DeRay Davis: The \u201c21 Jump Street\u201d Interview<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A born hustler from Chicago\u2019s South Side, DeRay Davis began his career on the comedy club circuit and was first noticed by Hollywood while onstage at Atlanta\u2019s Laffapalooza Festival. Shortly after moving to LA, he won the Comedy Central Laugh Riots Competition and was subsequently a standout on the Cedric the Entertainer Tour and at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeRay\u2019s film credits include Jumping the Broom, Get Him to the Greek, Semi-Pro, Barbershop, Barbershop 2, Johnson Family Vacation, Old Dogs, Life as We Know It, Imagine That, License to Wed, School for Scoundrels and Scary Movie 4. And on the small screen, he has appeared in HBO\u2019s Entourage, Comedy Central\u2019s Reno 911, Comedy Central Presents DeRay Davis, Comedy Central\u2019s Premium Blend and BET\u2019s ComicView, along with doing various voices on The Boondocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In terms of record albums, he wrote and performed the comedy skits on Kanye West\u2019s \u201cLate Registration\u201d and \u201cThe College Dropout\u201d LPs, and he also performed at the 2006 Grammy Awards with Kanye and Jamie Foxx. Here, he talks about his latest screen role in 21 Jump Street, where he plays a Dominican drug dealer named Domingo, opposite Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kam Williams:<\/strong> Hi DeRay, thanks for the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeRay Davis<\/strong>: No problem, Kam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: What interested you in 21 Jump Street?<\/p>\n\n\n\n DD<\/strong>: My initial interest had to be the hype of the show. I\u2019m from the generation that watched it growing up. So, I was pretty happy and excited that they were even making the TV show into a movie. Plus, I wanted to see what kind of spin they were going to put on it. And to hear that they were going to turn it into a comedy was pretty intriguing to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: How did you feel about your character Domingo\u2019s wearing shades the entire film, given that your green eyes are almost your trademark?<\/p>\n\n\n\n DD<\/strong>: They were really only covered towards the end of the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Editor\/legist Patricia Turnier says: I loved you in Jumping the Broom. Did you watch episodes of the TV series to prepare for your role in 21 Jump Street?<\/p>\n\n\n\n DD<\/strong>: No, because my character was created for the film. When they told me that he was a biker and a bad guy, I looked at some Eighties biker videos on Youtube. And because he\u2019s Dominican, I also listened to some accents. And even though it\u2019s a comedic film, I had to tone down the \u201cfunny\u201d in order to play this bad guy. I started thinking about all my bills to get in touch with my angry side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: You definitely looked bigger, buffer and more intimidating than usual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DD<\/strong>: I was glad I was playing opposite Channing [Tatum]. Two tall actors. That\u2019s pretty unusual in Hollywood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: I\u2019m always surprised to learn how short some actors are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DD:<\/strong> Yeah, I heard Al Pacino\u2019s about 4\u2019 7\u201d. [Chuckles] I\u2019m joking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Patricia also says: In your life, you probably met naysayers who tried to deter you from pursuing your dreams. What message do you have for young people who are surrounded by individuals who do not believe in them, and who would like to follow in your footsteps by becoming a comedian?<\/p>\n\n\n\n DD<\/strong>: I think the role of comedy in your life should supersede anything and everything negative. Just by virtue of the fact that you have to be funny, you can\u2019t afford to focus on the negative. As a comedian, your challenge is to turn negative stuff into positive energy. You should be able to hear anything that sounds bad, that people normally wouldn\u2019t laugh at, and make it feel funny to you. No one should be able to deter you, once you have your mind set on comedy. Your survival as a comedian should be as natural as breathing. I need to breathe and I consider my career my air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Harriet Pakula Teweles asks: How much fun was it making this movie?<\/p>\n\n\n\n DD:<\/strong> It was a lot of fun and a lot of work. We had to hit the notes and hit the points, but we did plenty of ad-libbing in the midst of it, once we had the script down. There was also a lot of crazy, high-speed stuff that I wasn\u2019t used to, but that was fun, too. It was like riding a roller coaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW<\/strong>: Harriet also asks: What\u2019s the difference between doing standup comedy and acting in movies. How does each challenge you as an entertainer and how does each play to your strengths?<\/p>\n\n\n\n DD<\/strong>: I believe they parallel each other as far as the strengths. The difference is that when I\u2019m onstage doing standup, no one yells \u201cCut!\u201d or tells me what to do. I\u2019m DeRay, and I use my own words. With acting, you\u2019re portraying a character with someone else\u2019s words. Still, you definitely want to inject a little of yourself into every role, the way that Samuel L. Jackson does. Following the script is one thing, but the unique way in which you deliver your lines is what makes them your own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Film student Jamaal Green asks: Are you currently writing any projects that you hope to bring to the screen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n