- 4 weeks ago
Philadelphia 76ers star Jaylen Brown and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali get together for The Hollywood Reporter's new series Game Recognize Game, where the two get deep on faith, frustrations and fearlessness.
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00:00Right now, I'm working in Philadelphia.
00:02The announcement of you going from Boston to Philly,
00:06to be there while that happened was pretty remarkable.
00:09This backcourt, along with Jaylen Brown,
00:11is the problem that other teams are going to have to deal with.
00:14That is scary for the rest of the Eastern Conference.
00:17It's good to be here with you, man.
00:18Same.
00:19Yeah.
00:19It's a pleasure. Big fan.
00:21And the Oscar goes to...
00:22Mahershala Ali.
00:23Mahershala Ali.
00:25Peace and blessings.
00:35Jalen.
00:35Yes, sir.
00:36Peace, brother.
00:37What's going on?
00:38It's good to be here with you, man.
00:39Hey, same.
00:39Yeah.
00:40It's a pleasure. Big fan.
00:41I'm a lot older than you, but I have to say,
00:44in so many ways, I look up to you.
00:46I think you are just a profound talent
00:49and a really important person in the world.
00:54What you mean to the culture,
00:58I think to the culture of sports
01:00and specifically speaking as a former athlete and black man,
01:05just how important you are almost as a disruptor.
01:09We live in a world that has seen us in such limited ways for so long.
01:16And I think the biggest thing that makes me a fan,
01:21for lack of a better word,
01:22is just seeing how well you've just embraced the fullness of yourself.
01:28So that is my way of just saying, like,
01:31thank you for being here,
01:33and I think it's why I really do look up to you
01:35and just appreciate what you're doing in the world,
01:37which is too much to get into in the short time that we have.
01:41But thank you, bro.
01:44Thank you. I appreciate you for sharing that.
01:47The people that come before
01:49is also the people that paved the way.
01:51So everything that you've done in your career,
01:54from being an athlete to being an Oscar winner
01:57to business endeavors and et cetera,
02:00I learned from my predecessors.
02:01I give appreciation to those who have paved the way.
02:04So I'm happy to be here as well,
02:06and I thank you for sharing those words.
02:08How did you, like, naturally respond to hearing no growing up
02:15or to, like, obstacles in general?
02:18Like, be it in your environment, school, home?
02:21And I mean this really in relationship to, like, aspirations,
02:25like curiosity and perhaps having a vision
02:28others may not have had or shared for you at that time.
02:32So you're, like, hearing no in some capacity.
02:35What did you, what did you, how did you respond to that?
02:38My relationship with no has always been centered around why.
02:42Like, I just needed to know why.
02:44If you just ask my mom, I'm okay with no,
02:48but just explain to me why.
02:51So then if the why makes sense,
02:54then I probably will leave it alone.
02:56If not, I'm going to reverse engineer it
02:58and figure out why that no was a no in the first place.
03:02It may not have been a no because it had anything to do with me.
03:05Yeah.
03:06And I think early on, my relationship with no always was centered around
03:12asking the question, okay, why did I get the answer no?
03:15Mm-hmm.
03:16And I just built off of that.
03:18Yeah.
03:18As an athlete, I won't even say former
03:21because to be an actor and embody certain characters
03:25and certain bodies of work,
03:26you almost have to push your body, push your mind,
03:31push your spirit and your emotions
03:33in ways that even most athletes won't even have to.
03:36Mm-hmm.
03:37So my question to you is, how do you prepare mentally?
03:41Mm-hmm.
03:42It's almost as if the career before my career
03:45has had such an influence and impact on me
03:48in terms of preparing, in terms of embracing the work,
03:53in terms of the beginning, middle, end of telling stories
03:57and taking on character,
03:59being in service of something bigger than myself.
04:02Mm-hmm.
04:03So much of that, for me, was and has been informed
04:08by my time playing sports.
04:10Those tools and those experiences, the things around discipline,
04:16hard work, sacrifice, integrity, selflessness,
04:23the best qualities that athletes can learn how to embrace
04:28and just inhabit, all of those things transfer over into the arts
04:37and in performing.
04:38And I would actually say you would be better prepared
04:42as a talent, as an actor, if you've had some real serious background
04:48in team sports, in team sports, because you can get tricked
04:53very quickly into thinking that acting is about me.
04:58I got to do my job.
05:00It's about me and my character.
05:01The camera's on me.
05:03When it really doesn't work, not only without that other actor,
05:08but without everybody on the other side of that camera,
05:12the grips and gaffers and camera folks and hair and makeup,
05:17that everybody has to do their part for it to come together.
05:22And so everyone's work can almost be taken for granted.
