Called to Act: André Holland on Purpose, Community, and Creating Room for Others

but sometimes a little too small if I'm honest with you you know they were certain things I didn't know were even were even possible. God is gonna be my life in ways that I can't even describe you know doors just keep opening doors that I didn't even know were there opening themselves to me and I know I'm eating the fruit from

trees I didn't plant so I want to do my job to plant some trees for the next books that come at home. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Nick Um Plugner today. I am with the Legend of Legends and the Goat of Goats. He is someone who I have looked up to for a very long time not just from his acting

chops but what he means to community the things that he does to uplift others and the fact you know he's from the South just like me. Ladies and gentlemen please

join me and welcome the brilliance the amazing the one of the

“kind. Richard Andre Allen Andre, how are you doing today brother?”

And don't better now thank you for that beautiful introduction man. That's very generous of me man. I have been a fan from day one we're going to talk about bestener Alabama in a moment but I've been just a huge fan like I said in that intro not just your acting ability but just who you are. I believe that talent does take you so far but I think you know it better than I

would in the industry that you're in character matters more than almost anything and the character that you have speaks volumes of who you are and I just want to give you your flowers of just the human being that you are. Thank you for saying that thank you for recognizing that man up to shaded and it means a lot to me. I mean mainly because my parents you know are wearing my

are my still my biggest influence man and they raise me to be a person who's concerned about community and who you know try to move with integrity kindness and so you know the fact that you see that I think is really a testament to them man so I appreciate it all day brother all day and you know I love to start the podcast by asking my guests about their becaus I call it your true purpose that true reason for doing

what you do and it changes from from season to season and it to me it's deeper than your why right like if I'd ask you what's your why it's probably your kid your family your community whatever it is that you're working with but when I say but why that

“Senate usually starts with well because and that's what I care about so if I was”

to say Andre bro like you do all these amazing things you continue to find the better version of you and every everything that you do what's your becaus what's your true purpose of why you continue to do those things that you do hmm

that's a great question I always says because because I feel called to do it you know

I feel that this is my calling you know I think um story story telling of all fashion of all facets um being concerned about community trying to be a you know of use to other people feels like my life's calling so I would say that's why you know and it's also because this house raised me and I grew up around people who who walked in they're walked in their calling you know who really treasure the gifts that they were

given and and you know saw them as being precious and try to take a care of them and so I want to do the same you know and I want to be you know I want to be respected by the people that I respect you know and and I think in order to earn my way into their company I you know I got I got a live a good life man and that involved those things you know being concerned about community taking care of myself and and caring for the gifts that

that they got us given and again I'm gonna keep saying it because I want you to hear it

“and receive it and feel it man like that's what makes me adore you is all of what you just said”

and embodying 100% of that because it's real and talking about growing up in the south and

growing up in Alabama and then having the the amazing opportunity to win the part in

Selma that you did like when did you know that this was really your true calling and again I'm not talking about acting like I'm gonna give you all those accolades but I'm talking about the leader that you are the human being that you are like when did you know that you had that responsibility I think I knew that before I knew I wanted to I was an actor you know I got I can't say enough about my mom and daddy you know my my my my mother is a person

mind but you know she grew up when I was growing up she was always active in the community

always everything from I mean when you talked about Selma man we would go down to do the commemorative march at Ms. Edmund Petters Bridge or since I was a little boy my mom would take me and my sisters and we go down there and we do it you know and any time there was anything going on in Birmingham that was at all related to civil rights or to history or to civic engagement she was like come on we we're going we're gonna be a part of this

so she just lived in that kind of ethic you know she she when she graduated from college she was worked on the voter education project so she was doing a lot of organizing work she will you know she I got to be in the movie or something but she actually did it work for

“Julian Bond and John Lewis and you know she she did the work so I think you know that's just”

what I that's just like the kind of like water I swim in man and I grew up in you know so I knew that I had to make her proud and I had a bit calling all my life long before I

know I wanted to be an actor yeah that's amazing bro and you know again I'm gonna talk about

best summer for a minute I'm from South Carolina but I know I know history of best summer I know the history of Birmingham and in the high school you went to and growing up in best summer right you got Bo Jackson you got James Weston you got DeMico you got you got them all great um what you made good you made exactly exactly you carrying that torch doing your part for best summer man like what does that mean to you personal

man everything you know Bestmer is um it's gotten the bad wrap over the years you know it's it's you know if you Google this you probably saw it it doesn't have the best reputation in terms of crime and you know the education system is is often struggling and yet like I know the people of that place you know and I know how beautiful they are and how deserving they are you know

