Mike Colter has skyrocketed into fame due to his role as the title character in the Netflix series Luke Cage. However, the actor recently revealed in an interview with the podcast Off Camera, that he was initially unsure about taking the role. During the podcast, Colter mentioned that he had concerns that he had been typecast for the role. He shared his thoughts regarding the character when he was originally approached by Marvel:
“I was so against it,I revisit the feeling I had, that first initial look at the character, trying to figure out the research and the character, who this is guy this, and I’m like, ‘I don’t want any part of this.’ I couldn’t think of anything that I didn’t want to do more. I didn’t want to do anything physical, a role where it relied on power and all the stuff like that. And also, I didn’t know how the character would be written, I didn’t know what this character was going to be like. It just seemed limiting. I just thought, ‘What could I do with this?’ I hadn’t seen any material yet. The idea of the character made me cringe.”
“Everybody has an idea of how the character is going to be, and I’m like, this is how I’m going to do it and this is it, take it or leave it. I’m not saying that’s what I said, but I felt like if they were to try and push me in a certain way, that I would’ve walked away from it. There was only one way that I thought this character should be portrayed that I wasn’t going to compromise on.”
Colter‘s fears regarding the character proved to be unfounded as he imbued his Luke Cage with a depth and range in both the Jessica Jones and Luke Cage Netflix series. Fans have also warmly greeted his character, even nominating the show for a People’s Choice Award. The full conversation with Mike Colter can be heard on the podcast shared in full on the Playlist.
Source: Off Camera via The Playlist
