Isha Blaaker Talks A Madea's Homecoming, Family And Being A Citizen Of The World
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“WHENEVER I BOOKED SOMETHING, I HAVE TO GO THE EXTRA MILE TO MAKE IT COUNT SO IT WILL LIFT ME INTO WHATEVER THE NEXT LEVEL IS.”
Photographs by Marq Newman
I'm so you were born in Paramaribo, Suriname, South America?
Yeah. Paramaribo is the capital of Suriname. Suriname is a very beautiful country in South America. It is just above Brazil right next to Venezuela. It's the greenest country in the world. There is no systemic racism. Yes, that's where I'm from.
Raised in Rotterdam, the Netherlands?
Yes. I moved there when I was a year and a half and grew up there.
You've modeled all over the world and lived in New York City. What city has your heart and why?
I'm definitely a citizen of the world, but Rotterdam is something I carry with me wherever I go. I think it's important to know where your compass lies, where your identity lies. I can identify with those people very specifically. I have a dual ethnicity, partially Dutch partially Surinamese. In American terms, that will be partially black, partially white. People ask me, how do you identify where do you fall in the middle? And I'm like, no, I fall within a small group of immigrants that lives in that city that doesn't fully speak their language, but they've moved there. Nobody else needs to understand that, but I do. That allows me to walk around with my sense of self and that does a lot for me.
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Your mother raised you, I think you're one of five children. I saw your mom was at the A Madea's Homecoming premiere with you, and you interviewed with Fox Five talking about the importance of family. Have you learned any life lessons from your mother, or family that shaped the man you are today?
Well, my father's definitely been in my life. My parents separated when I was eight and my mom took care of us. She basically sacrificed her life to raise my brother and me. That will always stay with me because children don't choose to be born; it's your job to take care of them. People often talk about generational wealth, and that is not just financial, it's also in fatherhood and motherhood. You know, we need to make up for the sins of our fathers and do better.
How was the audition?
It was crazy. I was like, hey, here are nine pages of text and accent let's do it overnight, and I made it happen. That was pretty cool. When I got the call, I didn't know what they were talking about because the audition didn't say Madea, it said untitled Tyler Perry project. They were like, hey you booked Madea. I'm like, Madea? I didn't know if they meant the Greek tragedy Medea or the Madea movie? And they're like, no, no, Tyler Perry. Then the next whirlwind started. I had a week to prepare, then a week to shoot, it was craziness.
You play Davi in A Madea's Homecoming, and his storyline as Tim's best friend, and Laura's love interest is really complex. How did you mentally prepare for that role?
You don't really mentally prepare you emotionally prepared.
How did you emotionally prepare to play your best friend's mother's love interest?
Well, the support of my best friend, that's something that comes out of the brotherhood, and I'll support my brother through thick and thin. I went immediately, okay, this is not my friend, this is my brother so whatever you go through, I must support him. That goes beyond sex. We are the same race, but whether he's gay or not, it doesn't matter. He's my brother, and I have his back through thick and thin. The mother, that's just genuine love.
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I'm glad about this answer because I've had conversations about Tim's and Davi's relationship. In the movie, it appears as Davi is Tim's love interest. I've been talking to people about it and I'm like, well, they have an intimate friendship. Yes, they embraced each other, but they weren't kissing or holding hands. Davi knew Tim's secret and was very supportive of his friend. One, do you have similar relationships with your homeboys or brothers? Two, do you believe we see enough of these kinds of friendships between black men without assuming they're gay?
I think you wouldn't have asked that question if you didn't know that he was gay because they're just buddies, right? The story shows that he's gay, I think that's where that question comes from. Now, I have to admit, as an actor, sometimes I would do things to make it seem as if we're a couple to keep the fires up. Other than those little choices, I think you wouldn't have necessarily noticed it. I think we're not more "buddy buddy" together than other friends that I have. And two, different cultures have different physicalities. I have Moroccan friends, and they're very physical with each other. Too physical for my comfortability, but that's normal to them. It doesn't mean anything so I wouldn't judge people in that sense.
Prior to A Madea's Homecoming, you've been on TV series, Red Riding Hoods, Flight Attendant, DNA. What lessons, are you picking up on set as an actor?
I've been in [acting] class for quite a while. At this point, I think it's mostly being comfortable on set, saying, hey, it's okay to be here, you're a good actor, you deserve to be here. That's coming more and more together and I just booked another part. So that's working!
Going back to that Fox Five interview, when you talked about your role as Davi, you said that you "went in". You talk to your acting coaches, and you really gave this role everything. In that answer, you could hear so much confidence in the work that you did. Where did you learn that type of confidence?'
Well, the confidence I got from my mom. She always said doesn't matter what you do in life, I still love you. I was picked on as a kid, I wasn't always the best-looking kid, so I learned to have my confidence and dance to the beat of my drum. As far as going in on this role, I just heard Mahershala Ali once say that he wouldn't get as many roles, so whenever he would book one, he felt like he had to go the extra mile to make it count. That's how I'm looking at this. Whenever I booked something, I have to go the extra mile to make it count so it will lift me into whatever the next level is.
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Photographer: Marq Newman @marqnewman
Styling & Editor: Nigel Isaiah @nigel_isaiah
Grooming: Crystal R. Smith @locdinstyle
Creative & Production: Ammar Thomas @manmeetsstyle