“and I think you know in my case man the only reason that I'm sitting here talking to you today”

is because somebody in this case it was my parents saw fit to give me some opportunity right to explore my gift and to make the most level and that wasn't you know they did more for me than I deserve you understand so like the fact that I am here today is really just because I was planted in the place where I was allowed to flourish you know what I mean and my parents made sure that and so I feel like if given the opportunity if the young people and Bestmer are given

that same opportunity man there are gifts that will come out of that community that we can't possibly anticipate you know so I feel as my responsibility to to give back I don't mean give back in a sense of like I'm you know you know in a sort of top down kind of way but I mean like I am

a part of that community and I want to always be shows as a shoulder with those folks and if I

have something that I can offer you know then I think that's just repayment for all that they've already given to me but I love that dude I love that so much and like this next part of the show I always call the unplug truths so I won't give you unplug truths right here okay and I'm trying not to get emotional because I mean it and everything I'm about to say I feel like you are a symbol of hope for a lot of people a lot of people that I'm gonna be real that look like you

were not that most of the time and I don't know what it was like for you growing up right but but I know for me growing up we didn't have a lot of just I want to be that person or I can be like that person right like we didn't have social media like we have today we didn't have the internet like we have the day I feel brother like you are that symbol of hope for a lot of people because when I google the name Andre Holler when I put Andre Holler in AI now which is crazy to think

that's the world that we're in there's so much positivity that comes out there's so much just joy and positive energy that comes out man like you are my unplug truth and just the fact that how you carry yourself every day when the cameras are off when you're in the community like I think people need to understand why that's so important that you ground yourself in that and I know

“I've heard you talk about your parents and your mom and that's why I feel like we connect because”

my mom was that for me my grandparents were that for me and they taught me that you're carrying a name right like no matter no matter what you do there's a name and there's a legacy that you're carrying and I feel like that connection with you and that's where it gets me so emotional by by that but I love to just get your insight someone that a little bit yeah man thank you for sharing

and your vulnerability around and I feel it and I appreciate you know it's something I guess it's

“just something about going up the house out that that puts that in you you know and you're right like”

there wasn't really a kind of like motto for what I wanted to do to take a truth I didn't even really know what I wanted to do you know like it was you know a lot I see I read these articles now if you tell my these young people coming in to Hollywood and you know they parents are agents so they parents were actors or whatever you know people talking about nepotism is so on and and I was about as far from that as you can imagine you know me like one body from where I'm

from doing this um so there was a lot along the way a lot of mistakes that I made a lot of things you know that I got wrong that um yeah even sometimes like the kind of dreams I lot myself to have but sometimes a little too small if I'm honest with you because I know you know there was something that didn't know or even were even possible you know and I

“was raised to be grateful for anything and everything and I got and so I was grateful you know when”

I got my first job you know doing a play off off of Broadway and New York I thought man this

is you know as they say in O church this feels like heaven to me you know like you don't get no better than this but um and I wanted to do the best that I could with it but man like you know God is on a bit my life in ways that I can't even describe you know doors just keep opening doors that I didn't even know were there open themselves to me and I tried to just do a good job every time because like you said I know it's not just me I'm represent my mom and my dad my whole community you

know and not only the ones that I know but all the people the ancestors who came before who made it possible for me to be here today the ones who had to get up and go when they didn't want to go you know who had to stay long and they wanted to stay you know yeah cool cool plan that trees

that from which they never got to eat the fruit you know to me and I know I'm eating the fruit

from from trees I didn't plan so I want to do my job too to yeah to plan some trees for the next the next folks that come along bro I don't I don't know if it's in there I don't know where this is coming from I'm gonna be real but there's a book there's a memoir or something about those trees in the fruit bro like like the Andre Holland story like I don't know what it is but that is it right

“there I think I think you know people would face like you and I like we can fill those spirits”

in that spirit just told me bro like you you got a book or memoir coming and thank you I prick it's interesting you said it because I did about a week ago half the fall not that necessarily I wanted to write a book but I you know I have all these journals that I keep and old scripts and just things and it's all piled up in my and my home and Brooklyn I want to do something with then I want to organize that and maybe it is some kind of a I don't know if it's a memoir or a story

or something yeah yeah yeah yeah so I know you have a lot going on man and and so I'm gonna go to some hot takes now and and this this is my hot take right here they fight is gonna be that film they fight is gonna be that film I think you know we've got some early releases but the the main thing is coming out here really soon man tell to us about they fight the spirit behind that I know you've been in a gym a little bit too