05:25You should not be watching something and being like,
05:27huh, that hair is really, or the makeup,
05:31you should just be able to watch it and not think about any of that stuff.
05:34And so I think sports, athletics, practicing, playing when you don't feel like being there,
05:42going through an off-season, preparing yourself to be better the next year,
05:45that there's so many things.
05:47Your intention, oh, I intend to work on this on my game on the off-season.
05:51I intend to do this particular thing today.
05:55Or I'm taking on this role because this is going to challenge me in this particular way.
05:59Or playing in this system is going to actually bring the best out of me.
06:04This system doesn't serve me well.
06:06Like, I'm not a spot-up shooter from the corner.
06:08There's actors like, I'm, this doesn't serve me, you know?
06:11And so, so much of how I look at film, acting, television, and my responsibilities in it,
06:21so much of that comes from the years I spent playing ball.
06:25Speaking about embodying a role physically, mentally, what we talked about,
06:30how sports kind of gives a background into that.
06:34Talk about transformation and almost how you become another person.
06:42Transformation, to me, can really be about fractions, and it can almost be, like, incremental.
06:49It's not 180 degrees.
06:51It might be a degree.
06:53So, for instance, I'm working on something right now.
06:57It's still super weird.
06:58I really never really talk about my process while I'm working on it, but I'll just share that.
07:02For a couple of reasons, I felt like this particular character shouldering a lot.
07:08When I think about transformation for this guy, again, remember I'm talking, like, fractions.
07:13I'm going, all right, I need to do a lot of pull-ups.
07:16There are shoulder press.
07:18There are certain things I want to do where if I am able to do this,
07:22and be consistent about it, where I feel a shift in my body weight,
07:27where I'm carrying myself more up here than what I'm accustomed to.
07:31Forgive me, speaking of the third person.
07:32But that's not how Mahershala walks around in the world, right, per se.
07:34So, if I'm focused on certain, like, on just, like, one physical change, for instance,
07:41where I'm going to change a part of my body for a period of time while I'm working on this
07:45particular character,
07:47it allows me to lead physically from an entirely different place,
07:50which ends up impacting how I'm thinking about the guy.
07:53So, sometimes it's something as simple as committing to, like, a real physical change on top of,
08:00what are the things that this character listens to?
08:03How does this person live?
08:05And so, I might create, like, a mixtape or a playlist that allows me,
08:11in sort of a mental muscle memory way,
08:13anytime I'm going to go play this character, this is the set of music that I'm playing.
08:17So, when I play those songs that I have created with an intention around this particular character,
08:24I feel like those things begin to tap me in, for lack of a better word,
08:29to a different enough frequency where I'm giving myself permission to not go,
08:36I wouldn't do that.
08:38I'm giving myself permission to say yes.
08:41I would love to be, when it's all said and done, considered a transformational actor.
08:47I don't know if I'll always achieve that, but that is, like, my baseline goals.
08:51I don't ever want to repeat a character.
08:53I would like to eliminate character bleed from role to role, meaning, like,
08:59oh, I saw him do that same thing in that part, in that part, in that part, you know what
09:02I mean?
09:03So, that's how I'm approaching it, and I'm still learning about it.
09:05And I think transformation, because everything I was doing when I was 23
09:11are not things I'm doing now in my 50s.
09:14I still have a very curious spirit about this work.
09:19Like, I almost feel like I just got started in a weird way.
09:22And again, I've been doing it since I started acting in 1993.
09:25But I really feel like I just started on some level.
09:28What about you?
09:29How are you experiencing, like, transformation and evolution and...
09:35Growth and transformation are synonymous.
09:39Like, in order for you to transform, growth is essential.
09:44So, for me, for someone who's a Scorpio, has had to transform many times in my lifetime,
09:54in my 29 years that I've been alive.
09:55Because once you recognize in areas of your life that you need to grow,
10:01something has to die.
10:03And that's what it comes down to at the end of the day, is you versus you.
10:06It's no opponent.
10:07It's me.
10:09I'm my greatest opponent.
10:10When you say, like, being a transformational actor,
10:14it resonates highly with me because I would consider myself a transformational athlete.
10:21An athlete that is internally growing and still learning
10:25in how to transform and maximize my potential within,
10:29but also pushing my fellow comrades and peers
10:34and giving them the stage to do the same.
10:37And now, when you go back and you look at things,
10:40after the transformation took place, you don't even look at them the same.
10:44It's like reading a book.
10:45You read it the first time, you pull some things from it,
10:48but when you read it the second time, you almost got a whole new perspective.
10:51The book didn't change.
10:52But you did.
10:53But you did.
10:54Yeah, yeah, yeah.
10:56One of the things that freed me up, I played four years undergrad.
11:00St. Mary's.
