Michael Luwoye – Bluff City Law

By starrymag | October 21, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

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

A) Recently everything is strictly “Bluff City Law.” We’re living here in Memphis. Everything has been about this show. Before this I finished my run of almost three years of Hamilton in New York this past February. But before that I found out about “Bluff City Law” the week of my final shows. Then, I had about two weeks off and then I went to LA to do the first table read for our first episode of this show. Then, a week or so later we started shooting our pilot. So, everything has been exclusively “Bluff City Law.”

Q) What made you want to be a part of the series “Bluff City Law?”

A) Doing “Hamilton” for the last three years was something that was very unexpected for me. One of the unexpected aspects of that piece was that I hadn’t experienced a balance of personal and professional fulfillment like that in my career to that extent. I’d felt it sometimes before, but not really anything else and I think I knew I didn’t want to do theater immediately after doing the show. So, I kind of had a little bit of hunger as to if I was going to work again because I really did want to take a break for a bit to reassess and process the last three years and all. So, I wanted to take a break and then the audition process happened and I booked this job. Right before I confirmed that I wanted to do it I had a conversation with Dean Georgaris and Michael Aguilar (the co-creators of the show) and that conversation for me was important because of the way they talked about their approach to the show and how they were creating it. There sort of dedication to coming to Memphis and spending time here. Going to the restaurants and speaking to locals. How they had treated the preparation of the show was something that initially attracted me. Then, talking about the character of who Anthony is and who he can become – the willingness and openness to collaborate. They said, “You have our number so if you have any ideas before we start shooting or during the season, anything you think you might want to do, just let us know.” That kind of collaboration was something I wanted to continue to engage in because it was familiar to what I was experiencing with “Hamilton.” So, I was like, “This feels like a nice transition into television for a series regular position.” I had never done that before. So, I was like, “A series regular thing is really big, but there is a familiarity with this sort of collaboration aspect to it. That’s the thing that sort of led me to actually wanting to be on the show.”

Q) How was your character Anthony Little originally described to you?

A) Really just bare bones things about him being with the law firm. They had talked to me about his relationship with Sydney (Caitlin McGee) and how they both went to school together and they both have this competitive edge. They are always trying to out-do each other. Then, really there was an open framework of the things that he could be – like possible episode points and not really anything specific about his history. There were openings for us to define this character together as opposed to, “This is a mandate of who this man is. He is this, this and this. You have to follow this.” There is a lot of openness to that. That was appealing to me because it’s always fun to create and imagine things. Shoot for the mark, miss the mark and try again. They didn’t have him completely developed and that’s something that I loved and that we’re still finding and that we’re still creating and talking about when ever we get the chance to of like, “This is something here.” When ever we shoot it’s like, “What would he do?” And that’s an ongoing conversation.

Q) Was there something then that you added to the role that wasn’t in the initial breakdown?

A) I think that there are more things internally that I think about. I know that there are points that we talked about episode-wise that we didn’t shoot. So, we’ve completely opened it up in that way. But with the scenes that we have done and the episodes that we’ve done, it’s more internal work that hasn’t been shown in all the episodes yet. That is kind of a private treasure chest that an actor has they take on from. [laughs] So, nothing that I can say publicly. Just little things for myself like nicknames, histories and interactions between families.

Q) Talk about working with iconic actor Jimmy Smits.

A) [laughs] I laugh when I hear that a little bit just because I can recognize him being a veteran in this business and all that stuff, but I kind of don’t’ see him that way personally. We cross paths a couple of years ago and I didn’t grow up with a lot of his work. Like, his resume didn’t proceed him for me. I kind of just met him and then we happened to be working on the show together. And now you see the specificity of how he wants it and stuff like that. It’s excellent and it’s very incredible. Something that has kind of reoccurred in my career a lot – I’ll either meet people or work with people who have their storied careers and I am either obvious to it or ignorant of it. Then, the process itself of working with them is very fulfilling and incredible in its own right without the resume sort of attached to it. He’s so dedicated to finding an honest essence for scenes and to try to create the best story that can be told. That’s something that’s very inspiring for me. Jimmy, he’s a part of the text chain.

Q) So far, we have seen some incredible themes and political topics already explored. What are some others that the show will focus on?

A) I think it’s safe to say (I hope it is) that a lot of our cases that are dealing with personal development are things that you see on the news. We will have something about the opioid crisis coming soon. We already had something that touched on prisoners’ rights. Just things in that area that are kind of ripped from the headlines, but also things that are from headlines that you probably never heard of. The case we did in episode 3 that my character and Sydney were a part of – I don’t’ know if that happened in America or in another country, but just it was something about an older gentleman who was arguing about his age with dating sites. That was something that happened in real life, but I can’t remember if that was a domestic or international case.

Q) Other than Elijah, will we be seeing you team up with any of the other characters more this season?

A) We had some stuff with Jake (Barry Sloane) and there is something coming soon with Brianna and I later on. We’re slowly all mixing together. Jane Atkinson and I will be having some interactions. Anthony and Della (Jayne Atikinson) will be together. Everybody is going to be interacting throughout the season.

Q) What have been some of your favorite behind the scenes or onscreen moments from filming the show?

