January 29, 2025 • 18 mins
In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon, Grammy nominated actor Omari Hardwick takes center stage where we dive into his exhilarating role in the Paramount + film, Star Trek: Section 31.
From athlete to actor, Omari's journey is nothing short of inspiring, and he opens up about transitioning from starring in the film as a cast member to experiencing it as a fan. We unpack his dynamic portrayal of Alok, a Section 31 agent, and explore the creative process behind the film. Omari also shares the deep personal connection he has with poetry, a passion he's nurtured since the tender age of 11, which has earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album. Our conversation with Omari goes beyond his role in Star Trek, shedding light on his multifaceted career that spans poetry, theater, music, and film. We uncover the inspiration behind his new single and the impact of working alongside the legendary Michelle Yeoh. We reflect on his past collaborations with industry giants like Kevin Costner and Zack Snyder, and there's an excited anticipation for future stories within the Star Trek universe. Tune in for an engaging mix of career reflections, collaborative triumphs, and the thrill of what's next.
Watch the interview here.
Kyle McMahon's Death, Grief & Other Sh*t We Don't Discuss is now streaming: https://www.deathandgrief.show/Chapter-One-The-Diagnosis-AKA-WTF/
---------------
Get all the Pop Culture Weekly podcast info you could want including extra content, uncut interviews, photos, videos & transcripts at: https://podcast.popcultureweekly.com
Watch celebrity interviews at: https://www.facebook.com/realkylemcmahon/videos
or Pop Culture Weekly YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@popcultureweekly
Read the latest at http://www.PopCultureWeekly.com
Follow Kyle on:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/realkylemcmahon
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kmacmusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@popcultureweekly
Website: http://www.kylemcmahon.me
From athlete to actor, Omari's journey is nothing short of inspiring, and he opens up about transitioning from starring in the film as a cast member to experiencing it as a fan. We unpack his dynamic portrayal of Alok, a Section 31 agent, and explore the creative process behind the film. Omari also shares the deep personal connection he has with poetry, a passion he's nurtured since the tender age of 11, which has earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album. Our conversation with Omari goes beyond his role in Star Trek, shedding light on his multifaceted career that spans poetry, theater, music, and film. We uncover the inspiration behind his new single and the impact of working alongside the legendary Michelle Yeoh. We reflect on his past collaborations with industry giants like Kevin Costner and Zack Snyder, and there's an excited anticipation for future stories within the Star Trek universe. Tune in for an engaging mix of career reflections, collaborative triumphs, and the thrill of what's next.
Watch the interview here.
Kyle McMahon's Death, Grief & Other Sh*t We Don't Discuss is now streaming: https://www.deathandgrief.show/Chapter-One-The-Diagnosis-AKA-WTF/
---------------
Get all the Pop Culture Weekly podcast info you could want including extra content, uncut interviews, photos, videos & transcripts at: https://podcast.popcultureweekly.com
Watch celebrity interviews at: https://www.facebook.com/realkylemcmahon/videos
or Pop Culture Weekly YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@popcultureweekly
Read the latest at http://www.PopCultureWeekly.com
Follow Kyle on:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/realkylemcmahon
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kmacmusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@popcultureweekly
Website: http://www.kylemcmahon.me
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this episode, I speak with Amri Hardwick all about
his brand new film Star Trek Section thirty one.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon from my
Heart Radio your pop culture news, views, reviews and celebrity
interviews on all the movies, TV, music and pop culture
u CRABE Weekly. Here's Kyle McMahon.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Nick Nick added Nick, Hello, and welcome the pop Culture
Weekly with Kyle McMahon. I. Of course, am Kyle McMahon.
I thank you so much for hanging out with me
for another episode of pop Culture Weekly. There. This is
a short episode. It's just an interview only episode. We
have another episode coming you know, next week, which will
(00:49):
be back to the traditional length. We'll have Amanda come
back on and we'll be talking about you know, well,
I can't tell you yet, so you don't know, but
we'll be talking about something cool and have.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Some interviews for you as well.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
This week it is all about Mari Hardwick and his
brand new Paramount Plus film, Star Trek Section thirty one.