11:01Went to St. Mary's College, right?
11:02I peeped.
11:03And then I took a year off,
11:06and I got into the graduate acting program at NYU.
11:10I just want to say, before you continue,
11:12St. Mary's, man, I went back,
11:14I found joy in watching those clips back.
11:17Because when you played,
11:18you didn't just play with like,
11:20man, I'm going to just come out here,
11:21shoot some threes, or da-da-da-da-da,
11:24I'm going to go between my legs.
11:25Now, you play hard.
11:27I want y'all to go back and look at the clips.
11:29You played with a level of tenacity,
11:31a level you played defense.
11:33You was a two-way player.
11:35You got after it, man.
11:36And how you played the game before I came to this interview
11:38told me a lot about you.
11:40Wow, wow.
11:40Just how you approached the game.
11:42You didn't, it wasn't,
11:43you wasn't trying to be cool,
11:44make friends, none of that.
11:46Yeah, yeah.
11:47You was like,
11:47I'm going to put my shoulder through somebody's chest
11:49if I got to.
11:50I tried.
11:51I tried.
11:52I tried.
11:52Nah, I give you respect, man.
11:53Thank you, brother.
11:53I appreciate that.
11:54That means a lot coming from you.
11:57Continue.
11:57When I look back,
11:58I feel like I've always been an artist.
12:00When I talk to you,
12:01I'm like,
12:01oh, he's an artist
12:02and a scientist
12:03and a bunch of other stuff.
12:04But when I was playing ball,
12:07I think something I quietly struggled with
12:10was beating other people
12:13and how you could win
12:15but not actually be your best.
12:17You could win
12:17and not perform your best, right?
12:20Or you could perform your best and lose.
12:21And then I got into grad school.
12:25You and I were doing the same monologue.
12:26Me and everyone else in the room
12:28was doing the same monologue that day.
12:30And so-and-so does a version of it.
12:33So-and-so,
12:33someone else does a version of it.
12:35Someone else.
12:35And some of them you truly might like
12:37better than others.
12:38Like, no doubt.
12:39But I kept seeing how
12:42everyone sort of individually
12:44brought their own thing to it.
12:46And it began to change my relationship
12:48and thoughts around competition.
12:51That's when,
12:52at the age of like 23
12:54or something like that,
12:55that's when it sort of like
12:56dawned on me
12:58why I felt like a more natural fit
13:01in the artist space.
13:04Because there was something in this space
13:06that allowed
13:06the conversation around competition
13:09be more about you being your best self.
13:12And you're still very much living
13:14in the athlete space.
13:15You're in the prime of your career, right?
13:17But I wish I had
13:20a much greater sense of that
13:22when I was playing that.
13:23It's really about me being my best self.
13:25Me performing my absolute best.
13:27I don't care if we win by 20
13:29or lose by 20.
13:30What did I do to perform my best that day
13:33and being able to live with that?
13:34I'm going to be honest
13:35and I'll be transparent.
13:37I think most people
13:39in the world that we live in
13:40in society
13:40think winning is one-dimensional.
13:42They think it's black and white.
13:44And I disagree.
13:46I think winning has context.
13:48I think winning has dimensions to it.
13:51Obviously, there's a result
13:53at the end of each game
13:54where there's a result
13:55at the end of each outing.
13:58But internally,
13:59it could be a team
14:00that overcame adversity
14:03and wasn't supposed to be there.
14:05And it could have been a team
14:07that, this is hypothetical, by the way,
14:09cheated in order to win.
14:11Yeah.
14:11They won.
14:12Yeah.
14:12But they didn't do it with integrity.
14:14Right.
14:14So winning has context to me.
14:17Some people, it doesn't.
14:18And a lot of people just think
14:19winning is winning.
14:20Making money is making money.
14:22Da-da-da-da-da.
14:22Right.
14:23So, one, my relationship
14:25with failure, winning and losing
14:27is about how I felt about myself.
14:31Yeah.
14:31About my output,
14:34about how I interacted
14:35with my teammates.
14:36You know, did I do my job?
14:38Was I afraid of anything?
14:40You know, was it a leadership moment
14:42where I could have, you know,
14:44stepped up?
14:45Those are the things I think about
14:46more so than the result.
14:48Mm-hmm.
14:48Because oftentimes,
14:49if you focus on the things
14:51that we're talking about,
14:53leadership, integrity,
14:54transparency, communication,
14:56just being authentic,
14:58you know, those lead to
14:59fostering better environments
15:01that lead to more winning than not.
15:03Yeah.
15:03I'm not saying this
15:03going to guarantee you
15:04to win every outcome.
15:06Yeah.
15:06But building an environment
15:07based on that,
15:08Right.