I heard your job is amazing right now but but talk to us about they fight bro yeah I mean it's it's a great little film it's it is written and directed by Sheldon Candace who wrote who directly when we love which was that Sundance number years ago and he and I met there at Sundance that year that his movie was there his was there the same year that Ava dude when they was at where I found middle nowhere um and so I met him then and I was really taking with him

and that's a cool young brother he's like smart he's got his thing together it'd be cool to

work with him one day and then over the years I would run into him I'd always see him when I

would go to LAB at this one coffee shop that I'd like to go to as well and he's always there on his computer and I said hey man you know what you're up to he's like man I'm working you know I'm writing he's always hustling and always crying and that really touched me and so when he came to me with this with this script I knew I wanted to do it because I knew I knew he I wanted to be in community with him and then I read it and I thought there's something where

the sweet about this movie is I play a man named Walt Menagan is based on a true story and Walt has just come in the beginning movie he's just come home from prison he's been

fired himself back at this boxing gym that was kind of his home back in the day and he discovers

“that there's his new group of young boys who are curious about the sport of boxing and who also”

are bringing their own kind of traumas and challenges into the gym and so he gets an opportunity a sort of second chance at life through these young people these young men and that really touches me you know that kind of story of like mentorship and and uh second chances you know we all need them and we all deserve them and sometimes we don't be as black folks don't get them you know in the ways that other people do so I really really proud to be a part of a story

that really highlights that no and I'm excited to to see it for those that are watching those that are listening we've got links everywhere in the show notes and descriptions make sure that you are going to support this film which leads me to hot take number two Andre man like

your ability to truly immerse yourself in a character is freaking amazing and in these are the

“words of Mick and Mick only so Andre is not saying this there are actors that you can tell when”

they're acting right and that's not a bad thing it's really not a bad thing but I study the art of what you all do was so I can kind of see it it's very rare that you can see some one truly immerse themselves in their character and you do that freaking amazing like what's your process to do that from yeah thank you mate you may feel good about myself man I appreciate you're serving it so much man thank you well you know I work I work hard at it man you know

I went to school I did an undergrad degree in acting and then I did a master's degree in acting

and it's always really what I've done my whole life and I've always been very

it's most excited about the actors who do have that ability to like disappear into a part you know I was always a fan like Daniel Day Lewis that that's the kind of I really admire you know on stage actors like Mark Ryland you know and obviously like Denzel and Sidney pointy and all these are the people who I grew up watching but I always wanted to be I considered myself to be more of a character actor than like yeah then like a leading man oh not but like you know only

because those character actors were the ones who I felt like had played the most interesting parts you know and so my process is like you know I do a lot of research when I'm working on a part I try to be honest and vulnerable about like the places where me and the character are not the same but they also find those places where we are the same you know and really allow those things to be to be to be real for me to feel real for me so that at a certain point the distance between

the character and myself it starts to kind of close you know and then you ultimately want to get to a

place or aspire to get to a place where you can think like the character you know and these spontaneous within the framework of the world of the character that's built so that that's the kind of like technical part of it but it's also just an act of faith man like I think at the end of the day like my job is to make your imagination believe in my imagination by any means necessary so whatever I got to do to make it happen I'm willing to do it

and I think somebody at his me and a lot more of it is that is like from somewhere else you know me that I think was put in me to do so I can't even take much credit for it because sometimes I don't even know how I'd be having to be honest it's like I work and work and work and it comes to a point where you step out I don't faith in you just go well now I'm out here and I hope people are are coming with me you know

so yeah like that I mean I can talk about a lot of days I want to bore you listening with

“that but no no that's what we're here for man I'm like that's what we're here for and so I'm”

gonna transition to what I call the room and yeah I know I'm an ACC guy like I went to the racing with Carolina I know you were to stay like we were talking about before NIL was real we'll talk about the the back floor to stay was trying to give there not only their athletes but apparently they're they're they're fine arts department too but we'll talk about it later but was there I call it the room but was there a room a conversation a meeting a lunch of dinner was

there anything that like changed the trajectory of your career right like was there a moment where it was like not only is it am I there but now the door is open yeah I think the thing that

really helped me is it was there where I started to believe that I could be an actor and I started

