From executive producer Snoop Dogg, 1992 is a tense crime-thriller that follows Mercer (Tyrese Gibson) as he desperately tries to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son (Christopher A'mmanuel) amidst the turbulent 1992 L.A. 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 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 action-packed new movie from filmmaker Ariel Vromen (The Iceman).
Earlier this month, we caught up with Fast & Furious and Morbius star Tyrese to discuss what proves to be perhaps his most dramatic role to date.
During our conversation, the actor talks about how his own, real-life experiences of the 1992 Los Angeles riots impacted his approach to playing this character and what that meant for his dynamic with co-star Christopher A'mmanuel.
We also hear from Tyrese on how he set out to subvert expectations as Mercer, a father and protector who doesn't fall into any of the typical trappings we've seen in past movies. The actor shares a lot of really interesting and insightful thoughts here and clearly took this role seriously.
You can check out the full interview below.
This is such a fascinating character. He’s got a dark past and is trying to do his best as a dad, so what was it like exploring new sides of yourself as an actor for a role like this one?
You know, it really didn’t feel like acting for me. I’m a father. I’ve got two daughters, a 17-year-old and 5-year-old. I’ve always wanted a son, so when Chris was cast to play my son, he became my son in real life. I walked the way with a double two-hander of love and energy. We spent a lot of time together just to make sure we were very specific about wanting the world to believe, ‘You just got here. I’ve been uninvolved in your life for whatever reason or reasons and making it clear of irregardless of where I was, what I did or didn’t do, I’m all you have and you’re gonna have to find some respect. Somewhere on the floor, you better pick it up.’
I was in the riots and looting and protesting in ‘92, living in Watts, South Central LA, so…I just think God has a sense of humour, right? 32 years later, I’m now doing a movie about something I lived in real life when I was living in Watts. So, yeah, it was a lot of pressure to get it right. If the movie is not about rioting and looting, what is the movie about? And how do we sell this and make it realistic? I’ve always had this thing, and I don’t know where you’re from, but when you’re from the hood or the ghetto, all you hear is your homies saying, ‘Oh, that’s corny. That wasn’t believable. That’s stuff we’d never say or do that. Nobody would ever act or respond or go about it like that in the hood.’
I lived in the hood most of my life before I left and moved my family away. I always hear their voices and always remember what our sensitivities and triggers and energies and vibrations were and, being born and raised in a boilerplate. When 1992 happens, they turn the oven up and now, it’s already bad, but it gets crazier. It was a lot. I was scared, man. I mean, military, shop owners on top of their stores shooting people, open season on Black and Brown people, man. I was just thinking about it, I could be wrong…I know a lot of people were arrested, but not too many people were prosecuted at all for murdering, shooting, killing, or doing anything because how do you prosecute something when it’s complete mayhem?
I thought you and the movie handled that side of things amazingly. We also see that Mercer will do whatever it takes to save his son; in contrast, what did you enjoy about exploring that unrelenting, badass side of him as a father and protector?
It was my great honour. I think us as Black men need more of those types of images out there. You know, the concept of a deadbeat dad could be pinned on every father’s head if they’re uninvolved or don’t have a presence, but what about the fathers who are present the entire time? Why does the deadbeat dad beat the popularity contest over the present and involved father? [My character] wasn’t involved because [he] wasn’t around. [He] was in jail and living this life where the mother of my child decided, ‘I don’t want this life around our child.’ When [she] passed away, [he] had to make some real decisions and, ‘I’m gonna feed you, I’m gonna house you, I’m gonna protect you even though I just got here. Even though I just got here, I’ve got you and you’re gonna respect me and the process of it.’ I think we pulled that off.
1992 arrives in theaters nationwide on August 30, 2024