15:09That's how you build
15:10a winning organization.
15:11Winning culture.
15:12Yes.
15:13Opposed to a winning season.
15:14Exactly.
15:15Right.
15:15You learn all these different facets
15:17as you grow,
15:18and it's a lot more
15:20to winning than it is.
15:21It's just this black and white.
15:22We just roll the ball out,
15:24and there's winners and losers.
15:25When someone like yourself
15:27does so much
15:28at such a high clip
15:29and success rate,
15:30do you, like,
15:32have this subtle expectation
15:34or pressure
15:35that you put on yourself
15:37to excel in something
15:38just because you have
15:40a pattern of succeeding already?
15:42What is your mentality
15:43or approach on
15:44picking up a guitar?
15:46That's a good question.
15:47I don't think I've ever
15:48been asked that question before.
15:50It's a conversation
15:51with curiosity
15:52and, like,
15:52what curiosity leads to,
15:54you know?
15:54Yeah, so it definitely
15:55isn't public.
15:56Yeah.
15:57I rarely ever show things
15:58publicly that I'm not,
16:00I've already spent some time in.
16:02Sometimes I do.
16:03I've just recently
16:04kind of started doing that
16:05because I stream and whatnot,
16:06but for the most part,
16:07it bothers me
16:08when I'm not good at things.
16:10The other day,
16:11I went to my teammate,
16:12Tyrese Maxx,
16:13he had a golf outing.
16:14Yeah.
16:14I've never played golf before,
16:15especially not...
16:18Inside, it was hurting me
16:20to know that these guys
16:22were better than me.
16:23Yeah.
16:23You know what I mean?
16:24Yeah.
16:24Like, a lot better than me.
16:25And even though they were like,
16:26it's cool, man,
16:27we just vibing,
16:28having a good time,
16:29building chemistry
16:29with your teammates,
16:30it was eating me a lot.
16:31I'm in pain for you right now.
16:32I feel it.
16:32It's eating me up.
16:33You know,
16:34and why is it eating me up?
16:35So, in my brain,
16:37that feeling that I had inside,
16:39I'm like,
16:40man, I'm about to go
16:40hire a golf instructor.
16:44I'm about to go grind
16:45for two months straight,
16:48come back,
16:48act like I didn't even...
16:50Right.
16:50Act like,
16:51oh, man, yeah.
16:52That's probably how my brain works.
16:54Yeah, yeah.
16:54I don't know why.
16:55I just don't like
16:56not being good at things.
16:57Yeah.
16:58A lot of things
16:59do come naturally to me,
17:00but the stuff that doesn't,
17:01it frustrates me.
17:02Yeah.
17:03So, I would go behind the scenes
17:04and put in the work,
17:06hire an instructor,
17:07whatever it is,
17:08and then come back
17:09and pretend like
17:10none of that happened.
17:11I love that.
17:12I love that.
17:13I love that.
17:14And they'd be like,
17:15oh, man,
17:15like, what happened?
17:16Like, yeah.
17:17Yeah.
17:18That's great.
17:20That was just me.
17:21Okay.
17:24What's your relationship
17:25with Faith?
17:27Are you driven by Faith?
17:28I would say
17:30it makes the experience
17:31of being an actor
17:32so much richer
17:33because it allows me
17:35to be honest about
17:36my lack of talent
17:37or lack of skill
17:38in certain areas
17:39because I don't have
17:41the answer for certain things
17:42and I don't know
17:43what I'm doing half the time.
17:45I take jobs
17:45and I don't know
17:46what I'm doing.
17:47I just show up
17:47and I'm like,
17:48I'm here.
17:48I don't know
17:49what I'm doing.
17:50So, I'm like...
17:51That's hard to believe.
17:52I swear,
17:53I kid you not.
17:54I kid you not.
17:55I'm like,
17:55I don't know
17:56what I'm doing.
17:56Like, how am I...
17:57All right.
17:58We're going to have
17:58to figure this out.
17:59I don't know
17:59if I've got that one.
18:00But what I mean
18:01is it's almost like,
18:03yeah, you might know
18:04how to play the piano
18:05or the horn
18:05but how do you become
18:07like good at improv?
18:08So, some of that
18:09has to be a letting go.
18:11Submit.
18:12So, to me,
18:13acting is all faith.
18:14I don't walk out
18:16on set
18:17and not have
18:18not prayed
18:19and made duar
18:20or something
18:20on like,
18:22need help today?
18:24You know,
18:24whether I feel like
18:25I got it or not,
18:26I would like to
18:27avoid ever having
18:29any kind of arrogance
18:33around storytelling
18:35because I'm so aware
18:36of my responsibility
18:37to reflect life
18:38and to work
18:40to extract the truth
18:42out of these stories
18:43and out of these characters
18:44that can then in turn
18:46impact people
18:47in their lives
18:48just through
18:49us being immersed
18:51and trying to honestly
18:54tell a story.
