A funny thing happened on the way to the urban film market: Romany Malco got discovered. Again.
He’s no stranger to popular film or to cable TV, but he might be a new face to some of us. An abbreviated career roundup for Malco includes starring in Showtime’s award-winning 'Weeds', a recurring role on CBS’ hugely popular 'The Good Wife', and a few years ago, starring in a lil’ bitty comedy called The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Lots of people know his name, but this year is the first time the former Internet business salesman and rapper stars in a so-called “urban” flick such as Think Like a Man (TLAM). Yet, it’s a perfect fit. Malco excels at comedic characters who bumble through relationship angst, and he’s happy to talk real-life relationships. Here’s what else he had to say:
EBONY: Did The 40-Year-Old Virgin change your life?
RM: There was something about the impact that movie had and the popularity that changed my life and my career. It was one of the only movies I’d seen where the Black guy didn’t have to be the “Black” guy.
EBONY: How’d you get into acting?
RM: I never wanted to act. John Leguizamo was the one who wanted me to act. We would hang out. I was just being me. He asked me to audition for his film, and when I did that, the casting agent told everyone in Hollywood I was her favorite audition of all time. That was all she wrote.
EBONY: Describe your character in TLAM.
RM: You’re gonna like my character because of two things: First, nothing he does is intentional; second, he also isn’t aware he’s falling in love with (two people) at the same time.
EBONY: We hear you like to abstain? Why?
RM: I kicked it with a girl for two years before we went there. With another girl, [we waited] a year and a half. I like the idea of being responsible, especially coming from a fam where my dad was such a player. If you grow up with some ghetto-ass parents, you either grow up really ghetto or really square.
EBONY: Is it true that real men skydive? Real women, too?
RM: I’ve been skydiving every year for the past few years. [The girl I’m dating] went from changing her mind to screaming, to doing a back flip to having the time of her life—all in one jump.
Read more in the May 2012 issue of EBONY Magazine.