So Star Trek Section thirty one is the first Star
Trek film since what twenty sixteen's Star Trek Beyond, which
(01:21):
that was those three films are considered the reboot, but
they're kind of subtitled the Kelvin Timeline, which is a
whole thing in the Star Trek universe. But this is
the first This is not only the first Star Trek
film in nine years since Star Trek Beyond in twenty sixteen,
(01:41):
it is the first Star Trek film that was not
made exclusively for theaters. So Star Trek Section thirty one
is made exclusively for Paramount Plus, which is the home
of all things Star Trek. Paramount Plus had announced back
in April twenty twenty three that Section thirty one had
been in a development as a series as a spin
(02:02):
off from Star Trek Discovery, which is one of their
Paramount Plus exclusive Star Trek series. Instead, they were going
to move forward with a streaming event film with Michelle
Yoh attached to reprise her role as Philippa from Discovery
in Star Trek Section thirty one. Of course, Michelle Yeoh
(02:23):
is amazing, so you know, I've got to ask Amari
about her. But she plays the leader of the Taran
Empire in the Mirror universe who has traveled to the
Prime Universe and joined Starfleet, and O'mari stars as a
Locke who is a Section thirty one agent who is
a strategic mastermind with some mental problems, and he wants
(02:45):
her to pay for her pass by joining his team
for a covert mission. So basically Section thirty one, which
is the fourteenth film, by the way, in the Star
Trek franchise. So Section thirty one is basically a secret
division of Starfleet and they are tasked with protecting the
United Federation of Planets, almost in kind of a whatever means,
(03:09):
you know, no questions asked, will look the other way
kind of way. So it's a great film. If you're
a Star Trek fan, you'll love it. Even if you're
not a Star Trek fan and you just like, you know,
action and sci fi. It really is a great movie
to check out. So Amari kind of blew up as
James Saint Patrick aka Ghost in Power from Stars Who,
(03:32):
of course I interviewed much of the cast of that franchise,
including fifty cent, and he was an Army of the
Dead from Zack Snyder, who has been on the show
and I love that movie, and he's been in a
number of other things including Kick Ass, Love That One,
Spike Lee's Miracle at Saint Anna and Tyler Perry's for
Colored Girls. He was also just nominated for a twenty
(03:55):
five Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for
the album Concrete and Whiskey, Act to Part one a
Bourbon thirty series. So that's really cool. So let's just
jump right into it, my interview with Amari Hardway. So,
first of all, congratulations on the film.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
What's it like for you? You know, in kind of
this pre release right now, it's in the can, it's
almost our How are you feeling.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
I'm feeling good. I'm feeling more refreshed and more light
than I perhaps was when first being granted the opportunity
for us as a cast to watch it, when we
were giving the link. You know that explodes of course
after a couple of days. Yeah, I'm feeling lighter about
it and more at that place where the seat that
I want to sit in and I feel like I'm
(04:43):
soon able to sit in as that of a fan
and being able to sit back and enjoy my castmates
work tonight and the premiere being tonight and in the
midst of press week. Yeah, there becomes a moment where
you're perhaps forgetting enough that you were such a part
of it, and now you get to outside looking in
really enjoy all the parts of it and all the
work that the crew did, all the different departments from
(05:04):
costume to hear and makeup and lighting, director of photography,
and what his team is brought to the table. Obviously
what the directors and the writer and the producers have
equally brought.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I love that. And what got you?
Speaker 1 (05:16):
I mean you, you know obviously been around a while
in a number of great projects, but you know, essentially
you started out as an athlete. Yes, how did you
get from an athlete to you know, starring in at
Star Trek film.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Man, that's a great one, Kal. I was a dude
who in the midst of IF sport one was soccer, Kyle,
you know, baseball came pretty quickly after, and then basketball
was right after that. The family rule was thirteen years
old before football because I was more stocky and build
than the elder brother. He did me a solid and
(05:53):
said I'm okay with me at thirteen, allowing Omari at
eleven to play football, and so that was really cool.
But in the same year cow at about eleven years
of age, man I found poetry that was about the
year that I wrote my first poem, and it was
interesting because I didn't know that it was a poem.