18:56I've had people
18:57just come up
18:58to me weeping,
18:59you know,
19:00on,
19:01when we first shared
19:03Moonlight
19:03and Telluride.
19:05Great movie.
19:06Ten years ago,
19:07I kid you not,
19:09there were multiple people.
19:11I saw someone
19:12holding Barry Jenkins
19:13shaking,
19:14like,
19:14and speaking about
19:16how something
19:16had impacted their lives.
19:18And so there's part of me
19:20is like I see a lot
19:20of actors sometimes
19:21sort of throw away
19:22the importance
19:23of this work
19:24and I think it's
19:25sort of like to me
19:25a false humility.
19:27I think that this work
19:27is important,
19:28like it can really
19:29impact lives
19:30and I think it's really,
19:31it's important
19:32that we,
19:33that we look at it
19:35that way too
19:35so that we're really
19:36responsible with it.
19:37People need to see
19:38themselves,
19:39they need to see
19:39the human experience.
19:40It allows people
19:41to escape
19:42or it even informs
19:43and educates people
19:44and therefore allows people
19:45to go in a different
19:47direction as a result
19:48of how they respond
19:49to something
19:50and so I take the work
19:51really seriously.
19:52It asks a lot of me
19:54though it gives me
19:55a lot too.
19:56I feel the same way
19:56about my faith.
19:57Yeah.
19:58I am completely
20:00faith driven.
20:01I don't need to see
20:02the staircase
20:02to take my next step.
20:04I submit to the creator
20:05on a daily basis.
20:07Through that submission
20:09I hear
20:12the ancestral rhythm
20:13that connects us all
20:16even though
20:17most people think
20:18talent is just
20:20for entertainment.
20:21Once again
20:21I'm going to have
20:22to disagree.
20:23These are God given
20:24abilities that
20:26the creator gave
20:27to these individuals
20:28to run,
20:30to jump,
20:31to act,
20:31to influence,
20:33to sing,
20:33to rap,
20:35to write.
20:35He didn't give this
20:36to you or to me
20:38or to others
20:39for entertainment.
20:41He gave it to them
20:42for influence.
20:43Let me ask
20:44what were the priorities
20:45of your household
20:46growing up?
20:47It's making me smile
20:47because it's my mom.
20:48Okay.
20:49Like she used to always say
20:51if you lie
20:52you'll cheat
20:53if you cheat
20:53you'll steal
20:54if you steal
20:55you'll kill.
20:56I don't know why
20:56it's just engraved
20:58in my brain.
21:00I don't know.
21:00Probably so many
21:01other black families
21:03probably grew up
21:04hearing that.
21:05But my mom
21:05used to always say that.
21:07So the worst thing
21:07you could do
21:08in our household
21:08was to lie.
21:09Lying was like
21:10not accepted.
21:12Like your integrity
21:13was so important
21:14even from a three
21:15four year old.
21:16Like if I got in trouble
21:17at school
21:18in my earliest memories
21:19right?
21:19It wouldn't even matter
21:20the crime I committed.
21:21If I lied to my mother
21:22about it
21:23if I did it or not
21:24would be worse
21:25than the actual
21:26punishment
21:27of what I actually did.
21:29So as I got older
21:30as I entered spaces
21:31and I made mistakes
21:32and things like that
21:34but it was just so
21:34part of my character
21:35development
21:36and I always would hear
21:37my mother and my
21:38grandmother's voice
21:39even in moments
21:40where it got to the point
21:41where I needed
21:42to make a decision
21:43it's like
21:44I see in my brain
21:45before I made that decision
21:46it's like my mom
21:48voice pop up
21:49or my grandmother
21:50who's no longer with us
21:51her voice will pop up
21:52and then
21:54that will
21:54kind of lead me
21:55to make a wiser choice.
21:57For so many youth
21:59sports
22:02is considered
22:03a way out.
22:04Considering the type
22:05of student you were
22:07did you relate
22:08to sports
22:09in any way
22:09from the standpoint
22:11of this is my ticket out
22:12or because of
22:15I'm assuming
22:16going
22:17I have a route
22:19to get an education
22:20this way
22:21or that way
22:22did it somehow
22:23remove
22:24and I don't forget
22:25me if I'm assuming
22:26any pressure around it
22:27but did it in any way
22:28remove any kind
22:30of pressure
22:30you felt
22:31to
22:33use basketball
22:34as a tool
22:34to get somewhere?
