Alicia Keys on the Appeal of Smokin' Aces and Tackling Her First Role in a Feature Film: Keys chose to go after a role that’s the polar opposite of her public personality for her film debut. Instead of playing in a cute romantic comedy, Keys wanted her first film to be something completely different from the norm.
“That was obviously one of my most important things,” explained Keys. “I did not want to play a character that was a reflection of who I am. I also wanted my first film to be something where I was surrounded by an amazing cast. This fit that criteria to the fullest. I wanted to do something that was completely unexpected, totally out of the box, something that would blow people's minds - that the last thing on the planet earth that they would ever think I would do would be. This met that criteria as well. It was very exciting and it totally took me out of my element and out of my comfort zone completely. It challenged me in a way that was very rewarding for me.”
On Learning Something from Acting: Both artists believe their acting experience on Smokin' Aces will have an impact on their music. Common said, “For me I just learned to be a freer artist. I think that it made me more comfortable with myself, actually acting, because I started getting more in tune with [myself], by doing roles or even just being in a class and being around people. That gave me a certain confidence and I started digging into parts of myself that I had probably ignored and don't really get to express, because Common is an artist that is conscious and is aware and is trying to put a positive energy to the world. So, me being able to be acting and doing other things has opened me as an artist, and I think even more from a visual standpoint, too, as far as writing goes.”
Keys added, “I felt that I rediscovered how tremendously close the two worlds are. I grew up in the theater. My mother is an actress. I was always around the world of acting and theater. I was always amazed the way that people would come in looking one way and transform completely to the point where I couldn't recognize their language and their accent, the way they looked and their hair and their faces even changed in becoming so inside of the character. I think that I reconnected to the way that that affects me so much when I see a film that moves me in one way or another, either angers me or makes me feel good or saddens me – whatever – and how that connects so much to what I do as an artist as well. The two are very close together in regards to drawing on your life experience, drawing on something that you understand and transforming it into something that you give to the world or give out in another way. So, for me, it actually confirmed how close they are for me.”
Tackling a Very Violent Character: Keys definitely kicks a little butt as a female assassin with attitude to spare. Keys explained how she got into this particular character, both physically and mentally: “There was much work that went into, tremendous work that went into developing Georgia in regard to the acting and digging into her. I almost called it – when I was with my coach – I almost called it therapy for me because she dug things out of me as a human being where I was like, 'Wow.' But I knew that if I didn't or wasn't able to address them there in that room with her, then I would never be able to address them there on that set. So that was intense work for me to do.
I physically worked out tremendously. That was intense work for me to do. Our gun training was extensive to the point that my hands were cut and bleeding and it hurt very badly. But these were all things that were a part of developing Georgia, to discussing with Joe [Carnahan] and Taraji [P Henson] in a private way of what Georgia's story was. Where did she come from, what her life had been like that, and why did she feel that this was what she had to do and her only option? What it was that drove her to this? What was it about my relationship with men as Georgia that would make me feel these feelings? So many just deep discoveries and things that went into pulling Georgia out of my understanding of who I wanted her to be.”
Does Acting Provide Anything Music Doesn’t?: “I personally feel that acting is not so totally different from singing and being a musician,” answered Keys. “My feeling is that because the way that I write a song, it's a memory. It's a moment in my life, and three years later when I'm on stage singing that same song, I have to recall what it was about that moment in my life that made it real for me and bring that back to the moment on stage to make it real for you. To me, that is the same technique that I use in a very basic way for acting as well. I find that they're very similar for me, which is why it's not such a stretch, not such a leap.
But what acting does bring that music doesn't bring for me is the opportunity, and probably for Common too because he said this, the opportunity to be completely different in every way from who we normally are. The person that you are when you wake up in the morning – that's the person you are in your life. But to take that and have the opportunity to be the complete opposite of that as Georgia was, as Ivy was, is the excitement of it. I think that personally allowed me to access places in myself that perhaps I had never accessed before, because they are not who I am on a daily basis. So, that is the incredible part of it for me and that I love tremendously.”
Page 2: Music and More Movies
