Interview: Tyrese Gibson on Showing His Dramatic Side in 1992, His New Album
ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with 1992 star Tyrese Gibson about the heist thriller. Gibson discussed his character, the film’s depiction of the LA riots, and what to expect from his new album. 1992 is now playing in theaters.
“In 1992, Mercer (Tyrese Gibson) is desperately trying to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son (Christopher A’mmanuel) amidst the turbulent 1992 LA uprising following the Rodney King verdict. Across town, another father and son (Ray Liotta and Scott Eastwood) put their own strained relationship to the test as they plot a dangerous heist to steal catalytic converters, which contain valuable platinum, from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions rise in Los Angeles and chaos erupts, both families reach their boiling points when they collide in this tense crime-thriller,” says the synopsis.
Congrats on 1992. I love this performance because, in a lot of films, you’re just the most charismatic man in the room. I feel like that’s very easy for you. We get to see your full dramatic side and a lot of range here. Your character did time. He clearly wants to stay away from violence, but the film’s just not having that. You do a great job of showing that reluctance and wanting more for his son. So how is it portraying those elements of Mercer?
Tyrese Gibson: I don’t have a son, but I portray that life every day because I have two daughters. So you just want to always be able to instill what you know and what you understand about people, about life, about danger, about love, about friendships, and [in the film] my son was robbed of that for me because I’m in and outta jail and just living this uncomfortable life.
When his mother in the film and his grandmother died tragically in an accident, I ended up with full custody. So let the games begin. I’m gonna introduce you to my alpha and me as a father and … when we say we’re going this way, it’s not some back and forth. Like what we’re doing is not up for discussion. You gotta really insert that level of respect in your kids, whether you’ve had a presence in their life or not. They’re not your friends, they’re your kids. I really wanted to keep nudging at that dynamic in the movie.
I’m really glad at that It turned out the way it did. Then we also got Ray Liotta and his son, Scott Eastwood, with the same exact dynamic. So there’s this really powerful duality of father-son. So again, I tell people that if you’re trying to watch a movie about riots and looting, this is not it. That’s an element of it. But this movie is really a lot of colors and a lot of nuances that we’ve never seen in the film out of South Central L.A. and it’s also the most diverse cast of any South Central film in history.
As you mentioned, the riots are in the background of this film. There’s this great scene where you’re looking for your son while the riots are occurring. They capture it so well. How was it filming that? I know you were 13 when the Rodney King trial happened, so it had to be personal to be seeing that recreation.
It reminded me of how scared I was, right? So you leave your house, you jump on a truck with, your homies, your Mexican homies, and you go, “Let’s go hit a swap meet at RadioShack at the time, the Boys supermarket, a bunch of stores that ain’t around no more. We just was making our round, but we were scared, really scared. I think other than Reginald Denny, when they threw rocks at that brother, I don’t really know of anybody else who went to jail and did any real time and prosecuted for murders, vandalism, and burglary.
Because it was open season to do whatever you want, which is why so many people died. Shop owners at the top, just shooting people from the roof, just stopping people from breaking in their stores. No one got prosecuted. It was just if you show up to loot and riot and protest, good luck. It’s dangerous out there, and I experienced it.
I also wanted to share that I’m dropping a double album executive produced by David Foster, the legend, on the same day as this movie. It’s called Beautiful Pain. The reason I’m sitting here, you got a real beard, [but] mine is all makeup and hair because we’re still in the middle of filming a short film, produced by David Foster as well, called Wildflower. Dedicated to my mother.
… Beautiful Pain is coming Friday, August 30th, Labor Day Weekend. It’s a vinyl double album. It’s all live, and it’s about my divorce and me trusting love again and falling in love again and discovering that you can go through something really dark, and it actually sets you up for something really beautiful. So that’s why it’s called Beautiful Pain. Just want y’all to check it out.
Thanks to Tyrese Gibson for taking the time to discuss 1992.
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