Determinedly working to prove to your critics that your work isn’t as frivolous as they may initially believe can initially be a daunting task. But the effort can ultimately prove to be worthwhile when your talents unquestionably prove themselves. Actor Isaiah Washington helped enthrallingly prove that a drama can effectively break stereotypes when its characters, who are mainly played by African American actors, relentlessly fight for justice and equality in his gripping new film, ‘The Sin Seer.’
Washington also co-produced ‘The Sin Seer’ with the thriller’s writer and director, Paul D. Hannah. The drama made its streaming premiere on Urban Movie Channel (UMC), a premium subscription-based video streaming service that was created by Robert L. Johnson, the chairman of RLJ Entertainment and the founder of BET. RLJ Entertainment also released the thriller on DVD and digital video this week.
‘The Sin Seer’ follows Rose Ricard (Lisa Arrindell Anderson), who from a young age has been blessed with a special gift. Looking into a person’s soul, she can see the lies they try to hide. Now, using her uncanny ability, Rose works as a private investigator, solving cold cases the police can’t unravel. With her new partner, ex-con Grant Summit (Washington), Rose takes on a deadly case that follows close on the heels of a murderer and threatens to reveal long-buried secrets from her own past. Rose’s divine gift may wind up being a curse that makes her the target of the killer she never saw coming.
Washington generously took the time recently to talk about starring in, and producing, ‘The Sin Seer,’ during an exclusive interview over the phone. Among other things, the actor and producer discussed how he was drawn to play Grant in the thriller because an ex-con who’s determined to rebuild his life, despite all of the obstacles he’s trying to overcome, is a character he has never played before. The actor also explained how he was interested in working with Hannah on the drama, as the writer-director not only allowed him to fully explore the complexities of his character, but he also believes in his talent and taste as a producer.
ShockYa (SY): You play Grant Summit, an ex-con who begins working for private detective Rose Ricard upon his release from prison, in the new thriller, ‘The Sin Seer.’ What was it about the character, as well as the script overall, that convinced you to take on the role?
Isaiah Washington (IW): Well, I thought that it was a very unique story, at least from my interpretation of it. I thought it was unusual because I have never seen African Americans as the leads in a story like this. As a result of that, we knew it would be a hard sale.
But I wanted to tell a story in which I could challenge, and not get completely ahead of, myself. I also wanted to take part in a story in which people would be totally caught off guard and surprised by the end of it, and I think we achieved that.
I also wanted to work with Paul D. Hannah, who I think is ahead of his time, especially as an independent producer. He helped me build my brand as an independent producer. He told me that he also wanted to take films to the next level, and I was proud that he considered me to be his partner. He took my brand seriously, and knew we could take this type of film to the next level.
The movie’s now available on DVD, after it premiered on made its streaming premiere on the UMC streaming service last year. We’re very thankful to them, because they believe in my talent and taste as a producer. They also realized that this is a unique story.
Do I wish that we had more time to make the film? Absolutely. Do I wish we also had more money? Always. But no amount of time and money will help if you don’t know what type of story you want to tell. Having more time and money won’t do any good if the audience doesn’t care about the story one way or the other at the end. Overall, this character felt like a new challenge to me, and we achieved what we wanted to tell.
SY: Paul D. Hannah, who you just mentioned, both wrote the script for, and directed, ‘The Sin Seer.’ What was your experience of collaborating with Paul, as both the scribe and helmer of the film?
IW: Well, the collaboration was fast and furious. We spent the little time that we had together talking about how we wanted to take the story on. We didn’t have much time to shoot the movie; if I’m not mistaken, we only had 12 days to film.
I always like to take on characters that people will be shocked by, particularly if they think they’ll hate the character. Like my mother always said, people often don’t like other people because they see something of the person in themselves. That’s the feeling I got from this story.
I felt like I could connect with this character, and thought it would be fun to walk in his shoes for a few days. Paul was very good with allowing me to check things out about the character.
