Denzel Dominique Whitaker was born in Torrance, California
on June 15, 1990 to Dale and Younalanda Whitaker. He made his acting debut
at 11 in Training Day opposite his namesake, Denzel Washington, and he was
subsequently directed by and co-starred with Denzel in The Great Debaters.
Whitaker has also been on the big screen in The Bad Lieutenant and as the
voice of Albert in The Ant Bully.
Denzel Whitaker: Oh, man, get outta here!
KW: What have you been up to?
DW: I have My Soul to Take coming out and a few other projects in
post-production. I did a little animation in between… shot a music video…
and a lot of other stuff.
KW: What interested you in making a horror film?
DW: It's funny you should ask that, because I didn't really watch horror
films prior to doing My Soul to Take. What interested me was Wes Craven's
coming back to the platform of writing and directing films, which he hadn't
done in awhile, and my being cast as a blind character. Both of those
aspects sort of fascinated me as an actor. I ended up having a great time
filming, and I saw the film the other day and I really enjoyed it. It was
amazing!
KW: One of my readers, editor/legist Patricia Turnier was curious about what
was the biggest challenge you faced in portraying this character.
DW: Number one was removing all sight, and learning how to act without using
one of the five senses.
KW: Patricia also asks, how did you prepare for the role?
DW: As a practice exercise, I'd usually just wear blindfolds around the
house to allow my other senses to take me wherever I would like to go.
KW: One of the shopworn conventions of the horror genre is that the black
guy always dies first? Don't tell me that happens in My Soul to Take.
DW: Wouldn't that be giving away the film?
KW: I suppose so. This is a 3-D film. Is there any difference in your
approach to acting when a film is being shot in 3-D?
DW: No, the film that we shot was post-converted to 3-D. So, we didn't
actually shoot it in 3-D.
KW: What message do you think people will take away from the film?
DW: I guess the one message that you could take away from this film would be
camaraderie, sticking together, whether in this life or in the afterlife.
That's one of the messages that hit home. But this movie is really just
meant to be enjoyed for what it is by giving you the thrills that you're
looking for.
KW: Were you ever scared on the set or have any nightmares while making this
film?
DW: No, the beauty of being an actor in a horror film is that you know what
to expect and what's coming. I get jumpier watching other horror films,
because I don't know what to expect.
KW: The title of this film, My Soul to Take, comes from the popular bedtime
prayer which begins, "Now I lay me down to sleep…" Did you recite it as a
child?
DW: Yes, my parents taught me the prayer. It makes sense that anybody with
religious beliefs would pray that the Lord would watch over them and protect
them as their sleeping. We just want to send that little message out to the
Lord, "Take care of us."
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
DW: I'm sorry, I'm not sure what would be an interesting question.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
DW: Yes I am. Life lends itself to fear. I'm going to go off on a little bit
of a tangent here. That's the beauty of life, the uncertainty that we
experience, literally, as we go about our day-to-day activities. We're not
certain of anything, so fear comes up very often. Fear comes naturally.
What's important is how you deal with fear. I face it head-on, but I'm not
too proud to admit that I do get afraid sometimes.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
DW: I'm very happy and grateful to be in the position I'm in.
KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?
DW: Watching a Kenan Thompson sketch with Morgan Freeman on Saturday Night
Live. It just had me rolling. I was dying. I love to laugh. I enjoy life.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
Related Links
Denzel Whitaker [2007] Interview
http://aalbc.com/reviews/denzel_whitaker.htm