Trevante Rhodes
The
“12 Strong” Interview
with
Kam Williams
A Spirited Tête-à-Tête
with the Talented Athlete-Turned-Thespian
Trevante
Nemour Rhodes was born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana on February 10,
1990, but raised in Little Elm, Texas from the age of 10. After
excelling in sports in high school, he earned a scholarship to the
University of Texas where he was an All-American sprinter as well as
a running back on the Longhorns' football team.
After
graduating, Trevante moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career,
making his big screen debut in Open Windows opposite Elijah Wood and
Sasha Grey. A couple of years ago, he landed a breakout role as Black
in Moonlight, the gay-themed, coming of age drama which won the
Academy Award for Best Picture.
Here,
Trevante talks about his latest outing as Sergeant Ben Milo in 12
Strong, a docudrama about the top secret mission of a Special Forces
unit deployed to Afghanistan a few days
after 9/11.
Kam
Williams: Hi
Trevante, thanks for the interview.
Trevante
Rhodes:
Thank
you, Kam.
KW:
What interested you in 12 Strong? Had you read the book before you
got the script?
TR:
I read
the book after I got the script. Although I was obviously very aware
of 9/11, I was fascinated by this story which I had never heard
about. I thought that these first responders and the way in which
they prevailed was not only unique but pretty important. So, I felt
that it was awesome to have an opportunity to be a part of turning
this little-known story into a movie. Of course, I also jumped at the
chance to work with [producer] Jerry Bruckheimer and the terrific
cast attached to the project.
KW:
Yeah, I
had no idea we had guys fighting on horseback over in Afghanistan.
And they were outnumbered and outgunned by the Taliban equipped with
tanks, RPGs and heavy artillery.
TR:
It was
amazing! Those soldiers are heroes, Kam.
KW:
Editor/Legist
Patricia Turnier asks: How did you prepare to play Sergeant First
Class Ben Milo?
TR:
My
preparation included speaking to quite a few veterans. They were very
open and honest about both their downtime and battle experiences.
They shared the good, the bad, and everything in between. We also had
Army Ranger training for three or for weeks which was not only
educational but very valuable in terms of our bonding as a unit.
KW:
I
assume you didn't work with live ammo.
TR:
Definitely
not. We had a couple guys who didn't know what they were doing, so
that would've been scary.
KW:
Have
you had an opportunity to meet the soldier your character's based on?
TR:
Yeah,
just last night at the premiere. He's amazing!
KW:
Patricia
would like to know what you want the audience to learn from the
movie.
TR:
I'd
like them to come away with an accurate perspective of what it was
like in Afghanistan after 9/11. For instance, I was 11 years-old at
the time, and I believed all the people over there were bad. But
that's obviously not the case, since the only reason why this mission
succeeded was because of a lot of help from some locals. Another
message is how valuable connectivity, love, honesty and being there
for one another are.
KW:
She was
also wondering whether there's
a genre out of your comfort zone that you would like to try?
TR:
To be
quite honest, nothing I've encountered thus far is outside of my
comfort zone. I hope that every film I do is very different from the
previous one. What I'm always looking for as an actor is to be
challenged in a new way. That way I can be educated and grow. It also
enables you to appreciate different points-of-view through your own
eyes. But I might not be ready to do a comedy yet, unless I could
find one with a cool message.
KW:
Lastly,
Patricia asks, what is your opinion of colorblind casting?
TR:
I
always hope that Hollywood casts the best person for a role
regardless of what they look like, regarless of their skin color,
gender or sexual orientation. And that's been the case in my own
experience. I'm very appreciative of where things are at compared to
twenty years ago, and I hope they continue to improve in a rapid
manner, because we have all kinds of people putting out incredible
material and doing phenomenal work.
KW:
You
seem to have gone straight from athlete to acting very quickly and
very successfully. Did you study acting in college?
TR:
No, I
just took one theater class during my senior year to fulfill a degree
requirement, Kam. A professor did suggest that I pursue it further.
Then a casting director spotted me on my campus, and I got bitten by
the acting bug. And I saw that if you put in the effort, you'd get a
certain reward out of it. Because of that, I love acting!
KW:
What
was it like to be in the Oscar-winning Best Picture, Moonlight?
TR:
I was
really happy that we won because of all the work everybody put into
the film. Barry [director Barry Jenkins] puts an incredible amount of
love into everything he does. I also like the fact that a great work
of art could win, regardless of who you are or what you look like. I
hope winning will help Barry get more opportunities.
KW:
Well,
his previous film, Medicine for Melancholy, was phenomenal, too.
TR:
Yeah!
That's what I'm saying, Kam. Even his first college project was
amazing. He's great, and I'm very happy for him.
KW:
What I
found incredible about Moonlight was how I barely noticed that the
two main characters were each played by three different people. He
somehow made the transitions, as they grew older, seamless.
TR:
I think
that's a testament to not only Barry's brilliant writing and
directing, but to the great casting and acting and the beautiful
cinematography. Normally, people think it's crazy to have different
people play the same person. But here, all the elements combined to
create a masterpiece.
KW:
Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks: With so many classic films being redone,
is there a remake you'd like to star in?
TR:
I'm not
sure. More than anything, I'm interested in working with the best
directors, the best scriptwriters, the best casts and the best crews
willing to work with me, because I believe that great experiences
translate to great films.
KW:
Finally,
Samuel L. Jackson asks: What’s in your wallet?
TR:
[LOL] A
bank card and a Chipotle celebrity card. That gets me all the good
food. Honestly, it's the thing in my wallet I'm the most proud of.
KW:
I
didn't even know such a thing existed. Thanks again for the time,
Trevante, and best of luck with the film.
TR:
My
pleasure, Kam.
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