22:35Not at all
22:36to be honest
22:37like obviously
22:37the overarching
22:39reality is
22:40that is the truth
22:41like in terms of
22:42to make it
22:43to a high level
22:44of success
22:44that was my
22:45greatest option
22:46like I didn't have
22:47a family office
22:48or I didn't have
22:49a father
22:50or just
22:51a pathway
22:52that would have
22:53led me
22:53to reach
22:54a certain level
22:55of success
22:55so
22:56the overarching
22:57answer
22:58I would say
22:59yes
22:59but in reality
23:00I just love
23:01the game
23:02I just love
23:03the game
23:03so much
23:04that I'm like
23:05I'm going to be
23:06the best
23:07like I learned
23:08to walk
23:08by chasing
23:09after a ball
23:10so I wasn't
23:11thinking at
23:11two years old
23:12like this is my
23:13ticket to making
23:14it out
23:14you know what I mean
23:15I'm just
23:16it's just in my
23:17design
23:17like I just
23:18I love this game
23:19so much
23:19I want to play
23:20it at the highest
23:20level
23:21and in that
23:22thought
23:23I made it out
23:24you know
23:25and is it still
23:26play for you
23:26that essence
23:27is still there
23:28or
23:28and what around
23:30because I know
23:31it changes
23:32you know
23:33the NBA
23:34is a little
23:35different from
23:35just the
23:36altruistic love
23:37that you develop
23:38it becomes work
23:39and then there's
23:40politics that
23:41exists within
23:42the game
23:42there's things
23:43that get emphasized
23:44for entertainment
23:45for bottom lines
23:46for money
23:47for metrics
23:48that kind of
23:49sometimes take
23:49the love away
23:50a little bit
23:51yeah
23:51but I love it
23:52so much
23:52it can never
23:53take the love
23:53away
23:54yes
23:54you know
23:55and I'm
23:55it's just
23:56all the things
23:57on top of
23:57the reality
23:58of that love
23:59right
23:59yeah
23:59the game
24:00is
24:01perpetrated
24:02through agendas
24:03medically
24:03socially
24:05politically
24:06there's
24:06partners involved
24:08there's things
24:09that happen
24:09behind closed doors
24:10decisions get made
24:11I've been in the
24:12league for 10 years
24:13I've probably been
24:14a part of the
24:14union for 8
24:15I've learned
24:16the ins and outs
24:17of what the
24:19modern highest
24:20level highest
24:20form of the
24:21game is
24:21and I don't
24:23always agree
24:23with the product
24:25that we put out
24:25you know at the
24:27same time we all
24:27get compensated
24:28for it
24:29right
24:29as a collective
24:30I'm sure everybody
24:31is grateful for
24:32but there's a lot
24:33of improvements
24:34there's a lot of
24:35integral improvements
24:36that I've vocally
24:38have spoken about
24:40yeah
24:40because if you go
24:41as you climb
24:42industries
24:43yeah
24:44and you get to
24:44the top
24:45yeah
24:45it just seems
24:46it gets less
24:47more cutthroat
24:48yeah
24:48right
24:49I was asking you
24:50a little bit earlier
24:50about your upbringing
24:51and I was curious
24:52about like
24:53some of the things
24:54that you may have
24:55had or didn't have
24:57that are now
24:59playing a part
25:00and sort of
25:02influencing
25:03and inspiring you
25:04to do certain work
25:06that you either had
25:08as a kid growing up
25:09or didn't have
25:11and as a result
25:12of not having it
25:13you're like
25:15seeing certain
25:16voids
25:17and you want to
25:18help to fill
25:20or bridge those gaps
25:21yeah
25:22it's a very fair
25:23question
25:23and also
25:24multifaceted question
25:25like when you
25:27talked about
25:27your upbringing
25:28it's like
25:28I didn't have
25:30a lot
25:31but I had enough
25:31but the things
25:33that I had to
25:33learn to develop
25:34that I wish
25:35that I had
25:35around me
25:36more often
25:37was discipline
25:38you know
25:39and I think
25:40even through Islam
25:41is kind of
25:41how I found
25:42my structure
25:43for myself
25:44religion kind of
25:45gives you that
25:46structure
25:46that you need
25:47on a daily basis
25:48so for me
25:49it's helped
25:49save my life
25:50in many different
25:51ways and forms
25:51because if you
25:52lack discipline
25:54a man who can't
25:55say no
25:55he's susceptible
25:56to a lot
25:58of the distractions
25:59illusions
26:00and things
26:00that are taking
26:01place in the world
26:02how do I go
26:03about my daily life
26:04and how do I
26:05hold myself
26:06accountable
26:06on a daily basis
26:08and how do I
26:09replicate that
26:10over and over
26:11and over again
26:12that's stuff
26:12I had to learn
26:15throughout my journey
26:16as a man