You know, you think you're just writing an idea, and
by first girlfriend preps that's a moment where I was like, oh,
(06:15):
this is poetry. And I just really enjoyed those moments
of watching everything from James Amos, James Evans and Florida
Evans played bi Asterole and all that, and James Amos
recently passed away right rest in peace and all that
had to offer a story, but all the way over
(06:36):
to Marlon Brando on the Waterfront and my pops one
of my pop's favorite was cool Hand Luke and what
Paul Newman met to my pops, a black man from Savannah,
Georgia who went to college in Boston. Pops and grandfathers
were able to present a lot of diversity within their
bag that got had gifted them with Kyle to the
world in a country that wasn't necessarily checking for a
(06:58):
lot of what black men had to offer out of
their grab bag of goodies. And so I found myself
having permission really early in life to go, so why
not be an athlete and also be a poet and
I like acting, and should I go that route? Get
the University of Georgia and major in journalism, finish in
the classroom at four, but have a redshirt year to
play one more year of football at University of Georgia
(07:20):
SEC football, as you know, no less, and I minor
in theater. And you know who would have thunk it
that instead of tomatoes being thrown by teammates that are
in the NFL, one of whom was Chap Bailey, not
just in the NFL, one of whom was Terrell Davis,
not just in the NFL equally, but both of them,
as you know, in the Hall of Fame, and all
of them say, Yo, if the football didn't work out, Bro,
(07:40):
there's something with this theater thing. And that's how I
kind of found my way to it. And in the
midst of that cow I found music. And I was
already musical. I already understood what Frankie Beverly met when
he said Joe hooy and paying I kind of was like,
oh right, they go together, and Bro, the best way
to get down the field on kickoff coverage was to
(08:02):
get down the field on a set called kickoff coverage
as a character and whatever character is being asked to play,
and the greatest of which is an industry that says
we want your joy and your pain. Thank you, film industry.
I will bring both. And now I'm able to uh,
which is hard for me, especially as a Capricorn, to
boast about anything, but I'm able to boast the reality
(08:25):
that I've now been you know, Grammy nominated in the
world of music, which I haven't used to put food
on the table. So God made me a bag of nuts, bro.
And I just will always say God because it can't
you know what I mean. I'm crazy discipline and I'll
meet him halfway where I can, whilst being super flawed
and not the greatest of human being. But I'm doing
okay at using all the shit that he put in
(08:46):
my bag. I'm pretty I love that.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I love that. And it's speaking of music, you have
a your latest single DMX right.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
Yes that that was It actually isn't my most recent single.
We got other singles, but yes, it was one of
the big singles, and it was myself in Guapolai, who
is from the Bay Area, the legendary dear heart of mine,
who actually has has found her way to stage and
she was in sparkled with me in a late great
legend of them all and that being Whitney Houston. And
(09:16):
in many ways it pays homage to DMX and what
his hook was and y'all gonna make me lose my
mind and we just flipped it and made it more
about the reality of love and that, you know, the
love story is the greatest of story that makes you
lose your mind, falling a level kill you or kill
you softly one of the two.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, absolutely, And I love how you you know, you
are multi faceted. And as you said, you know, all
the way from the beginning where you're doing poet Street
and theater and multiple sports, here you are, we're talking
about your single, We're talking about, you know, a new
film and not just any film in the Star Trek universe.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Which to me is you know, it's like this huge thing.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You know what I mean that I appreciate that my parents,
my grandparents, this is you know, a multi generational thing
and here you are right.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
At the front line of it.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Amazing it.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I love that you are able to, you know, put
yourself in these various things. Why did you decide, you know,
I want to do section thirty one.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
I could piggyback off of what you do. Then you're
a journalist, Kyle, and you know that. And there's a
lot of pundits, there's a lot of armchair quarterbacks, there's
a lot of podcasters who don't necessarily know the art
of journalism. As a black kid who loved Tom Brokaw,
(10:44):
and I think what I love most about Tom Brokaw
is that he was reporting on everything, and you're supposed
to be unbiased, and he's supposed to make us believe
that you are not leaning with your eyes to a
direction in terms of the story you're telling. And I
think one of the great things about section thirty one
in Star Trek is that perhaps is the first role
(11:04):
within my career that I got to be more so
a journalist, I am sort of the narrator of what
the universe was three hundred and fifty years prior, because
a lot comes from three hundred and fifty years prior.
