Jeffrey Wright was dubbed by another actor after refusing to censor his use of the N-word in “Ride With the Devil”
The acclaimed actor recalls working on the airplane version of the film in EW's "Around the Table" with his "American Fiction" costars.
In American Fiction, Jeffrey Wright finally has a leading role worthy of his prodigious talents, but in an interview with EW's Around the Table (above), the actor recounts some of the frustrations he's faced along the way.
Sitting alongside his American Fiction costars Tracee Ellis Ross, Sterling K. Brown, and Erika Alexander, Wright discusses working on the Ang Lee Civil War-era revisionist western Ride With the Devil, based on the novel Woe to Live On by Daniel Woodrell.
Wright says he refused to censor one particular word of dialogue for an airplane version of the movie and was subsequently dubbed by another actor who had no such qualms.
John Clifford/USA Films/Courtesy Everett
Jeffrey Wright in 'Ride With the Devil'In the 1999 film — featuring, among others, Tobey Maguire, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Mark Ruffalo, Margo Martindale, and, in her cinematic debut, Jewel — Wright portrayed Daniel Holt, a former slave fighting for his freedom on the side of the Confederacy.
"In this scene in which he has this, kind of the apex of his awakening and his need to emancipate himself, he says, 'Being that man's friend was no more than being his n-----. And I will never again be anyone's n-----,'" Wright recalls. "And it's such a self-empowering statement and understanding of the word."
Wright goes on to note that the studio (the movie was co-produced by Universal Studios and Good Machine Productions, and was distributed by USA Films) was conflicted about how to market the movie until they, in his words, decided not to market it at all. But he was ultimately called back in to do the "airplane version of the dialogue" — that is, one without profanity. During the recording session, the Tony- and Emmy-winner was asked to substitute the N-word for something less incendiary.
"I said, 'Nah. That's not happening.' And they found some other actor to come in and do that one word, apparently," Wright tells his costars, shocked by his revelation, "so that the airplane folk would be comfy in the darkness of their own ignorance around the language of race."
In American Fiction, Wright attempts to shed some light on that language, playing Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, an acerbic writer who pens a stereotypical novel as a joke only to have the joke backfire on him in increasingly comedic ways.
American Fiction is playing now in limited release and will expand this month. Check out EW's Around the Table with the cast of the Cord Jefferson film below.
Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.
Related content:
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.