26:17we have no discipline
26:18as a society
26:20here in the US
26:21true
26:21we lack it
26:22to answer your question
26:23I would say
26:24discipline is the thing
26:25that has stood out
26:27the most
26:27when you talk
26:28about legacy
26:29what do you hope
26:30for people to remember
26:32about you
26:33and your work
26:33I think in terms
26:34of legacy
26:35I would say
26:36that I was always
26:37playing a believer
26:37it's just a matter
26:39of where they were
26:40on that scale
26:42you know
26:43and I think
26:43that's the thing
26:44that does drive me
26:45trying to connect
26:46to spirit
26:47you know
26:48and feeling like
26:49all these characters
26:51everybody is having
26:52some version
26:53of that experience
26:54and every time
26:55I come to a character
26:58I'm looking at him
27:01in the same way
27:02I would look at myself
27:03right
27:04even if I was playing
27:05an atheist
27:06or what have you
27:07you know
27:07but there's a part
27:09of me
27:09that is always
27:10kind of doing
27:11the same thing
27:11waking up the spirit
27:13of a character
27:14and no judgment
27:15no real judgment
27:16on that
27:17just going like
27:18okay
27:18where is he
27:19entering this from
27:20and I think in that
27:21then therefore
27:22it gives me permission
27:23to go
27:23hey I need help today
27:25you know
27:26and how do I do
27:27this scene
27:28I don't know
27:28what I'm doing
27:29and in that way
27:31I think I'm really
27:32committed to playing
27:33human beings
27:34there's real
27:37resistance
27:37I think in the world
27:39or in the sports world
27:40to like athletes
27:44that kind of have
27:45like any
27:46like real interest
27:47beyond the sport itself
27:49I would just like you
27:50to sort of
27:51maybe speak to that
27:52a little bit
27:52experientially
27:53but the necessity
27:55especially as black men
27:56developing attributes
27:58in yourself
27:59that are beyond
28:00any given sport
28:02considering the finite
28:03nature of sports
28:04especially
28:05can you speak to that
28:07a bit
28:07and like maybe
28:08some of the challenges
28:09around
28:09the sort of
28:11the boxing in
28:12that one could experience
28:13I would say this
28:14it might be a little
28:15controversial
28:16but I think it's rooted
28:17in fear
28:17why even in
28:19within our own community
28:20there's a pushback
28:22almost like a
28:23hesitancy
28:24because
28:25it's rooted in trauma
28:27of experiences
28:28even from
28:29post-traumatic slave effects
28:31like at one point
28:32to do anything
28:33outside of being a slave
28:35was problematic
28:37reading, writing
28:38anything else
28:39it's similar aspects
28:41when you think of
28:42like an athlete
28:42doing anything out
28:43of what you're just
28:44supposed to be doing
28:45you're supposed to
28:46just be entertaining me
28:47you're not supposed
28:48to be doing anything else
28:49outside of that
28:50and some people
28:51firmly still believe that
28:52because they have
28:53the same mentality
28:54that you know
28:55came from before
28:56but once again
28:58I disagree
28:59you know
29:00I think that
29:01abilities that
29:03we're given
29:03talents
29:04are
29:05God given
29:06I don't have a choice
29:07I was given this
29:09and I have a responsibility
29:10to see it out
29:10my responsibility
29:12is not to entertain you
29:13my responsibility
29:14is to be influential
29:15I think it's still
29:16even within athletes
29:18even within
29:19people who are talented
29:20even within people
29:21who are gifted
29:22the fear is projected
29:23onto us
29:24in order to make
29:25ourselves smaller
29:26to make ourselves
29:27more digestible
29:28for the people
29:29who are uncomfortable
29:31around you
29:32who only want you
29:33to be
29:33the slave
29:35you follow me
29:36yes
29:37they only want you
29:38to be the entertainer
29:39right
29:39I think it's a fear
29:40still that's instilled
29:42in talented people's brains
29:43that if I
29:44use my abilities
29:45beyond what people
29:46are comfortable for
29:47there's going to be
29:48major pushback
29:49right
29:50and for me
29:51the reason why
29:52I'm comfortable
29:54doing it
29:54because I just
29:55don't care
29:55yeah
29:56I feel like that
29:57is going to be
29:57your legacy
29:58on some level
30:00and how
30:01effective you've
30:02been able to be
30:03in spaces
30:05that
30:05that go beyond
30:06the sport itself
30:07but
30:08I would love to
30:09hear from you
30:10how you consider
30:11legacy
30:12what you would
30:13like your
30:14legacy to be
30:16and it comes up
