Twenty years ago a 21 year-old Brooklyn native wanted ‘all the juice’. Now, two decades later, the then budding actor Omar Epps, who played DJ Gee Q in the urban classic Juice, is still going strong as Dr. Eric Foreman on FOX’s medical drama "House-MD."
“When Juice came out, we were at the precipice of that next movement,” explains Epps. The 1992 classic film included appearances by Samuel L. Jackson and Queen Latifah in addition to the feature film debut of a Tupac Shakur. “At the time, he was just Tupac Shakur, this guy I am doing a movie with,” recalls Epps adding, “I thought he was immensely talented and had the magnetic personality and charismatic ... and he became a living legend.” A reminiscent Epps reflects, “To be able look back on that, it’s just amazing because no one can predict the future.”
From portraying the film’s character of aspiring DJ Gee-Q, Epps would fill a future filmography with prominent roles in Love & Basketball, Scream 2, and The Program, as well as the 1999 role of undercover cop Jeff Cole tasked with infiltrating a Cincinnati drug ring in In Too Deep. “The character I was playing was based off a real guy,” and of the role Epps reveals, “The police force actually ended up changing their undercover rules because of this guy because he literally went so far, that the guys he was supposed to bring down, he befriended.” And to the challenge of delivering the psychological pressure of being undercover Epps offers, “Creating a character, it’s not as simple as it seems, you are basically creating a universe for a personality [and] to do that on film, within the film, was really exciting. It’s like an actor playing an actor. To really go that far into a person . . . was a really interesting process,” said Epps.
Having also portrayed characters based on real life individuals in First Time Felon and in Conviction Epps believes, “Those sort of stories, at those times, they resonated within the urban community because you have a lot of guys that were either in those predicaments, or headed toward those predicaments or had been in those predicaments. It was good timing for those type of stories to be told.” Of the employment struggles of the ex-con character Greg Yance in First Time Felon Epps states it, “gave them the hope to just keep pushing on,” in reference to the memorable scene in which Epps’ character was with bias denied the legitimate opportunity to earn an income from an agency worker. “I’ve run into a lot of brothers through the years, they all key in on that scene,” said Epps.
Epps has been part of a number of memorable movie scenes which have penetrated the public conscience including his 1995 role of Malik Williams where he shared the screen with Laurence Fishburne and Ice Cube in Higher Learning. “That’s the beauty of filmmakers like John Singleton. They’re making social commentaries through their art and when you’re touching upon a real subject through a fictional circumstance it resonates throughout all of time,” states Epps who adds, “That’s another caveat to what I do for a living. Getting a chance to make those social commentaries and cross the conversation outside of watching a film or television show.”
And the circumstance of “struggle” as well is not just limited to the fiction of the silver screen explains Epps when asked about Hollywood’s current wave of remakes and reality programming. “I think it’s more over a struggle to save money. Hollywood, like the rest of the world, has been effected by the economy crisis,” assesses Epps noting, “It takes a lot of money to go into making a major motion picture. A lot of these studios are digging into their catalogs, into intellectual properties that they already own so they don’t have to license it.” Now an ensemble cast member of a successful nine-year television series, the actor thinks, “It’s cyclical. We’ve sort of never been in this place in entertainment where reality is sort of a big thing; the web is sort of becoming a big thing; so I think the entertainment business in general is sort of finding it’s new ground.”
Nine seasons ago, television was new ground for Epps cast as Dr. Eric Foreman in FOX’s medical drama "House M.D." “In terms of the character, it was a total departure from roles that people were used to seeing me play,” stated Epps who at the time was predominantly identified with the urban audience. The inundation of reality programming has made the longevity of scripted programs somewhat of a rare commodity in Hollywood today. “We live in an interesting time, actors sell characters,” says Epps, “where people, through reality, are basing people’s personalities through a character and it’s the other way around.” And of the success of his scripted series, Epps reminds, “For young aspiring actors, this is a craft . . . so it was a great opportunity to play someone like Foreman, completely against what people had seen me play before and it’s been a good ride.”
