(BlackDoctor.org) — Laz Alonso hasn’t slowed down after Jumping the Broom. Since that breakout role, he’s now busy promoting his latest film “Straw Dogs.”
Laz recently took time to talk with Loop 21 about his latest film, where he plays a black sheriff in an all-white town, where he was on 9/11 and what would make him get down on one knee to commit to a special lady.
Loop 21: You play Sheriff John Burke in “Straw Dogs,” which will hit theaters soon. Tell me about the dynamic your character has with the town he serves.
LA: The great thing about my character is that in the movie, everybody is trying to defend something. They’re trying to defend their turf, their reputation, their town or their way. Sheriff John Burke isn’t really trying to defend things. He’s the moral core or the moral voice of this story and the voice of reason in a movie where there’s so much tension.
Loop 21: You mentioned in an interview that your character tries to keep the peace when we’re fighting a war in Iraq. Do you feel that the war has gone on for too long?
LA: The funny thing is my character is an Iraq war veteran. And outside of Kate Bosworth’s character who left this small town that they’re from, he’s the only other person that left. He was a war hero and he went to Iraq to try and create peace and he comes back home and his own town isn’t at peace. There’s a little bit of irony there. I think any war, whether it’s in Iraq or Afghanistan or anywhere in the world..when people’s lives are at risk it’s too long.
Loop 21: The anniversary of 9/11 recently passed. Do you remember where you were when that terrible incident happened?
LA: Actually, I was on the C train under World Trade Center number two when the plane hit. So I was literally under the building when the first tower got hit. WI got off at Canal Street and when I looked up that’s when I realized it was serious. It was up in flames. I still see it in my head to this day.
Loop 21: Audiences loved seeing you in the role of Jason Taylor In Jumping The Broom, making that commitment. Is there anyone special if your life right now?
LA: I’m single!
Loop 21: Nice! Ladies are screaming all over. Your character wasn’t afraid to make that commitment, but what would make you drop to one knee and commit to one special woman?
LA: I believe that in “Jumping the Broom” they knew very quickly that they wanted to get married. They had been dating for six months and they knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. A lot of times we end up dating because we don’t want to be alone versus holding out and dating someone we really, really feel like we can’t live without. If that isn’t the feeling that you overwhelming have with the person that you meet, in my own personal opinion, I wait. I would rather wait. When I do feel it, I go on and I don’t hold back.
To read the complete interview, visit Loop 21 today.