30:17so much for athletes
30:18like
30:18what I've noticed
30:20is it has everything
30:21to do with like
30:21did he win a championship
30:22and all that kind of stuff
30:24and will you be
30:25in the hall of fame
30:26well so
30:26you've done that
30:27you've won a championship
30:28the MVP
30:29and all this other
30:30so not that
30:31there aren't more
30:31championships to win
30:32and MVPs
30:33and all that kind of stuff
30:34but
30:34that aside
30:35though
30:36like what
30:37what would you like
30:38your legacy to be
30:39I want to break down
30:40that fear
30:41I'm not here for
30:41entertainment
30:42yeah
30:43like God didn't put me
30:44here to entertain
30:45some people
30:46he gave me abilities
30:47to run
30:47jump
30:48speak
30:48articulate myself
30:50not for other people
30:51who don't value me
30:52to just be entertained
30:54I think my legacy
30:55would be
30:55hopefully
30:56is inspiring
30:57the next generation
30:58to be fearless
30:59yeah
31:00I love that brother
31:01so
31:01yeah
31:02upcoming film
31:03yeah
31:04your mother
31:05your mother
31:05your mother
31:06your mother
31:06your mother
31:06your mother
31:07is derived from
31:08a famous
31:09Islamic saying
31:10or hadith
31:12heaven is at the feet
31:13of your mother
31:13yes
31:13yes
31:14or basically
31:15that the
31:16that you should
31:17basically hold
31:18your mother
31:19in your heart
31:20or your love
31:20for your mother
31:21basically is
31:22three times greater
31:23than your father
31:24you know
31:25your mother
31:26your mother
31:26your mother
31:26is probably
31:28the most exciting
31:31film and experience
31:32I've kind of ever had
31:34and really
31:35really excited to share
31:36and I'm playing
31:37a character
31:37that had
31:38sort of required
31:39me to immerse myself
31:41in some martial arts training
31:44I got to bring some qualities
31:47from my faith
31:49into this character
31:50in a very overt way
31:53because this character
31:55is a Muslim assassin
31:56who is dealing with
31:58searching for breast milk
32:00for his child
32:01while he is also
32:02being hunted
32:03by a group of guys
32:05and so
32:05it's just an exciting
32:07thrilling story
32:08it's
32:09it's
32:10it's small
32:11with really
32:11with big potential
32:13and I got to unite
32:15with a director
32:16by the name of
32:16Asam Tarek
32:17and we were originally
32:18supposed to work on
32:19Blade together
32:20that didn't quite happen
32:22but we were able
32:23to use that training
32:25and those early meetings
32:27and the time
32:29we spent together
32:29that was
32:30that was put to good use
32:32in your mother
32:33your mother
32:34your mother
32:34I'm excited to share
32:35and I will say
32:37right now
32:38I'm working in Philadelphia
32:40the announcement
32:41of you
32:43going from Boston
32:44to Philly
32:44Jalen Brown
32:45taking his talents
32:47to Philly
32:47to be there
32:48while that
32:49while that happened
32:50was pretty remarkable
32:51and on top of that
32:52then LeBron
32:52decided to join you
32:54as well
32:55tell me about
32:55how you're feeling
32:56about that transition
32:58and move
32:58from
32:59from Boston
33:00to Philadelphia
33:00obviously disappointing
33:02to some degree
33:02just in terms of
33:04how things kind of
33:05transpired
33:05for sure
33:06at the end there
33:07in Boston
33:07but also very excited
33:09for the opportunity
33:10you know
33:10I'm more so focused
33:11on the excitement
33:12the past is the past
33:14and I'm putting
33:16all my energy
33:16towards that
33:17was a lot
33:18moving all
33:19your stuff
33:20your family
33:20looking for a new place
33:22parting ways
33:23with your old place
33:24and the things
33:25that you grew
33:26comfort with
33:27in Boston
33:28and now I got to
33:28find new things
33:30in Philadelphia
33:31you know
33:32which is just
33:32rebirth
33:33it's just
33:34another form
33:35of transformation
33:36so
33:36I'm looking forward
33:38to the steps
33:39and I guess
33:41the process
33:41of how it all
33:43will unfold
33:44got great things
33:45to look forward to
33:45got to see you
33:46at a game
33:47man
33:47bro
33:47we got you
33:48bro
33:49we got you
33:50come on man
33:51I'm coming through
33:52you know I got you
33:53oh man
33:54thank you
33:55yes sir
33:55we got you
33:56thank you Jalen
33:57yes sir
33:58great to sit down
33:59with you brother
33:59yeah appreciate you
34:00yes sir
34:01this was great
34:02yes sir
34:04boom
34:05oh man
34:07thank you
34:08yes
34:09yes
34:10oh brother
34:11I appreciate you
34:12so
34:24yeah