“to learn what that what the work of being an actor really was so I had great teachers down there”

great classmates and I learned a lot but they went on went to NYU I did the three year masters program there and there was a moment in my second year where I had this class we were initial with this teacher named Jim Calder who to this day is he's my guy like I really he's my guy and we were doing this this kind of workshop where you know project where we had to take a piece of literature a short story for example and then we were breaking the small groups and we were

performed that find a way to perform the short story it's hard to describe but you really want you supposed to do it physically and like really invited to the characters and it's kind of improvisatory

so you don't have a lot of time to prepare you just got to do it and at that time I always felt like

I was struggling because I felt like most of the plays that we were working on at that time were

“plays that we were in by white writers you know we hadn't we didn't really spend a lot of time working on”

black texts to such a point I didn't even know about many black texts you know I was 70 years acting at this point six anyway this one particular day Jim while we were working on this process came to me and he said laundry I want you to bring in a story tomorrow and I said well you know what kind of story you said well I want you to go home and why don't you write something he said just write something and I thought well I'm thinking I'm not a writer why would I do that you know

anyway I went home and I wrote this story that took place in basmer the lead character was a man and he's anyway it took it was like really pulled from my life you know church there was it was it was it was about it you know it was it was down home and brought it in he said when I read it to the class I read it and then he assigned some people in the class to go and do my story now mind you most of my classmates were white right so they were being asked to

inhabit these characters these black characters you know you know I never said a black it was

clear that they were right anyway at the end of the process he said to them well how how was that experience for you and I remember them saying well it just felt uncomfortable for us you didn't feel right you know we didn't really feel like you know we had the right to be in happiness and they

“were very sad by it and then he turned and he said you know I bet that's how Andrew feels every day”

and in that moment I felt like for the first time he saw me and he understood my experience and he also gave me permission to to take some charge over my career and to like understand the stories that I have to tell our valuable and that they do have a place and that we don't always have to lean on you know the Arthur Millers and their crypto debts and you know it's in the shops and the checkoff they're all great but there's a whole other world of stories that have yet to be told that come

from our experience and just because they haven't been celebrated at the Tony Awards doesn't mean it they're not worthy and I feel it was in that moment that I started to say oh my job is not just to be an actor my job is to bring new stories into the world by enemies necessary you know so I think that that room was the one in which I felt like there certainly was room for me God I love that room yeah I love that and one of the things again I know what you do for the

community and I want to give me the floor for this too when we talk about rooms I can also say this Andre Holland creates those rooms for others and so if we were to say what does it take and I don't mean literally the rooms that you create but what do you look for and those people that you support and the communities that you give back to I want to give you the floor to talk about you know the different foundations that you're part of the different communities that you

help move like like what is it like when you are now creating those rooms for others those moments for others it's so satisfying you know it's hard work but it's satisfying one of the projects that I'm working on is we're calling it the Holland project so myself and my mother and my family are restoring an old theater that was in best that is in best but that's been closed for many many years and so I bought the theater about five years ago we've been in the process of restoring it

and turning it into a performing space also a single screen cinema and in an art space where we could do educational programs and I can bring people that I know down to come and do workshops and really give back to this community and also encourage them to you know think about what a career in art might look like so that's one also my production company now is called Harper wrote

or two years ago which is all about community and it really was you know I live in bedside we used to you know the whole movie was me calling friends but like can we shoot in your coffee shop

“and oh my god wait you know we I think I know when for these people to stay can I use”

the old spare bedroom but it was by hook or by crook you know but we managed to make this really lovely movie we are the first time director Rachel Abigail Holder and it was her first feature black woman she did a great job and yeah we have like 15 other projects that are

in different stages of development so we're busy and you know I'm always interested in

who's next like who's a new voice who are the people who haven't had a chance yet you know who just who just need a shot one thing I'll say and I can I can I can say I don't want to preach but I feel like sometimes this business does this whack thing or it's like you know if they haven't seen you do something they don't think you can do it and so it kind of turns into this self-fulfilling property we're like we get the same actors over and over again we get

the same directors over and over again and it becomes so difficult for people to break through not as true for everybody that's in this business it's hard to break through but if you black or brown or you know otherwise not mainstream you haven't added layer of challenge you know because

there are fewer projects that are going to bring it because you know for all the various reasons

that we know it's going to more challenging for you and so for me I feel like in whatever way I

“can be useful to help people get their things done I want to be that and I think when you're”

to your point of like what do I look for but I look for somebody that's passionate about the thing that they want to do I want to see like the whites in their eyes like when they tell me this story like this story that they have to tell that only they can tell and that they're committed to doing it no it's like with or without me you know you don't know me because it is very difficult it takes a very long time you know and like you got to really want to do it

