Summary
- Screen Rant interviewed Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre about their work in Genius: MLK/X.
- The actors, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre, not only portrayed the public moments of their subjects' lives but also explored their softer sides and behind-the-scenes moments.
- The series humanizes these civil rights icons, showcasing their personal relationships, priorities, and the challenges they faced at a young age.
The lives of two civil rights icons are explored in National Geographic. This is the first time the Genius series has focused on more than one person, as previous seasons have dramatized the lives of Mary Shelley, Pablo Picasso, and Albert Einstein. By deciding to spend time with both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Genius: MLK/X is able to intertwine the lives of both icons and highlight the ways their individual contributions spoke to a larger movement.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. co-stars as Dr. King in Genius: MLK/X as Aaron Pierre takes on the role of Malcolm X. Each actor brings to life not only the most public moments of their subjects’ lives, but also the softer side of each man as well as the behind-the-scenes moments that helped shape them. Interestingly, both Harrison Jr. and Pierre are also major players in the cast, with Harrison Jr. playing Scar and Pierre playing Mufasa.
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Screen Rant interviewed Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre about their roles in Genius: MLK/X.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. & Aaron Pierre On Genius: MLK/X
Screen Rant: Kelvin, I know from [speaking to you about] Chevalier how intense your work ethic is and how far you'll go for a role. What was the prep like on this one?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It was strangely kind of the same amount of history work, but at the same time, not at all. And I had a lot more footage to look at because I guess there weren't any cameras in 18th century, which is weird. I started with looking at clips of him and then reading the autobiography and other books that his loved ones wrote, like [the books] Daddy King and Coretta Scott King wrote.
Then I traveled. I went to Memphis, I went to Birmingham, I went to Atlanta, [and] I went to D.C. I spent some time trying to connect with just the space in general, and then it was a lot of investigating his body language, who he was, and what that meant to me. And [it was] investigating myself and what it meant to come of age because we're talking about men who accomplished some huge achievements before the age of 30 and didn't even live past 39.
To that, Aaron—[though] I'm sure you can both speak to this--something I love about this series is how it takes these icons and humanizes them. We see the softer sides of them as well, even with them falling in love and things like that. For you, with Malcolm X, how was it to explore that side of the person that may not be quite as well known?
Aaron Pierre: It was a gift. It was a joy. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to embark on this journey and everything that comes with that—to learn about his personal life, to learn about his personal relationships, to learn about his relationship with his community and his loved ones, [and] to learn about his priorities and where those priorities were birthed and stemmed from and conceived. It was a joy, it was a gift, and I feel very honored to have been part of this, and to, in a small way, be part of his portrayal and his legacy.
The show starts off with you two in a scene together, but other than that, you spend most of your time apart. Were each of you kind of clocking the other person's journey in the show as you were filming? How much were you trying to keep the other person's story in mind?
Aaron Pierre: We were very locked in. I was very locked in on Malcolm's journey. I would check in with Dr. Martin Luther King's journey in of chronology and dates only when I knew that Malcolm was specifically aware of Dr. Martin Luther King's journey at that point in time.
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: Likewise. I never looked over the fence to see what was going on over there. I said, "That's their business, and I'm in my mind. I got enough going on over here. I’ve got to get this voting rights bill ed."
And Kelvin, you got to do the March on Washington speech moment, which is such a monumental moment. How was it for you to film that?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It was huge. You know what was really scary behind-the-scenes story? I lost my voice the night before, and I was terrified because I was like, "Oh my gosh, I don't know what to do. I'm going to get fired because there are all these extras here and all these people here, and I don't have a voice. They're going to be mad at me because they're going to go, like, 'What did I do?'" I was freaking out, and I think it just had so much to do with nerves. I was overthinking and I was over-rehearsing. I was so intimidated that this moment was about to happen, and I would have to portray it.
I went on vocal rest the rest of the evening—and I did tell everyone the night before, and everyone was freaking out—and that morning I got there and I had to do two speeches. I had to do “I Have a Dream”, and I had to do “I've Been to the Mountaintop” immediately after; the final speech he does. So I get there, and the first thing comes out, and I was like, "There's a voice! There's a voice!"
And the extras; we had the most incredible extras on this set. They uplifted us in such a real way, and they gave us energy. They gave us love. They made us feel like we were there. They transported us. That was the experience.
Aaron Pierre: Just on that point of the background artists; they really held us. They really ed us. They really loved on us, and I think it's so important to shine a light on them because without them, this wouldn't have been possible, especially given the [number] of speeches we had to do and moments where there is a large audience and crowd present. It's one thing to have just people present, but it's another thing to have people present and engaged and in alignment with what we're trying to achieve here, so we're deeply grateful to them for that.
In seeing what you've both been up to, I noticed you were both in Mufasa: The Lion King together. Which came first, and which movie got the benefit of you already having a relationship?
Aaron Pierre: We were speaking about that today. We just had to do the math and the chronology, and actually, Lion King happened first.
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: Yeah, we did Lion King first. It was almost, I want to say, a year-and-a-half before, and we were all in different parts of the country. It was just really funny because we spent a lot of time playing lions, and then [the filmmakers behind Genius: MLK/X] came at me and were like, "Yeah, Aaron Pierre's attached." I was like, "Oh my God."
What's really funny is we both signed on, said yes to it, were still doing Lion King, and we never once spoke about it. I kept looking at it. I think I told Barry one day; I was like, "I'm pretty sure Aaron's doing this show with me, but we have not said anything. Do you know?" He was like, "What? Y'all are playing who?"
About Genius: MLK/X
Genius: MLK/X follows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X along their parallel stories as they shape their identities and become the world-changing figures they are known to be. The docu-drama series offers an intimate look into their lives as husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons, taking them off the iconic T-shirts to show their humanity.
Check out our other Genius: MLK/X interviews here:
Genius: MLK/X premieres February 1 on National Geographic and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
Genius: MLK/X
- Release Date
- February 2, 2024
- Network
- National Geographic
- Showrunner
- Raphael Jackson Jr., Damione Macedon
Cast
Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Aaron Pierre
Weruche Opia
Jayme Lawson
Genius: MLK/X is a new installment of the documentary series that centers on the lives and careers of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. From their similar upbringings to the way they hoped to usher in change in an unjust world, Genius takes a dramatized look at the people who shaped these two pioneers of explosive social change.
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Raphael Jackson Jr., Damione Macedon
- Where To Watch
- Dis
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