised profile following \u201cBlack Panther.\u201d \u201cI was really itching for another job. I wanted something that would test me but not be the same as how I was represented in ‘Black Panther.’ …I know the propensity for saying, ‘Oh he’s this kind of action guy. He’s this one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That’s when he read the script for \u201cUs,\u201d Jordan Peele’s follow-up to \u201cGet Out,\u201d about a family who encounters murderous doppelgangers, and he knew it was the perfect fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, ‘Oh my goodness, this is everything,\u201d’ Duke said.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t just that he’d be getting to show a different side of himself as an actor. He’d actually be playing two roles, the all-American every-dad Gabe Wilson and his doppelganger Abraham. Plus, he’d be getting to work with Peele, who was hot off of \u201cGet Out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWinston was on this perfect level,\u201d Peele said. \u201cHe was by no means an unknown actor, but the range that he has was untapped, at least in how we knew him. That presented this opportunity to continue to break his talent on the world in a perfect way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenge of playing two roles got Duke’s mind spinning about big themes of privilege, duality, the patriarchy and America.<\/p>\n

\u201cGabe is the perfect product of the American dream. He probably believes that if you work hard enough you can get anything. You can pull yourself up by your bootstraps and work hard. He’s that guy,\u201d Duke said. \u201cAbraham is the American nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duke is a formidable presence on screen and off, clocking in at around 6’5\u201d. That physicality helped inform both the brute intimidation of playing someone like Abraham and the comedic side of Gabe, although Peele said sometimes that came unintentionally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some laughs where he’s being himself and I don’t think he realized how funny it was,\u201d Peele said. \u201cBest example is when he gets into this little bed in one scene and it lasts about 30 seconds of him just getting ready, he thinks he’s going to get some. And the first time he did it I was just cracking up. The bed was creaking and he’s way too big for it. I don’t think he was trying to be funny, but I’m like, ‘Dude, this is the best, do it even longer. Do it more.\u201d’<\/p>\n

Gabe Wilson has a certain \u201csitcom dad\u201d energy to him that Duke said was inspired by characters like Carl Winslow of \u201cFamily Matters\u201d and Homer Simpson. He also suspects Peele wrote a bit of himself into the character. But the director and his star have differing opinions on that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe claims that a lot was based on me,\u201d Peele said. \u201cBut I can tell you a lot of it is based on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ride has been overwhelming for Duke at times. In April, he’ll reprise his \u201cBlack Panther\u201d role in \u201cAvengers: Endgame,\u201d and he’s also wrapped the Peter Berg film \u201cWonderland\u201d in which he stars opposite Mark Wahlberg.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been a lot, a lot of things changing. Almost every interaction is changing and it’s happening so fast,\u201d Duke said. \u201cI kind of just saw ‘Black Panther,’ in my opinion, for the first time three weeks ago as a fan. I watched it on a plane, on someone else’s screen in front of me on mute, and I of course knew all the lines. And watching it on mute, mouthing all the lines, I thought, ‘This is a really good movie.’ I finally got to watch it again the way I would as just any other non-participant and it was great. I don’t get to consume the movies I’m in in the same way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been really a joy,\u201d he added. \u201cIt’s been taxing at times but it’s good to remain grounded and remember why you’re doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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