I think lastly I'll say I take you know as you probably can tell I take great pride in like the craft of what I do of acting and I like people who have a similar kind of dedication to whatever it is that they're doing like I don't really want to work with people who just want to defend this or just be seen or just be known but people who have something that they have to put in the world you understand something they gotta say now I need to know why you gotta

say if I need to know that you gotta want it that you really really desperately need to do it those are the kind of people that excite me and I'll look at where they come from you know and I think that's a that's a part of our tradition too is like we don't care like if you're the same in church and you can't say we don't care and everybody know we're gonna look at each other

“and be like baby that you need to sit down but if you get a band you can't say then we don't care”

that you want if you want to end like you or that you want to you know whatever from the Metropolitan Opera it don't matter if you got it you got it and I believe that you know many of us have it and just needs an opportunity so I like to try to be helpful in whatever way I can I love that dude I love that so much and I don't know what it is just yet but we're gonna do something at this theater like I I've got some friends I'm gonna make some phone calls we're

gonna do something the production company that you have like I'm gonna hire them for something I don't know what it is yet but like I want to be a part of eating everything that the Holland project is doing that the theater the production company I want to be a part and do my part as well because the energy that you have the heart that you have the so contagious in a back and help brother I'm gonna help and I'm I'm committing to that right now

and committing to that right now thank you for that appreciate that man and that that means a lot to me I know you a lot of people a lot of people listen to you and trust you man so I I really appreciate you lending natural to me thank you I'm committed a thousand present and I mean that is it's on film it's on audio I'm committing to it that this is my accountability but it's because I believe in you and that I have that conviction to do my

part bro I really do thank you so much I know you're busy and then you got a lot going on so I'm gonna get you out of here on this rapid fire I'm plus five all right rapid fire okay all right you're from best summer the best athlete to come from best summer

according to Andre Holland is oh Jackson sorry sorry never say but Jackson oh day with them these two

number one and number two roll time roll time roll time okay all right so no seminars you say

the first day I would get in part car and drive back to Stolucin Mont Ganthey to go to

“Alabama instead of going to Florida State that's how much about about fan-out okay all right so I'm”

I'm moved I'm gonna touch on stuff I'm gonna see how far removed from the South you are because I know you're in New York and they don't do this in New York are you still grits or you are breakfast potatoes kind of guy now that you're in New York oh man grits all day grits all day little Southern people come on man you're there you're there what's what's one or who's one

person aside from your mom and dad just we're gonna hold them on this whole other level because

they should be because they've done a great job in being that you know like who's another person that's been like an inspiration to Andre Hover and but from best of all I just in general in general oh man so many um rapid fire I would say I mean Jim Calder is that that man I mentioned to you before that's who comes back to mama you know really inspired me to be myself and to trust myself for my own voice so I would say probably yeah that would be my that's my guy I like it

I like it so when we do this memoir on Andre Holland was one word that you want to make sure

“to find you when this memoir committed committed yeah a steep yeah I think that covers it man”

because I you know whether that be like as an artist I want to I want to be committed and they nothing worse than when you watch a actor who's not committed to what they do as a community member and the service work I want to do I want to be committed politically I want to be committed to holding my my lines you know I want to be committed to myself I want to be committed to my family I want to be known as a person who who was committed to everything that he did

it is I love that man I love that ladies and gentlemen this has been Andre Holland this is one of my most favorite interviews just because of the man that he is the person that he is they fight make sure you're supporting that go check that out I would say Google Andre connect with him on all the social platforms all those links are here below all all the things whether it's Salma Moonlight like we we've got it all

“but just support him right like you'd be surprised how much hey Andre I believe in you”

hey Andre thank you for being here you were like that goes a long way so so have his back because he's gonna have your back and if you can do anything to support the the project do we take donations or anything bro like we do we have a we have a website with a little bit of a with a donation page but you know even more important than that man like you said just this spiritual support just the words of encouragement just keep an eye on what we're doing I think

that you know that that's the main thing and I appreciate any support that you know people want to support me man I truly truly appreciate it and I promise I won't I won't have a take it for granted now we've got you we love you and more than anything man like I'm gonna keep saying it because this genuine from me and from my soul bro you mean the world to a lot of people the human being that you are manifest into others and I can't thank you enough

because there's been times that you don't know this but like I'm just needed you and your goodness man like and I can't thank you enough to that bro I really can make any time you need it man just hit me up for any time and don't matter day night whenever it is you know I'll be there promised it's my love and I love it and I love you to all of you is on listeners remember your because is your superpower go unleash it