Born in New York on November 4, 1969, rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is the CEO and founder of Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group, one of the preeminent urban-oriented conglomerates. The company encompasses a broad range of businesses, including recording, music publishing, artist management, television and film production, apparel and restaurants.
The 38 year-old, multiple Grammy Award-winner is also widely-recognized as a music producer, performer and solo artist. On the big screen, he’s previously appeared opposite Halle Berry as her husband in her Oscar-winning performance in Monster’s Ball. Now, Diddy breaks new ground by both producing a TV adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” and reprising the lead role of Walter Lee which he brought to Broadway in the play’s 2004 revival.
Here, Diddy tells the Robertson Treatment about many aspects of his career and why he chose to be a part of this great American classic. .
Robertson Treatment: Fine. What about “A Raisin in the Sun” made you want to bring it to Broadway and now to TV?
Sean Combs: You don’t read scripts like that these days, especially for African Americans. I just felt so thrilled and blessed, that I jumped at the chance to do it. On Broadway, I was blessed with an acting coach who knew the passion that I had to become an actor. And she knew I was studying extremely hard. After doing a quick role in “Monster’s Ball,” she knew I wanted to take another route besides the cliché roles which you would expect of a rap artist that’s transitioning into acting. She said, “If you really, really want to get serious, I have the perfect role for you.” Then, she told me about possibly playing Walter Lee Younger, Jr. And I was like, there’s no way I can do that. I’d never even been on a live stage. But she said, “You can’t have any fears,” and so I just really jumped at the chance to do it without knowing how difficult and tough starring on Broadway was. It was a dream role for any actor, but it was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done as an artist, and it like truly changed my life.
KW: Did you draw on any of your childhood experiences from Harlem and Mount Vernon in creating Walter Lee?
SC: Yes. Ironically, some people think that maybe I may not be able to relate because I’ve had a little bit of success. But I feel I was destined to play this role because my father was killed when I was three years old and I grew up in a house with three women, my mother, my grandmother and my sister. I went through those years of having to watch my mother and my grandmother work two jobs and not being able to take care of my family and seeing the look on my mother’s face when I would ask for things that she couldn’t afford. And the stress we went through when I was going to Howard University and me just having a dream of being in the music industry kind of related to Walter Lee’s dream of having a liquor store. Everybody looked at me like I was crazy back then the same way Walter Lee is treated in this movie. And so, some of the anxiety, the way you feel, the pursuit of the dream and how you’re constantly hitting obstacles and it’s getting deferred and how you just have to keep that passion and motivation and can’t stop is something that I truly was able to tap into and relate to from my life.
KW: Why don’t we see more scripts like this for African-Americans?
SC: That’s a good question. I think that things are changing for the better. You’re seeing African-Americans get more power as far as being executive producers, so I think a lot of work that Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and a lot of the black actors are doing right now are really opening up doors for actors like me. Still, there hasn’t been an abundance of roles that really look into all of the dimensions of a black man, but I do think that things like that are changing. You don’t see as many gang-banging movies as you used to.
KW: What about the original play by Lorraine Hansberry touched you?
SC: I hadn’t really read another script where almost every single word from beginning to end means something. I think that her understanding of each character’s motivation was genius. That’s what makes this work still relevant today and so timeless. When people ask, “Why do this again?” I say because it’s important that the story lives on just like Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” lives on.
KW: How was it working with Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Lathan and Audra McDonald?
SC: Oh, to be able to work with three incredible actresses that are so vulnerable and so real you can’t but help tell the truth when you’re looking into their eyes. It comes very easy with actors like that. You can’t help but get better. You can’t help but nail the scene because they’re so believable from their years of experience.
RT: Diddy, did you speak to Sidney Poitier, who originated your role on Broadway back in 1959, in preparation?
SC: Yes, yes. When I got offered the role, I immediately called Sidney Poitier, because I just wanted to tell him myself. And he was very excited and he’s been very supportive. He just literally passed me the baton, and we went out to lunch in L.A. He really supported me and gave me confidence, and so did Ruby Dee and Ozzie Davis. They took me under their wing, because they felt it was important to share this story with a new generation.
RT: What is the secret of your success at juggling so many different responsibilities?
SC: One of the secrets of my success is my professionalism. I think, for some reason, a lot of people, are surprised by that. I guess I use it to my advantage because this is just the way I am. I couldn’t have all of these companies running successfully if I wasn’t a professional. I come from the world of hip-hop, known for the bling bling and the money and the champagne and all of those things that become very, very blown out of proportion. But most of the time, I’m just in my office working or in the studio. And when I do go out, a lot of things get magnified.
RT: Do you especially expect your character in Raisin to resonate with black males?
SC: Yes, definitely. I felt his pain because I was going through that pain and I think everybody feels his pain who wants to take care of their family. I think that’s why so many people relate to this and especially to be able to tell this story from an African American man’s perspective so people could try to understand the pain and the anxiety that a lot of African American males are going through, being born into conditions where it’s like their life is predestined for failure. They’re born into all the statistics on what they’re going to become and how they’re not going to become anything. That’s very painful.
RT: What message does Raisin have for members of the Hip-Hop Generation?
SC: Oh, my. I think the core message for this generation is love of family and that, at the end of the day, when things are rough, and the chips are down, your family is going to be there. And to never give up hope, to keep on pursuing your dreams because this generation has gone through this story in more of a widespread way than I think it was like when the play was originally done. Now, it’s not just African-Americans that are touched by this. Whites and Latinos and other impoverished communities are going through this same story. You have the line in there about “Money is life.” That’s something that this generation kind of believes because this is the world that we were brought up in. And I think this brings it down to that reality, just like it’s brought a lot of hip hop stars, even myself, to the reality that there is more than that, that family is life and love is life. – Kam Williams
Visit: www.robertsontreatment.com
Copyright, 2008 Robertson Treatment LLC