And I now put this motley crew, ragtag group of
individuals together so to become a policing agent for all
(11:24):
the decades and decades ahead for the galaxy, remaining the
way that Roddenberry wanted the galaxy and Galaxy's plural of
Star Trek to remain, And in many ways, when you
think about it, that is me bringing finally my major
to the forefront and being a journalist. A lock is
simply a journalist. He's not necessarily actually driving the car
(11:47):
at all points. He's bringing in different people and he's
saying they will drive the story the way that I
want the story driven. And if that's not necessarily the
journalist on microphone like yourself, it absolutely is the program
director saying, hey, make sure we cover this subject, Hey
make sure we talk about this. And so I think
I just knew that I was a lot more and
on a journalist. But in many of these opportunities as
(12:10):
as an actor, I haven't been able to be a
locke who is reporting the nightly news and where we
now stand as a society. And that's what made Star
Trek so cool. It was a reporting from William Shatner's
Captain Kirk, it was a reporting from Leonard Nimoy's doctor Spock.
It was they were reporting and then having to deal
with the fallout of what didn't go down as to
(12:33):
what they reported. And I think maybe this is the
first time, bro that I got to play that guy.
I'm just at a desk like you, albeit me standing
up and walking around, but I'm still reporting on what
should be and this was a great opportunity to be
just that.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
I love that, you know, with Michelle, I mean to
get to work with Michelle.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
What was that like? Speak of reporting? I feel like
there's those moments where you work with directors that you
have on your bucket list. There's those moments you work
with actors that or whom you have on your bucket list,
and you still are negotiating after working with them when
(13:11):
your family says the same thing, which is may you
got to work with Michelle. There's moments where you're left
because you're so in all of the people you've worked with,
where you're able to almost beg the question by asking
it back, did I work with him? And so Michelle
might have been I'm aware that I worked with Kevin
(13:34):
Costner early in my career. The hug was beautiful at
whitney funeral, you know because you can google it that
he was the one asked to eulogize Whitney. Crazy obviously
other people spoke, but makes sense after I came off
the set of The Guardian and learn who Kevin was,
the person whose father was a pastor of an all
(13:55):
black church and Compton where Kendrick Lamar speaking of music
comes from. But yet one of my first cast mates,
the incomparable Kevin Costner, grew up in the church that
looking left and right, did not have people who look
like him. Once I met him on the set, I
was like, man, the actor really is not that far
from how great they he or she are next to
(14:18):
you as person. Michelle is right there. Michelle is someone
who when you look at the Oscar back and honestly
as well, Kyle, when you look at the Oscar forward,
wicked included, you go fuck it wicked because it matches
how wicked she is as a person, and the greatest
(14:38):
of connotation of the word wicked. She's just wickedly good,
wickedly big, and wickedly surprising. I could never predict all
the color she was going to bring, But now that
I know her, man, I would just say that everybody
who gets an opportunity to work with her who have
not yet you are in for some kind of treat
when working with her. She is krim Lilli krim.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
I love that, and the relationship of you two, and
the chemistry of you two is so such a joy
to watch as if you were.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
I'm glad you fell showed. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
So do you you know hope for more? Can we
expect more stories with section thirty one in the future.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Man, I hope it, I really do you know? I
felt this prior cow with Army of the Dead. You know,
Zack Snyder is such a friend of mine and such
a comrade, and it's in every other week checking on
each other reality. Obviously with the forest fires that extended
beyond forest and climbed up hills and went into environments
(15:40):
or neighborhoods in which I equally lived, one being Passaden,
the Altaden area, and all that Los Angeles is having
to heal from. I most recently checked on him again
for obvious reasons because of the La fires. But that
lit a fire unto me during Army of the Dead,
and it made me go where, Oh connect more more.
