One-On-One with Cedric the Entertainer

One of the original Kings of Comedy, Cedric the Entertainer has parlayed his comedy into a substantial television and cinematic resume.

Having first hit the television scene as Steve Harvey's right hand man on his show, Cedric the Entertainer has managed to stay in the limelight with a project every year.

Known for his smooth yet funny persona, his latest character in the Malcolm Lee-helmed film 'Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins', Clyde, is a car salesman who's used to winning.

Recently Black Voices' very own Denver C. Louis got a chance to speak to the rotund funnyman about his new role, his upcoming TV project and his obsession with reality television.


How did you get involved with the project?

Well first of all Malcolm Lee, the director he had been working on it for a while and he thought that I was the person he had in mind for the Clyde character. He told he had Martin on board, and I just thought it was great. The scheduled worked, so everything was cool.

The smooth talking character of Clyde seemed to fit you. Did that come natural to you or was that just something for the film?

That was right on. I like to pull different aspects of the characters out like the fact that Clyde was so self-confident, maybe to a fault. The fact that he's willing to keep old wounds open and try to put someone in there place by remembering the good old days so to speak, was something I tried to enhance the character with and have fun with. In the film he's a car salesman with his own dealership and you kind of add that to the fact that he's used to smooth-talking people and really convince them to do things that they didn't really want to do. And that was the subtle nuance that I tried to add to the on-screen character.

In movie full of comedians, who was the funniest on the set?

That's hard to say, but you would probably have to go with Mike Epps; just because he didn't conform to the script. His character was sort of written in that way. He needed other characters to say and do certain things and he hit these marks, and he was just a loose cannon just thrown in there, he would have us laughing because he would improv a lot of his stuff. It was a great deal of ad-libbing going on there. We all got to ad-lib, especially Epps, I don't even know if he had one written line (laughing).

How important is family to you in your real life?

It's definitely very important. I'm a father, a brother, a son, an uncle so I hold all the titles. I think that, to be in a close-knit relationship where you become the patriarch of the family, you past 40 and you start to go into that category where you're the voice of the family in so many ways. You can help the young kids and motivate your family members to be their very best in some shape or form. It very important that we remember how important family is and staying grounded.

Do you have any TV projects in the works?

I actually have a TV show at ABC and I shot the pilot right before the writers strike. And I think as soon as this strike is over, we can look forward to being introduced to my new show in the Fall, right now it's tentatively called Cedric, but that may change. It is a modern-day Cosby show. I'm married with a couple of kids, basically a guy who's been taking care of his family working, and then all of a sudden my wife blows up and becomes the breadwinner of the family. People start to think that I'm just this dude that's being taken care of, like she's my little sugar mama or something. So basically it's that tale of a man dealing with his wife making more money than he is.

Are you more of a TV or movies person?

I like television only because of the audience being right there. Being originally a stand-up performer, who is used to a live audience, I like the response and the reaction that you get from an audience that's immediate and I like the turnaround in television. I enjoy doing films, I like the ability to be able to take a character, build it out and hash out the back-story is great, but I think being a live performer, I appreciate the immediacy that comes with television.

Growing up, what was your favorite black show?

Aww man, there were some great ones. I would probably lean towards the Jeffersons. I liked George. I liked the fact that he seemed really brash and cocky at the time. He was just calling people honky's and you were like, oooh he wild. He brought to the forefront this image and idea of living in a high-rise apartment. Living in St. Louis, you just didn't know people that lived like that. It seemed really vogue and hot that his apartment was in a high-rise and he wore suits and at the same time he was still real hood and he talked crazy to people. I liked 'What's Happening' too, but I would have to say it was the Jeffersons.

Who's your favorite black actor today?

I like Don Cheadle a lot, I think he does of interesting work that's different. I like Denzel's stuff too. And I guess if you really get into specifics, there are people like Jeffery Wright and Angela Bassett. Lawrence Fishburne when he played Ike Turner, he should have got an Oscar for that. I saw Ike Turner and was like dog, you should let Lawrence Fishburne play you right now, he's just a better Ike Turner than you (laughing).

What actor or comedian influenced you the most?

I would have to say the late Robin Harris. He really encouraged a guy like me to do comedy and think that I could be really popular because he was really the anti-superstar, so to speak. He was just a real regular looking dude, a regular kind of person and he was extremely funny and extremely confident and when he performed, he performed like somebody you knew already. He had the uncle, cousin, dude down the street kind of sensibility about him. And that's what kind of encouraged me to get on stage. He was one of the main people that I felt like once I saw him, then I could do it. If could do it, so could I. I had an uncle, Bob Petty, who was a news anchor in Chicago and he inspired me as well, to want to reach that level.

Are you big into the reality show phenomenon?

Yes and no. I think I was enough of them to be like wow, in my mind, I'm not really a reality show fan but I like a lot of them and I like a variety of them as well. Not so much the Flava of Loves of it all, and I will get caught up in that every now and then, but I find myself watching Project Runway and Build-A-House and all those kind of shows. You know like make me a supermodel and shows like that (laughing).

In some ways, it's an interesting world because in some ways you learn something from people that are actually doing a task. And whatever it is that is their skill-set, you have to watch what they go through. It just opens your world up, which is why I like to watch some of these other shows like the Big Shot, which was about the photographers and because I have a little interest in photography, watching that show you get to see the challenges they have and the choices that they made, and you feel like you're learning. You're kind of taking a bit of a class yourself when you watch some of these shows. Those are good, but when it's just ignant like Hell Date, come on man (laughing).

I can see you on Dancing with the Stars...

You know, a lot of people say that to me. I had a lot of fun dancing in my HBO special and I dance a lot when I do my shows. I've always wondered about what would happen if I really had to do it like that in that real heavy type competition every week, because they work really hard. It probably would be fun to do though.

Who are you endorsing for president?

I've been rolling with Barack from pretty early on. I've participated in a couple of fundraisers and hosted a couple of events for him. I think that he's a smart leader and he is definitely learning how to get tough in this race. The only thing that people can kind of point at is his lack of experience, but I think that he has a toughness and a kind of spirit that could lead us in a new direction. His message of hope and change, though it can seem a little vague at times, is basically the empowerment that we need. We all need a little bit more hope and we need to push for change in our own lives individually, so we can go forward.

'Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins' is in theaters now.