Denzel Washington brings the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fences, to the big screen, which he and most of the cast first performed on Broadway. Washington stars as Troy, who lives in remorse of not pursuing a career as a professional baseball player, letting his regrets hold his wife (Viola Davis) and children back. Stephen Henderson, who plays Troy’s best friend Bono, and newcomer Jovan Adepo, starring as Troy’s son Cory, share about their new film:
Adepo remembers his audition with Denzel like it was yesterday. “I walked into the building, and I heard his voice because he was reading with another actor. It was the first time I’d heard his voice outside of on film. I had a panic attack,” he says. His heart was racing as he walked outside to catch his breath, trying to calm himself down. “If I wasn’t calm, then I wasn’t going to do a good job,” Adepo shares, recalling his nerves getting the best of him.
“He is the kindest, sweetest man you’ll ever meet,” Adepo gushes about Denzel. During the audition, “He could tell that I was nervous, and he told me, ‘I’ve seen your tape, and I know what you can do; now let’s just play and have a good time’.”
After landing the coveted role, Adepo was warmly welcomed into the cast. As the film was adapted from the broadway play, most of the cast was already familiar with each other, making Adepo the new kid. “It was intimidating. All of my castmates are veterans in the industry and completely brilliant,” Adepo says. “A couple people had previously played Cory and did a fantastic job on Broadway, so I put a lot of pressure on myself.” When he arrived on set for the first day of rehearsal, “Everyone let me know that they were happy to have me, and that they didn’t want me to try to do anything that previous actors had done with the character.” Adepo had to make Cory his own.
Henderson, who plays Bono in both the play and film, talks about transitioning his character to the screen. “When you’re on stage you have to consider the audience. You start with the life level of truth, but you have to raise it so that people can get it in the balcony. On stage, you start from the beginning and you have to go through it every night and forget that you know how it ends,” he states. He feels that when you’re doing a film, it’s more intimate as it’s just you and the actors, with your only responsibility being to truly connect.
“It’s great to play someone’s best friend,” Henderson says. Both his and Denzel’s characters “go back to doing time together in prison, to coming out of prison together, and then deciding to turn their lives around.” Henderson then points out that, “You can’t be a supporting person in someone’s life. You can play a supporting character in a play or in a story, but you have to have your own life. Eventually, Bono has to go to his own life,” he says.
Denzel not only is the lead in the film, but also the director. This is definitely an advantage. “He’s able to understand the process that an actor goes through.” Because he knows what you’re going through, “He is able to set the mood and set the stage for you to give the best performance,” Adepo says. “Being directed by him was like being in a masterclass. He taught me to always be patient and not always search for the end result.”
Adepo and Washington had many intense scenes together. “I just tried to keep up with Denzel,” Adepo remarks. “If he’s giving it to you and he’s lashing at you, naturally, you’re going to have a reaction to it. As an actor, it’s the pinch and the ouch. If he’s pinching you hard, the natural reaction would be ‘ouch ouch ouch’.”
At the core of the film, “It’s a story about family, forgiveness, and unconditional love,” Adepo shares. Troy and son Cory have overarching disagreements throughout the film, seeming to tear them further and further apart. “I feel like every young man has had that moment where they might not have agreed with what their father was directing for their life.” To Cory, it comes across as if his father does not love him, when in reality, “he is doing his best to raise him based off of how he was raised,” Adepo remarks.
“It’s exhausting to hold grudges,” which is something that Adepo’s character comes to realize once it’s too late. “I think that is something that Cory desperately needed to come to terms with. He wasn’t able to do that until he got away from that element and he was able to see the world,” Adepo states. He realizes that his father isn’t a bad guy; “He is simply misunderstood.”
The drama opens in theaters Christmas Day.