Michael Ealy
Burning Up The Big And
Little Screens!
By
Rych McCain, International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist
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| Michael Ealy (Photo Courtesy of Sony Pictures) |
Being a steady working actor in Hollywood
is a feat in itself and trying to light a flame in one area be it television or
film to establish oneself can also be a monumental task. When an actor can
manage to set a brightly burning flame in both mediums i.e., TV & movie
simultaneously; that is a delicious situation indeed. Michael Ealy has firmly
managed to glide between the big and small screens in a fashion that keeps him
on top of the game. He is currently starring in the run away, smash hit movie “Think Like A Man” as the aspiring chief
Dominic who just can’t seem to get it all together and has a co-lead role as
police officer Travis Marks on the USA Network cop drama “Common Law.” Ealy has several television series as a cast regular
under his belt including “The Good wife,” “Sleeper Cell” and others. His big
screen credits include “Barber Shop,” “Takers,” “For Colored Girls,” “Miracle
At St. Anna” to name some.
In his “Common
Law” role as police officer Travis Marks who can’t stand his partner Wes
Mitchell played by Warren Kole, Ealy explains, “It’s going to air over the
summer on USA. Basically it is an action comedy about these two detectives who;
while they do really well to solve crimes; they bicker and fight about a lot of
little things at seven years into their relationship so their Captain forces
them to go into to couples therapy which instantly creates a whole different
layer to the cop show genre. All of a sudden the relationship is somewhat
exposed and issues and demons come out and those themes run out like a chorus
throughout every episode.”
Of course, Ealy always puts the “Ealy”
spin on everything he does. What was his impression when he first read the
script? He laughs, “For me, my character Travis, I thought, was a nice blend of
Axel Foley and John McClainYou know what I mean? Like he’s brave but reckless,
a little bit of a con man, borderline criminal but so much fun to play. I was
looking for a television show. I was looking to have some fun and not do
something so heavy because it’s hard times and you just don’t want to go to
work everyday and have the weight of the world on your shoulders. So this was a
perfect opportunity for me to do that.”
Ealy has compiled an impressive body of
work with various themes so does this dictate a particular direction for his
career to go? He ponders, “Yes and no. What has happened is that I’ve been
pretty consistent with the drama. I’ve done a lot of drama. “Miracle”
(reference to “Miracle At St. Anna”), started to break me out of that a little
bit. Then I did a bunch of action in “Takers.” I just started wanting to get
into comedy with this show. When I read this script I thought this would be
good for me to start jumping into the comedy part of my career. Because I’ve
never really been asked to do any comedy, people don’t think I’m funny. I had
to audition three times to show people that I can make them laugh so it was
just a next kind of logical step. At the end of the day I want to have a very
diverse body of work. I really do and to me action, comedy, drama, I’m doing
them all!”
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| Mike Ealy & Taraji P. Henson heat it up (Sony Pictures Photo) |
Of course Ealy has long been the object of the
ladies admiration and affection. Is the sex symbol thing sill rearing its head
every now and then? Ealy blushes a bit and says, “I’m sure it is but you know
what, if I can keep working with it, then I will. Listen, I know who I am, I
know where I’m from. If that’s what other people want to put on me, that’s a
good title to have if you ask me.”
Rych McCain Media/Syndication tm
(You DID Hear It From Me!)
E-Mail: feedbackrych@sbcglobal.net
