The award-winning actor reflects on portraying a Black detective and building dynamic on-screen tension with Kevin Hart.
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00:00What drew you to the role of J.D.
00:02Hudson?
00:03Money.
00:06No, no.
00:10My name is Oakley Jones with Essence
00:11Dine. How you doing today, brother?
00:13Yo, what's up, man?
00:15Good, man. Thank you for taking this.
00:17I wanted to ask you what drew you
00:19to the role of J.D.
00:20Hudson?
00:20Kevin and Will
00:22and Frank Brewer called me
00:25and were just really passionate
00:27about the story and about the project
00:29and I was the
00:31last person really cast.
00:33So once I heard who else was
00:35involved and I have worked with all
00:37of them, you know, I was really
00:39excited to see
00:41what we would all do together
00:42in this piece over the course
00:44of eight episodes and really have an
00:46opportunity to to sit
00:48with the character for a while and
00:50grow him and be in a collaborative,
00:52you know, a collaborative effort
00:54with other artists who I respect,
00:57except for Kevin Hart.
00:59It's so funny you say that because
01:00that was going to be my next
01:01question. So you and Kevin
01:03have a relationship outside of the
01:05film as well.
01:07How did you go about approaching
01:09developing that tension in the film
01:10between your two characters?
01:12Well, you know, we talked about it a
01:14lot because, you know, we
01:16famously obviously had a big viral
01:18moment happen.
01:20And, you know, Kevin
01:22is known for a certain thing.
01:23I feel like I've kind of maybe
01:25have known for a certain kind of
01:27thing. And that was a part of it.
01:29What we discussed is like
01:31this isn't that, you know, these
01:33what we're trying to do with these
01:34two characters is something entirely
01:36different.
01:37Although there will be aspects of
01:38that, that will obviously bubble
01:40up because they are kind of
01:42an odd couple and they are kind of
01:44contentious.
01:44And there is that undertone.
01:47So that was a lot of what
01:49we discussed is like, how are how
01:51are we going to make sure that Kevin
01:52and Don can disappear into
01:54these two characters and that we're
01:56really doing our job and servicing
01:58this story and not just out here
02:00trying to yuck it up.
02:01And, you know, we
02:03were really sort of slavish to that
02:05idea the whole time.
02:06So I think your character was the
02:08most complex in the series.
02:10He was kind of stuck between
02:12his color and then his career, too.
02:14I wanted to ask you, how
02:16do you think those two dynamics
02:18shaped his actions throughout the
02:19series?
02:20Well, I think you hit it on the head.
02:21I mean, that's who he is.
02:22He's in this institution
02:24that does that does not only
02:25recognize him, but vilifies
02:27him in many ways.
02:29And he's trying to figure out
02:31how can I be in it,
02:33but not of it?
02:34And how can I both
02:36represent my community
02:38and find greater justice
02:40for them? But at the same time,
02:42they're the only community that I can
02:43police. You know, J.D.
02:44was not allowed to arrest
02:46white people, irrespective of their
02:48crimes.
02:49So he's trying
02:51to toe a line and at the same time
02:53push through
02:56institutionalized racism and also
02:59bring, you know,
03:00bring forward other people behind
03:02him to make the
03:04place that he's trying to work, a
03:06more equitable place, a more just
03:08place.
03:09And, you know, yeah, he's between a
03:10rock and a hard place for the for
03:12most of the show.
03:13And I think to one of the most
03:14important characters in this series
03:16was the city of Atlanta.
03:19Can you tell me how do you
03:20feel Atlanta
03:22contributed to the film and why was
03:24it important to telling the story?
03:26Well, it really was central to it.
03:28I mean, I think all of these people
03:29that we see in this story are
03:32trying to move forward
03:34and striving to become something.
03:36And that's, you know, part and
03:38parcel what the city was at that
03:40time. It was going through a big
03:41transition.
03:43Black leadership was just coming
03:44more into the fore.
03:46Black money was coming more
03:48into the fore.
03:50Things were changing on the ground
03:51and all these characters are trying
03:53to find their
03:55place in that story and how they
03:57could also be a part of what new
03:59Atlanta was going to be.
04:00But it was great to be able to go to
04:01a neighborhood and just put down a
04:03tripod and not have to do a lot
04:05and capture it.
04:06Not to say that the production team
04:08didn't have to do a lot.
04:09They saw a lot that was done with
04:10set deck and props and cars
04:13and clothes and hair that really
04:15rounded it out.
04:16But we had the opportunity
04:18to be in some places that
04:20it was a bit of a time capsule for
04:22Atlanta and Atlanta is absolutely
04:24a character in this TV show.