Marlon Wayans has transformed into a white woman for “White Chicks,” a baby for “Little Man,” seven people for “Sextuplets” and a streaker in a time loop for “Naked.”
“I can’t wait to just play a regular Black man,” he says.
He gets his wish in the new Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect,” in which he plays Ted White, the singer’s first husband and manager.
Jennifer Hudson stars as Franklin. The cast also includes Forest Whitaker, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Mary J. Blige, Tituss Burgess and Tate Donovan.
Wayans says taking on dramatic roles such as this one is a breeze, compared to comedy. He also took a dramatic turn in “Requiem for a Dream” (2000).
“I find drama to be a fun vacation from comedy,” he says. “Comedy is so hard — we just make it look so easy. But it requires so much time and energy. Drama is a ‘lay off the gas, putting the car in cruise control.’”
He says he enjoys being able to dig into his emotions. “I like tapping into that when it comes to drama, to unlock pain and allow myself to be vulnerable.” He says that requires trusting the script, the director and his co-stars.
He’d love to be a leading man in dramas — along with comedies, thrillers and action movies.
“I’m working my behind off to be something so dynamic, something we’ve never seen,” says Wayans, 48. “That takes time. I’ve been working on this 40 years now. I’ve grown into my grown-man looks, can grow a beard, can be dangerous. I can do all this. People look at my filmography and say, ‘Wow, the guy can do anything and everything and does a great job at it.’”
Wayans was quickly attracted to the dynamic script and the idea of taking on a different kind of role in “Respect.”
“It’s a departure from anything I’ve ever done,” he says. “(White is) the villain and the leading man at the same time.
“He was dangerous, sweet, a little crazy, romantic, a guardian, a lot of different things. I wanted to take an unlikable character and make him lovable, then make him hard to hate. I wanted him to be complex. I didn’t want to just play a bad guy. I wanted to play a guy who is damaged and insecure.”
White loved Franklin, and Franklin loved White, Wayans says. “We wanted to show that story. We thought that would resonate more with the audience.”
Director Liesl Tommy felt the same way about Wayans’ approach to the character.
Preparing for the role was challenging, Wayans says, because not a lot has been written about White, and there isn’t a lot of video of him.
Even with limited research opportunities — he read “Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin” — Wayans was able to capture some of White’s cadence while also creating his own interpretation.
“I’m glad there wasn’t a lot of research,” he says. “I didn’t have to do an impression.”
Wayans says the role was more of a commitment than a challenge.
“I just had to do the work,” he says. “I came to work prepared. I worked with my acting coach, worked with my vocal coach and worked with my movement coach.”
While basking in his biggest dramatic role, Wayans remains firmly planted in comedy. A new stand-up special, “Marlon Wayans: You Know What It Is,” begins streaming Thursday on HBO Max.
“Here I have this drama coming out, and the next week I have some hilarious stand-up in the market,” he says. “That’s just me. I do it all and love it all.”
Wayans says what he loves about his comedy now is that the more he performs, the more personal it becomes, making it more relatable to audiences.
“I’m talking about real stuff,” he says of his stand-up. “I’m not reaching for the comedy anymore; it’s coming to me. It gets easier when you start being truthful.”
Wayans’ mother died in 2020. He says he talks about her onstage as a way of honoring her.
“I’m maturing as a comedian, as an actor and as a human,” he says. “I’m ready for everything coming my way. You gotta own it. I set out as a kid to be great, to try to be a legend. I look at how my career has gone, step by step, brick by brick, I’m gonna get there.”
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"Respect" is now playing in theaters.
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