Whether that happens or not, it's cool to get another
(16:03):
potential franchise that allows me to go. Not not in
Fortunity or Alex Kurtzman, not in that order. Alex kirchman
Ola Tundi in that order to go who's there? And
I go me a Lockomari both. When do we go again,
I'm ready to rop like it's cool man putting me
back in coach. I've been ready to.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Play play absolutely.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Amari, thank you so much as willing to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Man, You're just an amazing soul. And uh, I can't
wait for everybody to see star track section thirty one.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Thank you Cale, very humbled to talk to you, brother,
very smooth.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Thank He's very much man.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
Have a great day YouTube.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Amari hardwek great guy, such a good guy. I can't
emphasize that enough. Just such a pleasure to talk to.
I'm sure you saw it by listening. You can watch
the interview up on the YouTube channel at pop Culture
Weekly on YouTube.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Let me know what you think about that.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
And we started a YouTube shorts channel, pop Culture Minute,
so head on over there. After you subscribe to the
pop Culture Weekly YouTube channel, head on over to pop
Culture Minute on YouTube. You can get the daily Minute
shorts Monday through Friday. Mostly we're not going to say
Monday through you know, about four or five days a
(17:24):
week where I post a short on the pop Culture
Minute channel. Let me know when you subscribe there, comment
on one of the videos that you came from the podcast,
and let's start a conversation on all things movies and
music and TV and streaming and everything else. And let
me know what you think about section thirty one. You
(17:46):
know I'm going to start highlighting some viewer and listener
and reader comments, so start sending them in on the
show on stuff that we're talking about, and you may
just be featured on pop Culture Weekly. Eat yourself all
rights until next episode. I'll see you then, I love you.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
We thank you for listening to pop Culture Weekly. Here
all the latest at pop cultureweekly dot com.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Searching chess, start Chasion, very woe
Speaker 3 (18:27):
St
In this episode, I speak with Amri Hardwick all about
his brand new film Star Trek Section thirty one.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon from my
Heart Radio your pop culture news, views, reviews and celebrity
interviews on all the movies, TV, music and pop culture
u CRABE Weekly. Here's Kyle McMahon.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Nick Nick added Nick, Hello, and welcome the pop Culture
Weekly with Kyle McMahon. I. Of course, am Kyle McMahon.
I thank you so much for hanging out with me
for another episode of pop Culture Weekly. There. This is
a short episode. It's just an interview only episode. We
have another episode coming you know, next week, which will
(00:49):
be back to the traditional length. We'll have Amanda come
back on and we'll be talking about you know, well,
I can't tell you yet, so you don't know, but
we'll be talking about something cool and have.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Some interviews for you as well.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
This week it is all about Mari Hardwick and his
brand new Paramount Plus film, Star Trek Section thirty one.
So Star Trek Section thirty one is the first Star
Trek film since what twenty sixteen's Star Trek Beyond, which
(01:21):
that was those three films are considered the reboot, but
they're kind of subtitled the Kelvin Timeline, which is a
whole thing in the Star Trek universe. But this is
the first This is not only the first Star Trek
film in nine years since Star Trek Beyond in twenty sixteen,
(01:41):
it is the first Star Trek film that was not
made exclusively for theaters. So Star Trek Section thirty one
is made exclusively for Paramount Plus, which is the home
of all things Star Trek. Paramount Plus had announced back
in April twenty twenty three that Section thirty one had
been in a development as a series as a spin
(02:02):
off from Star Trek Discovery, which is one of their
Paramount Plus exclusive Star Trek series. Instead, they were going
to move forward with a streaming event film with Michelle
Yoh attached to reprise her role as Philippa from Discovery
in Star Trek Section thirty one. Of course, Michelle Yeoh
(02:23):
is amazing, so you know, I've got to ask Amari
about her. But she plays the leader of the Taran
Empire in the Mirror universe who has traveled to the
Prime Universe and joined Starfleet, and O'mari stars as a
Locke who is a Section thirty one agent who is
a strategic mastermind with some mental problems, and he wants
(02:45):
her to pay for her pass by joining his team
for a covert mission. So basically Section thirty one, which
is the fourteenth film, by the way, in the Star
Trek franchise. So Section thirty one is basically a secret
division of Starfleet and they are tasked with protecting the