The other thing that we had to do, in terms of the collaborative spirit, was to only film dialogue that truly fit the story. I know that was a painful process for him, because he likes to shoot everything that he writes. So we both had to work on a learning curve, because we didn’t have time to shoot everything that we wanted. My decision to have to cut some of his dialogue came from my duties as a producer, not as an actor. I love everything he wrote, but we didn’t have time to shoot everything. Since we had to stick to the budget, as a producer I had to make hard calls. But we still made the movie that we wanted.
If the film wasn’t likable, I’m quite certain that the Urban Movie Channel wouldn’t have played it. (laughs) They’re trying to build their brand, as well, with high quality films that have interesting concepts. So we made it work to everyone’s liking.
SY: Lisa Arrindell Anderson plays Rose, who has been able to sense people’s secrets and lies since she was a young girl. Since Rose and Grant developed their connection while he was still in prison before the drama began, how did you build your working relationship with Lisa as you were filming?
IW: It was fantastic working with Lisa. Again, the process was fast and furious, but she was very open to trying new things as we worked together. But we didn’t have a lot of time to make mistakes on the set, so we couldn’t have many takes.
We worked the same way when we collaborated 20 years ago on in Spike Lee’s ‘Clockers.’ I had a good idea of what to expect from her, and she had a good idea what to expect from me. Since we didn’t have a lot of time to work together on this film, we relied on that trust factor that we developed 20 years ago.
SY: Besides starring in the suspense thriller, you also served as one of its producers, like you mentioned ealrier. Why were you interested in also producing in the film, in addition to playing the lead male character?
IW: Well, the goal was to give back to Paul in any way I could, whether it was acting or producing. We wanted to help Lisa get back into acting, as she has mainly been focusing on being a fantastic mother to her children. As a producer, I knew she was right, and prepared, for this job, an idea that was supported when she won an award for Best Actress at the American Black Film Festival. As an actor and producer on the film, I thought she was wonderful to work with while we were shooting it.
SY: ‘The Sin Seer’ premiered at the American Black Film Festival, which you just mentioned, and has also played at several other film festivals, including the International Black Film Festival of Nashville. What was the experience of showing the thriller on the festival circuit? How did audiences at the festivals respond to the drama?
IW: A lot of people actually didn’t really get the film at the festivals, because they’re not used to people of color playing these types of roles. There aren’t a lot of these types of films that feature African Americans in the leads. So we knew we had our work cut out for us, as we tried to change people’s minds. It was a challenge to have people accept the film, since there’s such a big difference between big box office office movies and indies. But Paul created this great film that people may now be reconsidering, and thinking that they should have seen it at the festivals.
SY: The thriller (was) released on DVD and Digital Video on February 2. Why do you think the On Demand platform is beneficial for independent films like this one?
IW: Well, to be honest, this movie wasn’t made to compete with big box office films in a theatrical release. This movie was really made to have be released on VOD. We really didn’t have the time or money to make this be a theatrical release. There aren’t any other films like this one, so we knew we wouldn’t have a big box office return. With movies like this one, which are released on platforms like the Urban Movie Channel or Netflix, you really receive feedback on whether or not you hit your mark. But I never fooled myself by thinking that this was going to be the next ‘Star Wars’ or ‘The Hunger Games.’
SY: Besides ‘The Sin Seer,’ do you have any other upcoming projects lined up that you can discuss? Are you interested in continuing making similar films?
IW: Well, I’m interested in pursuing films as an actor and a producer that can break the $1 million mark. That’s the business of filmmaking right now-making quality films for $1 million. Then I continue to grow and learn how to make the right decisions, and make films with the best writing, cast and crew. I have a few projects that are in development right now that follow that way of thinking. I would like to follow in the footsteps of Woody Allen, who releases one film a year that plays in theaters for two or three weeks, at most, but they stand the test of time.
Written by: Karen Benardello