Michael Jai White Michael Jai White Talks “The Vigilante Diaries” Michael Jai White’s newest film, The Vigilante Diaries , hits Theaters and VOD today. We caught up with the action star to talk more about the film, his path in the industry, and what’s on the horizon for him as he steps into directing: Tell us about your character in the film, Barrington: He’s a chessmaster. A rougue CIA agent pulling a lot of strings, to the point where you can’t tell if he’s good guy or bad guy. This one is a dark action/comedy — there’s no political statements, not one to sit and wrack your brain over. Just a fun movie to sit back and crack open a beer and enjoy. What was it about the script that drew you to this role? I actually never got a script. The movie done before I was involved. It started out as a web series and after some success went on to the studio for production. The movie was done and my character wasn’t even included at first. They interwove my character into the story. There were times I actually acted against people who had already been filmed a year ahead of time. Now, llooking at the film it worked. It’s a Tatantino-esque action/comedy romp. Shot at various locations in Lodon, Armeia, involves the Mexican cartels, mercenaries all of that. So, there were a lot of different flavores they wanted to add to the story. It wasn’t just me. Even while I was involved other actors became involved later in the game as well, like Danny Trejo, for instance. Even though action is what you’re known for, we’ve seen you foray into more drama and comedy with Why Did I get Married , Real Husbands of Hollywood , etc….do you still prefer the action roles now that you’ve gotten more of a taste for something different? Action AND comedy are actually my thing. If you lay out my career, I’ve actually done more comedy than action. Action tends to be the thing that gets me more attention – it’s more universal and more unique for an actor, since there are fewer people out here kicking people in the head. Initially, I didn’t want to do martial arts or action until I got established as an actor, so a lot of the movies I’ve done were just pure acting. I wanted to establish longevity in the industry. So what’s up next? We know you’ve got Chocolate City 2 coming later in the year… Yes! I’ve also just directed my first film. It’s called Never Back Down: No Surrender . Thankfully, it’s gotten rave reviews. I’ve gotten a lot of people tell me they’ve watched it multiple times in a day, critics have been loving it, Sony, the producers love it. The production company was so excited they offered me another starring role right after it. So it was a really great experience for me. I put a lot of what I know into the movie – comedy action. But in the end it’s more about love and friendship — not just MMA fight moves. I also have a film coming soon called Cops and Robbers with Rampage Johhnson who’s in Vigilante Diaries as well playing my brother, and my real wife Gillian actually plays my wife in the movie. It’s an action/thriller and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.
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BOSSIP Exclusive: Michael Jai White Talks New Film, Stepping Into Directing, And Acting Alongside His Wife