United Federation of Planets, almost in kind of a whatever means,
(03:09):
you know, no questions asked, will look the other way
kind of way. So it's a great film. If you're
a Star Trek fan, you'll love it. Even if you're
not a Star Trek fan and you just like, you know,
action and sci fi. It really is a great movie
to check out. So Amari kind of blew up as
James Saint Patrick aka Ghost in Power from Stars Who,
(03:32):
of course I interviewed much of the cast of that franchise,
including fifty cent, and he was an Army of the
Dead from Zack Snyder, who has been on the show
and I love that movie, and he's been in a
number of other things including Kick Ass, Love That One,
Spike Lee's Miracle at Saint Anna and Tyler Perry's for
Colored Girls. He was also just nominated for a twenty
(03:55):
five Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for
the album Concrete and Whiskey, Act to Part one a
Bourbon thirty series. So that's really cool. So let's just
jump right into it, my interview with Amari Hardway. So,
first of all, congratulations on the film.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
What's it like for you? You know, in kind of
this pre release right now, it's in the can, it's
almost our How are you feeling.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
I'm feeling good. I'm feeling more refreshed and more light
than I perhaps was when first being granted the opportunity
for us as a cast to watch it, when we
were giving the link. You know that explodes of course
after a couple of days. Yeah, I'm feeling lighter about
it and more at that place where the seat that
I want to sit in and I feel like I'm
(04:43):
soon able to sit in as that of a fan
and being able to sit back and enjoy my castmates
work tonight and the premiere being tonight and in the
midst of press week. Yeah, there becomes a moment where
you're perhaps forgetting enough that you were such a part
of it, and now you get to outside looking in
really enjoy all the parts of it and all the
work that the crew did, all the different departments from
(05:04):
costume to hear and makeup and lighting, director of photography,
and what his team is brought to the table. Obviously
what the directors and the writer and the producers have
equally brought.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I love that. And what got you?
Speaker 1 (05:16):
I mean you, you know obviously been around a while
in a number of great projects, but you know, essentially
you started out as an athlete. Yes, how did you
get from an athlete to you know, starring in at
Star Trek film.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Man, that's a great one, Kal. I was a dude
who in the midst of IF sport one was soccer, Kyle,
you know, baseball came pretty quickly after, and then basketball
was right after that. The family rule was thirteen years
old before football because I was more stocky and build
than the elder brother. He did me a solid and
(05:53):
said I'm okay with me at thirteen, allowing Omari at
eleven to play football, and so that was really cool.
But in the same year cow at about eleven years
of age, man I found poetry that was about the
year that I wrote my first poem, and it was
interesting because I didn't know that it was a poem.
You know, you think you're just writing an idea, and
by first girlfriend preps that's a moment where I was like, oh,
(06:15):
this is poetry. And I just really enjoyed those moments
of watching everything from James Amos, James Evans and Florida
Evans played bi Asterole and all that, and James Amos
recently passed away right rest in peace and all that
had to offer a story, but all the way over
(06:36):
to Marlon Brando on the Waterfront and my pops one
of my pop's favorite was cool Hand Luke and what
Paul Newman met to my pops, a black man from Savannah,
Georgia who went to college in Boston. Pops and grandfathers
were able to present a lot of diversity within their
bag that got had gifted them with Kyle to the
world in a country that wasn't necessarily checking for a
(06:58):
lot of what black men had to offer out of
their grab bag of goodies. And so I found myself
having permission really early in life to go, so why
not be an athlete and also be a poet and
I like acting, and should I go that route? Get
the University of Georgia and major in journalism, finish in
the classroom at four, but have a redshirt year to
play one more year of football at University of Georgia
(07:20):
SEC football, as you know, no less, and I minor
in theater. And you know who would have thunk it
that instead of tomatoes being thrown by teammates that are
in the NFL, one of whom was Chap Bailey, not
just in the NFL, one of whom was Terrell Davis,
not just in the NFL equally, but both of them,
as you know, in the Hall of Fame, and all
of them say, Yo, if the football didn't work out, Bro,
(07:40):
there's something with this theater thing. And that's how I
kind of found my way to it. And in the
midst of that cow I found music. And I was
already musical. I already understood what Frankie Beverly met when
he said Joe hooy and paying I kind of was like,
oh right, they go together, and Bro, the best way
to get down the field on kickoff coverage was to
(08:02):
get down the field on a set called kickoff coverage
as a character and whatever character is being asked to play,
and the greatest of which is an industry that says
we want your joy and your pain. Thank you, film industry.
