Interview: Actor Adrian Holmes Expands Range in ‘Frankie and Alice’

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CHICAGO – Breaking through to the next level of name recognition in the acting field is the goal of all performers. Adrian Holmes, currently featured in the Halle Berry film, “Frankie and Alice,” is currently making his breakout move.

Holmes has been a professional actor since the early 1990s, working mostly out of the production centers in his native Canada. From there he has built a film and TV resume which includes “Smallville,” in which he played a Kryptonian named Basqat, to his roles in the Halle Berry film and the soon-to-be-released “Red Riding Hood.”

He’s Super, Man: Adrian Holmes Strikes a Pose Photo credit: Persona PR

Adrian Holmes participated in a phone interview with HollywoodChicago.com, in anticipation of the Chicago release of Frankie and Alice. He spoke about the life of the journeyman actor, and his gratitude towards this part of his career.

HollywoodChicago.com: When you do a smaller but significant part as in Frankie and Alice, how much of a character is based on what you do to prepare, or what the director Geoffrey Sax wants?

Adrian Holmes: It is definitely my responsibility, as an actor, to come in with a character broken down and prepared for the film. I did a lot of research and watched a lot of online videos because this was a period piece that took place in 1973. I had to get acquainted with the whole style of the time, the way people spoke, the walk, the whole jive. Geoffrey Sax, who was an amazing director, would give me a few words here and there. He is an actor’s director.

HollywoodChicago.com: How did you most connect with your brethren from that era in the 1970s?

Holmes: I love the music, I’m a big music fan overall and I love the music of that era. That soul, the Motown sound was very moving to me. It was post civil rights, black power and African Americans really coming together in unity, really making a statement of who they were and what they stood for. It was very emotional and I always dreamed of being back there. That’s the great part of being an actor, being able to recreate an era like that in my work.

HollywoodChicago.com: What was your personal journey from birth in North Wales, UK to co-starring with an Oscar winner? What was the most significant realization along the way that told you it was time to make a career as an actor?

Holmes: I came to Vancouver just before my fifth birthday, when my mother moved here. I was an only child until my mother got remarried when I was nine. I got into drama, I was always entertaining and playing make-believe as a kid, so it was natural that I got into theater and felt peace there, I felt really at home. I progressed through high school and college theater, and started professionally in background parts, then smaller roles and it started to grow and grow.

When I got the call for Frankie and Alice, like every man with a pulse on the planet I’ve been a huge Halle Berry fan. Then when I heard she was coming to town to do the movie, I did everything in my power to prepare the audition for this role. I went in there, did my thing – which included a lot of improvisation, I like to do that. When I got a call back, the casting director said that Halle Berry had seen the tape, and she was very happy with what she saw.

HollywoodChicago.com: What did you observe or learn on your first movie set (’Valentine’ 2001) that you’ve kept with you on subsequent film sets, or was it fairly similar to a set on a television show?

Holmes: The difference between film and television is the pacing. In film, there is much more time, with TV its usually a week to eight days. They take their time in film, they can give you 15 takes to get a scene right. In television, you have to get it in a couple takes and move on. That’s what I learned on Valentine, that I personally prefer the pace of film.

HollywoodChicago.com: Since you have a ‘type’ and a ‘look,’ what roles did you have to endure early in your career before getting more nuanced and interesting characters?

Holmes: Being a black man, you get stereotypical ‘gangsta’ roles, like ‘Thug Number One.’ [laughs] I definitely had my share of them. But now, I’m more versatile, I’ve played the doctor and the lawyer. I don’t get pegged in those boxes anymore.

Berry Good: Adrian Holmes as Cliff and Halle Berry as Frankie on the set of ‘Frankie and Alice’ Photo credit: Freestyle Releasing

HollywoodChicago.com: What is different about show business in the Canada, versus show business in the states?

Holmes: There is definitely a much better ‘urban’ market in the states than Canada, we don’t have a big population of Afro-Canadians here. We focus on eventually heading for the states. There is a good independent film market here, and I love doing that because I play different types of characters. And the advantage of being here is that as a black Canadian I don’t have hundreds of competitors outside my door. [laughs]

HollywoodChicago.com: Were you a Superman fan before you joined ‘Smallville’? How does it mean to you and the admirers of that show to have played a cloned citizen of the planet Krypton?

Holmes: I have been a big Superman fan since I saw the first movie in the early 1980s. And strangely enough, I’ve always had dreams that I could fly. Whenever I’m in trouble in my dreams, I always fly out. So Superman was always my favorite superhero, when I got the call to be on Smallville I was elated. And then when I heard the character was from Krypton, I was even more blown away. I had the greatest time on that show, everybody was most welcoming.

HollywoodChicago.com: So you’re playing the ‘right hand man’ of Gary Oldman’s Father Solomon in the upcoming ‘Red Riding Hood.’ In working with an actor of Oldman’s caliber, did you have any difficulties meshing with his acting style or process?

Holmes: Gary Oldman is a king among men, he’s such a professional. He made me feel like I was one of his peers. You never know what you’re going to get when working with other actors, like ‘don’t look me in the eye,’ but Gary was the complete opposite. We’d go to dinner, and I would pick his brain, and he gave me some great advice. It was like a acting workshop, observing Gary Oldman on a daily basis, always giving 100 percent even in rehearsals. He set the tone and pace for every one on set. We were that much more focused and prepared being with him.

HollywoodChicago.com: Finally, can you describe the moment you knew, despite all obstacles and advice to the contrary, that you wanted to make your career as an actor, and how has that initial feeling sustained you in a very difficult business?

Holmes: The moment I knew I wanted to be an actor has to do with how inspired I was watching other actors, awed by how powerful this medium is. I wanted to be in that position, to inspire people and give them hope. That was about 15 years ago. It’s been a blessing, and I always put God first, because I believe he puts the super in my natural. He’s been doing a great job for me, paving the way and creating opportunities. This business is unpredictable, and difficult at times, but I walk by faith, and that’s how I stay secure in an insecure world. I wouldn’t be here after 10 years if I wasn’t doing something right.

By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]