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Mike Epps was born in Indianapolis,
Indiana on November 18, 1970, but raised in Crenshaw along with
nine siblings by his single mom. Every summer, she would sent
the kids back to Gary to live with their grandparents. Mike was
the class clown in school which is where, at an early age, he
developed the ability to make people laugh.
As a teenager, he entered an amateur standup contest in Indiana
and immediately caught the showbiz bug. Honing his craft on the
nightclub circuit, he ended up in New York City by the age of
21. In 1995, he first found fame when he was invited to appear
on HBO's Def Comedy Jam.
He made his big screen debut a couple of years later in Strays
with Vin Diesel, although Mike's breakout performance would come
in his second film, Next Friday, where he co-starred opposite
Ice Cube. The colorful comic has been a staple in urban-oriented
features ever since, making such movies as The Honeymooners, All
About the Benjamins, Bait, Dr. Dolittle 2, Roll Bounce,
Something New, Talk to Me, The Fighting Temptations, Malibu's
Most Wanted and Resident Evil 1 and 2.
As for his private life, Mike married Michelle McCain in 2006,
though he has recently become the subject of tabloid speculation
after being slapped with a paternity by an unnamed woman who
claims he fathered the child she gave birth to last December.
Fortunately, in these days of DNA, it won’t belong before the
truth comes out and establishes that either she's a liar or he's
a daddy.
Here, he talks about his latest flick, Welcome Home Roscoe
Jenkins, which will be released on DVD on June 17th, an ensemble
comedy in which he plays Martin Lawrence's conniving cousin,
Reggie.
 The
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Click to order via
Amazon
Actors: Martin Lawrence, James Earl Jones,
Margaret Avery,
Nicole Ari Parker, Mike Epps
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled,
Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Rating: PG 13
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: June 17, 2008
Mike Epps -
The Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins Interview
with Kam
Williams
KW: Hi, Mike, thanks for the time.
ME: All right.
KW: What interested you in playing Reggie?
ME: It was a familiar character. I thought it was a
character I really, really could do something with. Sometimes,
you read a script and you don't know what you can do with it.
You read it, and you be like’ You know what I mean?
KW: Yep. So, what was it like working with Martin Lawrence?
ME: It was great. Martin is always professional and fun
to work with, and understanding when it comes to making a film.
So, it was cool.
KW: Besides Martin, the cast included Mo’Nique and Cedric the
Entertainer. Was it hard to carve out your own space to be
funny, given that there were so many comedians on the set?
ME: Not really. Everybody was experienced, knew what they
were doing and knew what they wanted. That's all that really
mattered. We’d all been there before, so everybody was
professional. We all knew what it was.
KW: How did you like being directed by Malcolm Lee? Were you
familiar with his work?
ME: I already did a movie with Malcolm, Roll Bounce.
That's what kinda helped me get this role.
KW: How was it filming on location in rural Louisiana?
ME: It was cool. You know, when you film in an area like
that, and you don't know anybody, there's really not a lot to
do, but we made the best of it. You become like a close-knit
family.
Michael Clarke Duncan, Mike Epps, Martin Lawrence
KW: What message should people expect to get from Welcome
Home Roscoe Jenkins?
ME: Family values. It's about having fun, not forgetting
where you come from, and all that stuff.
KW: What do you have coming up on the horizon?
ME: I have a small role in this new movie Hancock, with
Will Smith. And I did a TV show that's coming out on Comedy
Central.
KW: What's that going to be called?
ME: The Mike Epps Show.
KW: Congratulations! So, you're getting your own variety comedy
show?
ME: Yep.
KW: Wow, that's great. When's that premiering?
ME: October.
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The 48 Laws of Power
Click to order via
Amazon
by Robert Greene
"Learning the game of power requires a
certain way of looking at the world, a shifting of
perspective," writes Robert Greene. Mastery of one's
emotions and the arts of deception and indirection are,
he goes on to assert, essential. The 48 laws outlined in
this book "have a simple premise: certain actions always
increase one's power ... while others decrease it and
even ruin us." |
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KW: Bookworm
Troy Johnson told me to ask you, what was the last book you
read?
ME: The 48 Laws of Power.
KW: The
Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
ME: Sometimes.
KW: How do you want to be remembered?
ME: I want to be remembered as a funny, loving guy.
KW: Is there any question you always wish someone would ask you,
but nobody does.
ME: No.
KW: Okay Mike, thanks for the interview.
ME: Thank you.
Related Links
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins - Film Review by Kam Williams
http://reviews.aalbc.com/welcome_home_roscoe_jenkins.htm
The ’Next Day Air’ Interview with Kam Williams
http://reviews.aalbc.com/mike_epps1.htm
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