I will bring both. And now I'm able to uh,
which is hard for me, especially as a Capricorn, to
boast about anything, but I'm able to boast the reality
(08:25):
that I've now been you know, Grammy nominated in the
world of music, which I haven't used to put food
on the table. So God made me a bag of nuts, bro.
And I just will always say God because it can't
you know what I mean. I'm crazy discipline and I'll
meet him halfway where I can, whilst being super flawed
and not the greatest of human being. But I'm doing
okay at using all the shit that he put in
(08:46):
my bag. I'm pretty I love that.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I love that. And it's speaking of music, you have
a your latest single DMX right.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
Yes that that was It actually isn't my most recent single.
We got other singles, but yes, it was one of
the big singles, and it was myself in Guapolai, who
is from the Bay Area, the legendary dear heart of mine,
who actually has has found her way to stage and
she was in sparkled with me in a late great
legend of them all and that being Whitney Houston. And
(09:16):
in many ways it pays homage to DMX and what
his hook was and y'all gonna make me lose my
mind and we just flipped it and made it more
about the reality of love and that, you know, the
love story is the greatest of story that makes you
lose your mind, falling a level kill you or kill
you softly one of the two.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Yeah, absolutely, And I love how you you know, you
are multi faceted. And as you said, you know, all
the way from the beginning where you're doing poet Street
and theater and multiple sports, here you are, we're talking
about your single, We're talking about, you know, a new
film and not just any film in the Star Trek universe.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Which to me is you know, it's like this huge thing.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
You know what I mean that I appreciate that my parents,
my grandparents, this is you know, a multi generational thing
and here you are right.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
At the front line of it.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
Amazing it.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I love that you are able to, you know, put
yourself in these various things. Why did you decide, you know,
I want to do section thirty one.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
I could piggyback off of what you do. Then you're
a journalist, Kyle, and you know that. And there's a
lot of pundits, there's a lot of armchair quarterbacks, there's
a lot of podcasters who don't necessarily know the art
of journalism. As a black kid who loved Tom Brokaw,
(10:44):
and I think what I love most about Tom Brokaw
is that he was reporting on everything, and you're supposed
to be unbiased, and he's supposed to make us believe
that you are not leaning with your eyes to a
direction in terms of the story you're telling. And I
think one of the great things about section thirty one
in Star Trek is that perhaps is the first role
(11:04):
within my career that I got to be more so
a journalist, I am sort of the narrator of what
the universe was three hundred and fifty years prior, because
a lot comes from three hundred and fifty years prior.
And I now put this motley crew, ragtag group of
individuals together so to become a policing agent for all
(11:24):
the decades and decades ahead for the galaxy, remaining the
way that Roddenberry wanted the galaxy and Galaxy's plural of
Star Trek to remain, And in many ways, when you
think about it, that is me bringing finally my major
to the forefront and being a journalist. A lock is
simply a journalist. He's not necessarily actually driving the car
(11:47):
at all points. He's bringing in different people and he's
saying they will drive the story the way that I
want the story driven. And if that's not necessarily the
journalist on microphone like yourself, it absolutely is the program
director saying, hey, make sure we cover this subject, Hey
make sure we talk about this. And so I think
I just knew that I was a lot more and
on a journalist. But in many of these opportunities as
(12:10):
as an actor, I haven't been able to be a
locke who is reporting the nightly news and where we
now stand as a society. And that's what made Star
Trek so cool. It was a reporting from William Shatner's
Captain Kirk, it was a reporting from Leonard Nimoy's doctor Spock.
It was they were reporting and then having to deal
with the fallout of what didn't go down as to
(12:33):
what they reported. And I think maybe this is the
first time, bro that I got to play that guy.
