Hayley Norman – Top Five

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) Right now I am focusing on my movie Top Five.

Q) Please tell us the premise for Top Five and about your character.

A) It’s about Chris Rock. It’s not autobiographic from his life as a comedian, but there are some elements he draws from his career. It chronicles a comedian and their rise to fame with the things they have to deal with and the crazy experiences along the way. In the movie are flashback scenes where you see what made him the person he is today and I have a very crazy role that has to do with his past. My scenes are with Chris and Cedric the Entertainer. I don’t want to say too much about what my part is because it would be giving away too much. it’s definitely crazy and the wildest part of the movie.

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) We did get to do a lot of improv, which was a lot of fun. I have studied it at UCB and I do improv in a troupe. So, getting a chance to improvise with Chris Rock and Cedric was obviously a dream come true for me. Some of the things I did improvise did make it into the movie.

Q) Did the cast chemistry come naturally or did it take some time to develop?

A) I think it all came pretty naturally. I had worked with Cedric The Entertainer before. I was on his show “The Soul Man.” He and I already had a relationship so getting to reunite with him was great. He’s so professional and so funny. I think his character in Top Five is unlike anyone has seen him before. Seeing him as such a different character was so fun. This was my first time working with Chris and because he was the director, but also is an actor he knows how to talk to his actors and get the best performances. I think we just stepped into what was already a well oiled machine and did our work. It was awesome!

Q) What guidance did Chris Rock give you as a director?

A) He just let us have fun and we got to improvise things. We rehearsed maybe a little bit more than another director would. He just wanted us to enter the room naturally and be in this room as our characters. Having someone who is really open to that and have a discussion with you about the blocking and the decisions were being made was great. He also gave us suggestions for deliveries or maybe a different way to think about a certain line or scene. Obviously, we just respect him so much that anything he brings to the table is always gold.

Q) What have you taken away from working on the film?

A) It’s just how amazing and surprising life can really be. I shot this movie last year before Paramount decided to pick it up and I was excited about it because there was a great cast involved, but the response to the film has been more than any of us expected. That’s a great feeling! I’ve done other big studio films and you never know how they will be received. Often times there are mixed reviews and sometimes the movie doesn’t perform the way you want to it, but Top Five has been receiving nothing but rave reviews. It went to the Toronto Film Festival and Paramount bought it. Paramount has just put so much more into it since then and Jay-Z and Kanye West came on as producers. Even the screenings have an amazing atmosphere. I think just allowing myself to be surprised the amazing things that happen in this world and in our business is always exciting.

Q) Is there anything else about the movie that you want to be sure to share with fans?

A) It’s a really fun movie. It’s one of the funniest comedies that has come out in a long time and also really touching. It chronicles a comedian, but there are definitely human elements that everybody will be able to connect to. I’m excited for people to see my transformation for this movie. Looking at the posters and billboards is so crazy and so interesting to see the people who recognize me and those who are surprised. Getting to transform so much physically for a role has been really exciting because so often we are just appearing looking as ourselves. That’s great, but especially being in a cast that is so “SNL” heavy where I am playing a real character that is so different than I am and looks so different than I look has been really interesting.