by Gill Pringle
As a multi-threat actor/director/writer/producer, Joel Edgerton is in the fortunate position of picking and choosing his projects. But, when he heard that Barry Jenkins was proposing an ambitious 10-part TV adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel, The Underground Railroad, he didn’t hesitate to chase down a lead role in this important Black story.
“Look, I did insinuate myself into the process, which is probably the right phrase. I’d heard about it and I’d met Barry at various events, and I think the most poignant thing was that I loved the things that Barry had already made,” Edgerton tells us.
Already a fan of the award-winning Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk director, he was intrigued.
“I’d learned from other people how they really enjoyed the process of working with Barry and when I found out about this, I definitely tapped him on the shoulder and was like, ‘I’m really interested to work with you, and can we talk about this?’”
Set in the years prior to the Civil War, Edgerton was initially hesitant that he might not be the right fit for the role of Ridgeway, a bounty hunter hellbent on pursuing escaped slave, Cora, given that the character is written as a big intimidating man in the novel.
“The one thing that made me nervous that I might not be appropriate was that, in the book, Ridgeway is described as a big giant and I’m not a giant. I mean, I’m not tiny but I’m certainly not a giant,” says the 5’11” actor.
“But yeah, I very much chased it down. Actually, when I was younger, I used to have that energy where I would learn about projects and try and knock down doors. Not that I’ve become complacent in my middle age, but it reminded me of that leaning on my toes enthusiasm in chasing down Barry. And I’m just really happy that I had the courage to put my ego aside and really try and grab him and say how I’d really like to be a part of this – if it felt appropriate – and I’m really glad I did.”
Starring alongside a cast of up-and-coming actors – including South African actress Thuso Mbedu whose Cora is the heart and soul of this heart-wrenching story – not only did Edgerton snag himself a major part in The Underground Railroad but he also convinced Jenkins to hire his pal Damon Herriman.
“Damon is one of the most constantly working, always brilliant actors. I’ve known him since I was nine or ten years old and we’ve had a lot of time together, but yet we’ve never really worked together significantly and Barry made that happen,” says Edgerton whose screenplay for The Square, directed by brother Nash Edgerton in 2008, featured both Joel and Herriman.
If Edgerton is modest about his part in bringing Herriman on board for the role of Martin, a religious man who hides slaves escaping from their cruel owners, then Jenkins is having none of it when we chat with the entire ensemble over zoom.
“You pushed for him; you’ve gotta tell the truth man! If you’re a mate of Joel Edgerton, he’s gonna work for you. Joel pushed for him. He kept asking, ‘Have you got a part for Damon?’” Jenkins attests.
“So, Damon actually auditioned for this other part that was much more typical for him and I was like, ‘Yeah Joel, he’s alright’. And he goes, ‘No, no, I’m telling you, just keep pushing it…’ And then we auditioned him for Martin, and he crushed it. There’s a scene that Damon did, that’s unfortunately not in the show, that is beautiful. He had this four-minute monologue but it’s a TV show and I can’t have no four-minute monologues.
“But Joel pushed for Damon to be in this show and all you Australians, you’ve gotta have a couple of beers with this homeboy! True story. You rode for your homeboy and I’m glad you did, man, because he’s great,” says Jenkins.
Edgerton isn’t having any of it, reckoning he did Jenkins a favour by pointing out Herriman’s talents.
“As a director, watching Barry handle this mammoth task for 116 days, spinning all those plates and, at the early part of the process, all these actors were sending tapes through casting agents, and when you’re confused and you’re in the mire watching all these tapes, maybe just the gold nugget flows down the river and you don’t get to pick it up, so I think it’s important as actors to support our friends and go, ‘That guy’s a gold nugget and pick him up and have a look and if he’s not right then throw him back in the river’. But Damon’s a keeper.”
Possibly one of the most graphic and unflinching portrayals of slavery ever seen on screen, it’s clear that all the cast are in awe of Jenkins’ accomplishment with The Underground Railroad, which steers an uncomfortable line between magical realism and brutal inhumanity.
Bringing together an impeccable cast from across the globe, the series also highlights U.S. actor William Jackson Harper (Midsommar) alongside Brits Aaron Pierre and Sheila Atim, whom Jenkins discovered after seeing them both on the London stage in a 2018 production of Othello with Mark Rylance.
But Mbedu’s Cora is the real star of this story, bringing to mind Lupita Nyong’o’s breakout role in 12 Years a Slave, eight years ago.
“I have an open door policy when it comes to casting. If you can show me that you are the character, then the part is yours. And Thuso’s take came through. I recognised immediately that she had this ability,” recalls Jenkins.
“And I also knew that, as she goes through the ebbs and flows of this journey, there would be moments where the character would seem incredibly young and then moments where the character would seem incredibly not young. And Thuso has this ability to look both 16 and 66, depending on the situation she’s in. From the moment we very first met, it was very clear she was the one.”
For Mbedu’s part, she ignited so much passion in her audition, she flipped her contact lens. “I did the test shoot and Barry worked me!” she yells. “He worked me so hard, my contact lens flipped in on itself!’
Not that she imagined she would ever get the role: “When I heard about the audition, it was something exciting for me. It was going to be my very first big international audition, but I didn’t think much of it because I really did not rate myself that much and didn’t think anything would come from it. I did my tape and put it on the table and just forgot about it,” recalls the actress who would later work with 12 Years a Slave casting director Francine Maisler.
“I was invited to do a work session with Francine, and we played around with the material and she stretched me. She pushed me to places where I didn’t know I could go, and I was just happy I met her and was in her archives in case something else came along. And then that evening I got a call that Barry wanted to meet me. I was like, ‘OK!’ It was only after I met Barry that I read the book and thought, ‘Oh snap! This is bigger than anything I ever could have imagined. It’s a very important story.’ I didn’t know if I had it in me to tell this story, but I did what I needed to do, and the rest was in God’s hands; in Barry’s hands.
“Afterwards, I said to myself, ‘I’ve been stretched, I’ve been challenged, I did my best and even if I don’t get the role, I know that I’ve grown just through the audition process.’”
Edgerton can empathise, “the only times my contact lenses have flipped have been in moments of high intensity so I can relate.”
As much as he enjoyed working with Mbedu, Edgerton also salutes his 11-year-old co-star Chase W Dillon with whom he shares every scene.
“I’m always looking to learn something, and I learn it quite often from young people, but this particular young man impressed me with his imagination and his willingness to just lean into everything that Mr Barry wanted, without too much analysing.
“When you realise that a child is possessed of their own imagination that may be more abundant than your own; willing to do things far beyond what you gauge is their age, you really have to raise that bar with children. This was a lesson and a reminder for me to never underestimate.”
The Underground Railroad is released on Prime Video on May 14, 2021