I'm just at a desk like you, albeit me standing
up and walking around, but I'm still reporting on what
should be and this was a great opportunity to be
just that.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
I love that, you know, with Michelle, I mean to
get to work with Michelle.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
What was that like? Speak of reporting? I feel like
there's those moments where you work with directors that you
have on your bucket list. There's those moments you work
with actors that or whom you have on your bucket list,
and you still are negotiating after working with them when
(13:11):
your family says the same thing, which is may you
got to work with Michelle. There's moments where you're left
because you're so in all of the people you've worked with,
where you're able to almost beg the question by asking
it back, did I work with him? And so Michelle
might have been I'm aware that I worked with Kevin
(13:34):
Costner early in my career. The hug was beautiful at
whitney funeral, you know because you can google it that
he was the one asked to eulogize Whitney. Crazy obviously
other people spoke, but makes sense after I came off
the set of The Guardian and learn who Kevin was,
the person whose father was a pastor of an all
(13:55):
black church and Compton where Kendrick Lamar speaking of music
comes from. But yet one of my first cast mates,
the incomparable Kevin Costner, grew up in the church that
looking left and right, did not have people who look
like him. Once I met him on the set, I
was like, man, the actor really is not that far
from how great they he or she are next to
(14:18):
you as person. Michelle is right there. Michelle is someone
who when you look at the Oscar back and honestly
as well, Kyle, when you look at the Oscar forward,
wicked included, you go fuck it wicked because it matches
how wicked she is as a person, and the greatest
(14:38):
of connotation of the word wicked. She's just wickedly good,
wickedly big, and wickedly surprising. I could never predict all
the color she was going to bring, But now that
I know her, man, I would just say that everybody
who gets an opportunity to work with her who have
not yet you are in for some kind of treat
when working with her. She is krim Lilli krim.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
I love that, and the relationship of you two, and
the chemistry of you two is so such a joy
to watch as if you were.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
I'm glad you fell showed. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
So do you you know hope for more? Can we
expect more stories with section thirty one in the future.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
Man, I hope it, I really do you know? I
felt this prior cow with Army of the Dead. You know,
Zack Snyder is such a friend of mine and such
a comrade, and it's in every other week checking on
each other reality. Obviously with the forest fires that extended
beyond forest and climbed up hills and went into environments
(15:40):
or neighborhoods in which I equally lived, one being Passaden,
the Altaden area, and all that Los Angeles is having
to heal from. I most recently checked on him again
for obvious reasons because of the La fires. But that
lit a fire unto me during Army of the Dead,
and it made me go where, Oh connect more more.
Whether that happens or not, it's cool to get another
(16:03):
potential franchise that allows me to go. Not not in
Fortunity or Alex Kurtzman, not in that order. Alex kirchman
Ola Tundi in that order to go who's there? And
I go me a Lockomari both. When do we go again,
I'm ready to rop like it's cool man putting me
back in coach. I've been ready to.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Play play absolutely.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
Amari, thank you so much as willing to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Man, You're just an amazing soul. And uh, I can't
wait for everybody to see star track section thirty one.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
Thank you Cale, very humbled to talk to you, brother,
very smooth.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
Thank He's very much man.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
Have a great day YouTube.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
Amari hardwek great guy, such a good guy. I can't
emphasize that enough. Just such a pleasure to talk to.
I'm sure you saw it by listening. You can watch
the interview up on the YouTube channel at pop Culture
Weekly on YouTube.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Let me know what you think about that.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
And we started a YouTube shorts channel, pop Culture Minute,
so head on over there. After you subscribe to the
pop Culture Weekly YouTube channel, head on over to pop
Culture Minute on YouTube. You can get the daily Minute
shorts Monday through Friday. Mostly we're not going to say
Monday through you know, about four or five days a
(17:24):
week where I post a short on the pop Culture
Minute channel. Let me know when you subscribe there, comment
on one of the videos that you came from the podcast,
and let's start a conversation on all things movies and
music and TV and streaming and everything else. And let
me know what you think about section thirty one. You
(17:46):
know I'm going to start highlighting some viewer and listener
and reader comments, so start sending them in on the
show on stuff that we're talking about, and you may
just be featured on pop Culture Weekly. Eat yourself all
rights until next episode. I'll see you then, I love you.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
We thank you for listening to pop Culture Weekly. Here
all the latest at pop cultureweekly dot com.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Searching chess, start Chasion, very woe
Speaker 3 (18:27):
St
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