I was so fortunate to be on a conference call with Tracey Morgan, Charlie Day, and Jillian Bell, stars of the upcoming movie, Fist Fight. The stars had some interesting input about their roles, and gave advice for anyone working to achieve a goal!
What is the first thing that you look for in a script when you’re deciding to be a part of a film? What was it about Fist Fight that drew you in?
Charlie Day (CD): I usually look at the overall story—am I interested in the story? With this script, it was exciting for me to get to play the main guy in the story.
Tracey Morgan (TM): For me, it’s about the story, and coming out of my situation, I wasn’t sure if my confidence was there. And then Charlie and Jillian and Ice Cube and Richie Keen, they gave me the confidence and it was total support. So after we did a few takes, I knew everything was intact. It just became more fun for me and more relaxed. So it got to a point where Richie Keen said “action,” that meant I heard “relax.” And most people when they’re doing a movie, when the director says “action,” they tense up and they start acting. For me it’s “relax,” and be yourself. And I got to do that, and I was really happy, and I’m so looking forward to it.
Jillian Bell (JB): Like they said, it starts with the script, but I had heard the cast first and I was such a fan of every single person in this movie. So I was like well I’d be lucky, and I read it and it’s definitely the weirdest character I’ve ever been offered to play, and I love playing odd women. So it fit perfectly.
In all of the shows you guys have been on – or your main shows, like 30 Rock, Always Sunny, and Workaholics, the names you use for your characters are your own names. Why is that? Is that just something that’s more comfortable for you?
TM: I just didn’t want anyone – I didn’t want to be walking through the airport for 10 years and people calling me Boo-boo. That’s what they wanted to name me, Boo-boo Jordan. I didn’t want that. All of us chose this because that is how you become a household name. Eddie Murphy taught me that my second year on SNL. When you do movies, use your name and try not to wear a beard or anything, so you become a household name.
What’s it like going between TV and film? What do you prefer? And do your roles in your TV shows influence how you’re going to be in movies?
TM: TV is a little bit more personable than movies. When people go see movies, they’re in there with strangers, they paid $15 and if they don’t like the movie, they can’t get their money back. But TV is something— in order to be in people’s homes and living rooms, they got to love you. You become a part of their family. Like, we are a part of people’s families because of TV: it’s a little bit more personable than movies.
CD: It’s no different in terms of the acting. But when you’re in a movie, you aren’t worried about it being cancelled—you know you’re in this, and you’re seeing it through to the end.
Were there any challenges you had to overcome in putting Fist Fight together?
TM: That’s more a question for Richie Keen (the director). I know for us it was a labor of love: once we saw the cast we were all on board.
CD: Richie and I wanted Tracey and we wanted a funny woman but we weren’t sure if Tracey was ready, after his accident. So the challenges for us were really trying to put this movie together in our ideal way.
Thank you so much to Charlie Day, Tracey Morgan, and Jillian Bell for participating in an interview! Check out Fist Fight in theaters on February 17.