A) We goof around all the time on set. [laughs] It’s a little bit of a riot, but we’re all inside of a law firm and we’re in a room discussing cases. So, I have to laugh myself every time we’re in the room and it’s a very serious scene. The second the cameras go off, though, we’re probably joking about something or talking about some article we read or we’re singing some song together. But we all have this light banter with each other that has been really great throughout the season. Favorite scenes for myself? I treat this like school, so watching everybody work has been really great. Just the way the set up is when I’m not shooting and watching how everybody else shoots has been great, personally. I had a lot of fun researching and working on last week’s episode. Working on that text and working on that monologue and doing take after take of the courtroom scenes, that is something that is always fun for me.

Q) How do you shake off a long day of shooting?

A) [laughs] I will come home and play video games or watch “King of the Hill” or “Bob’s Burgers,” something that is completely opposite of that. Naps are great. I journal, I meditate and read. Anything that can take my mind off of it if it’s too intense. Sometimes you need to attach yourself to the work, but also just a healthy practice of detachment as well. Knowing that this is a fiction in a way. I’m not Anthony Little so it’s keeping that distance as much as I can. Knowing that it is something that I can put on, get involved in this case and do the research to get into it and then literally having to walk away from it when I need to. Because it can get very heavy and intense and taking that on with you is something that I sort of fell into earlier in my career – being very attached to things. Just because you get very emotionally involved and there may be something that you are very passionate about. Just learning how to put the right amount of yourself into it and then taking yourself away. But, also, nonsense TV helps as well.

Q) What do you think it is about the show “Bluff City Law” that has made it a fast fan favorite?

A) I think that the fact that it is in Memphis helps a lot. When you do a law show, a lot of times that is paired with law enforcement and criminal law. I don’t think that’s something you don’t expect with this city, but also this show is centered around civil law. It taps into sort of uncharted territory, at least for me. Off the top of my head, I don’t remember seeing a lot of civil law shows in other cities on network television. I think the fanbase is there because a lot of people tune into NBC. A lot of people love what comes out of the network. But I just don’t see shows like this and I think we’re in a place where that is exciting to see that content. I think we’re very oversaturated with material that comes out streaming websites, channels and stuff like that – internet websites, YouTube and everything. Things that kind of fall into the Venn diagram. It is something that is unexpected. It’s just new. I don’t’ know a lot of things that are like “Bluff City Law” and how we’re tackling things. Especially right out of the get, we’re tackling pretty intense subjects. I read a comment about the episode and someone wanted to turn away because they weren’t familiar with something coming at you that way. But they continue to watch it because although it might be a little pretentious and makes you slightly uncomfortable, people are leaning into that. That’s great because it’s something that is happening in the world and will happen in peoples’ lives. It’s not just the news story, itself, being ripped from the headlines. It’s personally affected you and how great is that to see it personally reflected on your television screen? It is something that is actually showing your environment and actually showing your life story.

Q) Do you have any plans to return to the theater in the near future?

A) Sometime in the future, yes. I mean, Hamilton was just a feast for me. To do that for as long as I did and be as invested in it as I was…I am fulfilled with the time that I spend on “Bluff City Law.” I’m not immediately looking into going into theater right now. If the right project were to come along, I’d totally be game for it. I left the show with the intention to not do theater for a while. Then, I was seeing some shows in New York and felt that itch again. At some point…It’s not something I’m completely casting out of my life. I would like some time away from it, just to process in some increments what I experienced. There is nothing in the works right now, but soon I would rather be a part of another production, whether it is new or I can support it by joining a production that is already going on.

Q) What did it mean to you to be a part of such a groundbreaking theater production?

A) What was important for me was just articulating the story that didn’t feel like you were at school. That show, again…Talking about the whole “finding the center of a Venn diagram,” that show (for me) brought elements that should not have gone together in any capacity in modern theater. Rather, traditional theater. Musical theater, hip hop and history – those three things. I remember hearing before I did the show (Lin and other people saying), “This is a terrible idea. This shouldn’t work – those three things coming together. It is a risk and then really telling a story with those things that doesn’t follow the same sort of style that schooled us.” I think people get turned off about hearing about history in school, just the way it is treated. It’s sort of like a memory-based thing with the tests and all that sort of thing. It just doesn’t really engage us. Having to tell a story on stage every night in a human way that doesn’t feel like you’re sitting in a sit getting this deluge of information was important for me because told right and really taking care of the balancing act between history, theater and especially rap (told right) can make someone relate to a story that wouldn’t not expect, which is something I hope we can do with “Bluff City Law.” You might not know what this show is, but if you watch and say, “I see myself in that” or “I see someone I know in that and can relate to that,” I think that’s a special moment in any sort of medium (art especially) is really, really great. It was instilled in me that I was learning how to express that through Hamilton – To treat this as a human story as opposed to a historical story.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do?

A) Gosh, thanks! [laughs] I think I am just so grateful for it. I talk about it often, acting wasn’t my first choice of a career. I didn’t really have a choice of a career or what I wanted to be when I grew up. So, acting kind of fell into my lap. The success has been very, very incredible. It’s been outside anything I could have imagined, but at the same time it’s always felt like a bonus. So, any time anybody is supporting me or thinks about the work I’m a part of or engages with that, then there really aren’t the right articulated words. I don’t know what to say about that because it’s very special to me. It kind of makes me stutter because of how much I feel about it. Just a grand sweeping thank you more than anything else. Please continue to engage with the things that I’m a part of.