Omar Epps made his cinematic acting debut in 1992 with “Juice.” Since then, he’s had starring roles in many films, including “The Program,” “Scream 2” and “The Mod Squad.”
In “Against the Ropes,” he plays boxer Luther Shaw, a boxer–a composite of many people–who is managed by Jackie Kallen (Meg Ryan), a woman who broke new ground in boxing.
How did the movie change your perspective on the sport of boxing?
It definitely gave me a greater appreciation of the art, going through all the steps and the motions and more compassion for the business those guys choose. You know, it’s a heinous business because of everything outside of the ring. It’s tough. The other thing I learned is that there are a lot of people that box. Going into these boxing gyms, you see 70-year-old guys. You see women. It’s a sport that people love to do.
Was there training involved?
I had two trainers. I had a month and a half to prepare, five or six hours a day, and just dove in head-first. As I said, I’m a fan, so the eagerness was there, but I had to take my body somewhere it’s never been and be as prepared as I could be.
Did you speak to James Toney [the boxer Meg Ryan’s character, Jackie Kallen, first managed in real life] or was he left out of this whole process?
For legal reasons, we couldn’t involve other people. I actually saw James after we finished filming–about a couple months after. He was working out. I was working out. You know, he gave me some stuff. He said, “You make me look good,” and I said, “I tried,” and he said, “You’ll never be as good as me,” and I humbly agreed with him.
At that point in Toney’s career, he was unbeatable. Were you aware of that because you almost had to make the character more vulnerable than he actually was. No one could touch him at that time.
It was interesting. My character, Luther Shaw, was a complete composite character, and, of course, I incorporated pieces of my favorite boxers, but we just had to really tell our story. Yeah, in real life, James Toney was ferocious at that time, but this guy, Luther Shaw, was a piece of coal that needed to be chiseled into a diamond.
You did a stint on “ER.” What was that experience like? Can you compare your work in television with your work in film?
When you’re filming on a film set, you’re moving at a snail’s pace. On a TV set, especially one like “ER,” it’s hyper-speed. Stuff happens so fast. It did wonders for my career. I really believe that even though it was a short stint, people either knew my name or my face. They didn’t know the two went together. After “ER,” it was like, “Oh, that’s that guy.”
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about acting since “Juice”?
That you never stop learning. It’s an evolving, ever-changing thing. As far as being an actor, it’s observing and taking in everything there is in life. That’s your palette you have to work from. To use your own life experiences is kind of step one. It’s kind of like being a black belt. You learn your thing when you’re a white belt in karate, but when you get to black belt, it’s funny, you still have to go through those fundamental steps that you learned when you were a rookie. I’m still learning, and I’m a student of the craft.