Along that ride, in a recent interview, Epps’ cast mate and on screen love interest Olivia Wilde revealed a certain segment of audience had an adverse reaction to a 2009 Christmas kissing scene between herself and Epps. “People have their opinions and I get it,” says Epps, “But that’s where the story was going and we did it and Olivia and I get along well. She’s a great girl.”
But lifelong fan’s of the actor recall his most notable reuniting kiss with his college basketball playing girlfriend Monica Wright, played Sanaa Lathan, at the end of the film Love & Basketball. “People just really responded to that film. I thought it was very well written by Gina Prince-Bythewood, who also directed the film,” states Epps adding that for “the generation that responded to that movie, it was kind of their . . . love story.”
And of his long list of films, the character he would most likely be intrigued to reprieve today would in fact be Quincy McCall. “Off the top of my head, I think there could be room for a sequel for something like Love and Basketball because of how the film left off and where those characters were going,” imagines Epps.
Epps’ role in the cult classic The Program as running back Darnell Jefferson put him opposite Halle Berry and once again on the field of play shedding would be tacklers.
“That was great. We wanted to bring that element that you were in a football game. I used to play football when I was younger for Pop Warner. I used to play for the Brooklyn Skyhawks, so getting a chance to do that was like living out a dream. I got to get my little Tony Dorsett on,” laughs the lifelong diehard Dallas Cowboys fan that actually caught the game-winning touchdown in the film but admits, “I did about 75% of the stuff in the film, couple of them hits I was like get this other guy to do it.”
Counting five athletic roles to his credit, Epps is Hollywood’s five-sport actor having portrayed, a baseball player in Major League II (1994) and a boxer in Against The Ropes (2004) in addition to the track star, point guard and running back. Now past his ‘athletic-acting’ prime, “coaching” roles would be the natural progression of the actor’s timeline and for the one coach he bears an uncanny resemblance to Epps would be more than willing, ready and able to portray the life story of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “I don’t know much about him personally, [but] I respect what he has done as a professional and he brings it every time so hats off to that guy.”
But until Hollywood offers the coaching role, The Fast Life had Epps, an avid NFL fan, act as a “General Manager” and draft the fictitious all-Hollywood Los Angeles football team.
The Fast Life: For your quarterback, Jamie Foxx as Willie Beamon from Any Given Sunday, Damon Wayans as Jimmy Dix from The Last Boy Scout, Keanu Reaves as Shane Falco from The Replacements, Craig Sheffer as Joe Kane from The Program
Epps: Oh wow, I was going to go with Jamie, but I think I might have to take Craig Sheffer.
The Fast Life: For your running back, Omar Epps as Darnell Jefferson from The Program, LL Cool J as Julian Washington from Any Given Sunday or Nelly from The Longest Yard
Epps: LL Cool J. That guy stays in shape
The Fast Life: For your wide receiver, Nick Nolte as Phillips Elliot in North Dallas Forty Bill Bellamy as Jimmy Sanderson from Any Given Sunday or Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rod Tidale in Jerry Mcguire.
Epps: Oh man. I’m going to take a chance. I’m going to go with Bill {Bellamy]. He’s lengthy he’ll stretch out for it.
The Fast Life: For your coach, Al Pachino from Any Given Sunday, Denzel Washington from Remember the Titans or James Caan from The Program
Epps: I’m going with James Caan from The Program that’s my boy.
And as the movie Juice encouraged viewers to “know the ledge”, Epps offered this in regards to the remaking of the classic film. “It is what it is. The general consensus is a certain things shouldn’t be remade, but really it’s just a form, I think, of flattery and respect; how those guys were influenced by that; they want to redo it. The best to them, but nothing is better than the original. Our generation was birthing, the Tupac’s, The Biggie’s, The Jay-Z’s. Boyz in the Hood was right around that time, Menace II Society. It’s a different time right now.”
