Mystique: ...that's the sounds of NEXT, the song is called "Too Close", and remember when I was telling you I was going to have in-studio guests? Well, I want everyone to join me in welcoming Mr. Reginald James. How ya doin'?

Reginald James: Hey, I'm doing great.

M: That's great. I'm glad you came in today, and, I've heard of you, I've seen you do some acting - but first you know what - let me see where do we wanna to start...ok, you are a home-town native of Youngstown...

RJ: That I am.

M: ...ok, and - so were you born here?

RJ: I was born and raised in Youngstown. I went to Harding Elementary school on the north side...

M: Okay, could I get you to come a little closer to the mike. We want everybody to hear everything you say - you're saying.

RJ: ...I went to Harding Elementary school on the north side, and I went to Hayes Junior High, then I went away to high school down in North Carolina, but I spent all my summers here, I still have family here. And I'm here for a wedding - my father is getting married this weekend so, you know...

M: Ooh! Well congratulations to your dad.

RJ: ...big family to-doo get together...

M: Uh-huh.

RJ: ...so I'm back.

M: Well great. Listen, can you give me some of your favorite childhood memories growing up here in Youngstown?

RJ: Playing for the North Side Knights football team.

M: Oh, okay...

RJ: Are they still around?

M: ...were you any good?

RJ: Yeah, I was you know - I was okay...I was - I was a little runt to be honest. I didn't start growing until the 11th grade. So I was one of the kids - you know, you watch the home movies - and you see the play develop - the running-back runs and gets tackled, and then you see a kid comes and falls on top of the pile?...

M: Uh-huh...

RJ: ...that was me.

M: ...that was you. Okay.

RJ: I was always the late, fall-on-the-pile, boom! That was me.

M: Okay.

RJ: Yeah, I was, you know - I was okay.

M: That's cool. Listen, you are into acting. What prompted you to get into acting?

RJ: I was always an exhibitionist of sorts. I was always - I played piano, I played trumpet, I sang in the church choir. I went to Greater Friendship Baptist church up on the south side. I'm sure some of your listeners might even go there. So, I sang in the church choir there, I played piano there, my sister Vanessa played clarinet and we would do duets, you know, so I was always, always, performing and always, you know, out in front of everyone doing things...

M: Okay, so...

RJ: ...so it was kind of natural, you know?

M: ...great, so at what age did you decide that you wanted to just go into acting?

RJ: Uh, well it happened actually when I was in college double-majoring in Economics and Japanese, and I was pretty much doing it because I knew I'd be pretty much set up when I got out of school...

M: Mm-hmm.

RJ: ...you know, MBA - [I would be] set. I knew Japanese, I know Spanish, I'd be set. But, you know, I was doing it for the wrong reasons. I had always - I had always done things - and at the time when I was in school I was modeling. I had done some industrials for Domino's Pizza. I was always doing things. I was entering dance competitions, stuff like that, but I had always kinda like - just - I don't know, kind of suppressed it, pushed it aside because I was always into academics...

M: Okay.

RJ: ...you know? There was no need to like, stick with sports or anything because I was a straight-A student, and so there was no neccessity to find a way out with sports. So, I kind of like put that away too. It wasn't anything I really took seriously until - you know, I'm sitting in class and in the first year of Japanese class, you couldn't speak any English at all...

M: Oh really?

RJ: ...which unless you love it, and unless you really want to do it - that's not the place to be. So I was like, "Oh man this stinks. This really stinks." And I just had to come to terms with what I really wanted to do, and so I changed my major. I studied film and video and I basically did theory and criticism at the University of Michigan, but in the meanwhile I was an instructor - modeling instructor, I taught aerobics and I set my sights on New York City, and when I got out of school, I went straight to New York City.

M: That's great, that is really great. Now I understand you took a role on "As The World Turns", Mr. Frank Corbin that is. You know that's one of my favorite soaps.

RJ: It's one of my favorite soaps too. I was very happy to get on there. Actually I started out as an extra walking around. In fact it's a small part and I'm not one of the main characters, but I am on the show whenever they have scenes in the Falcon Club. So that's my gig. So I'm the bartender there and I relate with all the principals and things like that. It's a small part, but it's up to the writers. You know, the writers dictate whether or not Frank Corbin is going to get involved in some tawdry affair with somebody - it's up to them. Or I can just kind of like wither away into obscurity. You never know.

M: Right, so was that a good experience for you to do that on a day-to-day basis?

RJ: It's a good experience, and it's plot-line driven. Last year I was on all the time because James Steinbeck...

M: Right, came back...

RJ: ...you know, he came back and he owned the Falcon Club right?...

M: That's one of my favorite characters.

RJ: ...exactly you know the story. So I was there. I was one of the new guys. He got rid of some of the people and brought in new hires and all the women started wearing the short, short skirts remember?

M: Mm-hmm.

RJ: I was all in that, and then that's when I was with Lily a lot, and all through there. Now it's kind of like James Steinbeck is a fugitive once more and he's kind of on the run so the story line has kind of pulled back. But, last week I was there. Last week I shot two episodes...

M: Great.

RJ: ...so two weeks coming up in July which should be maybe next week or so, I'll be on again.

M: Oh, so we'll have to definitely catch that. You guys have to catch Reginald James acting on "As The World Turns." Now I notice here it says that you've starred in several films. I want to talk about - let me give a rundown of some of the films you've starred in. Hav Plenty, Down ? Is that right?

RJ: Yes,  Down.

M: Down, The Ripper, The Setup, and Wherefore Art Thou.

RJ: Okay. Wherefore Art Thou Romeo is a small independent film. The Ripper is actually a CD-ROM game. So are you a computer buff?

M: A little, little, little, trying - my kids are but I'm still trying to get into it.

RJ: Okay, well it's a computer game, and instead of just computer-generated graphics it's live actors. I play a police officer in that. That's what  The Ripper is. Hav Plenty is my first feature film. Down was the first film that Cristopher Cherot, the director of Hav Plenty, that was his first film that he shot. It didn't get released. We had some problems with one of the other leads leaving, and pretty much leaving us stranded. And so Hav Plenty was his second project. So, Down you may never see until someone from the film really blows up and then you'll see clips on "Hard Copy" or something like that. You know how that happens right? So that's what  Down is. And what was it,  Setup?

M: Setup.

RJ:  The Setup is another. The Setup is another independent film. In New York City everyone - you can really get experience working on a lot of films. There are films being made everyday. But then you have the Hollywood machine you know? So people are always waiting for their breakthrough. In fact, Hav Plenty - we shot that two years ago. That was done, completed, done two years ago. He took it to the festival, Christopher Cherot, he took it to the festival, Acapulco Black Film Festival, which in fact starts this weekend. He took it there and I believe that's where the Edmonds, Tracey and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, I believe that's where they first saw it. Then it went to Toronto. That's when Miramax - I'm sure your listeners are probably familiar with Miramax, one of the film companies...

M: Miramax. Mm-hmm.

RJ: ...they jumped on-board then and they took it to Sundance. And so two years later, we had to shoot new scenes...

M: Oh I see.

RJ: ...so Hav Plenty could've been yet another film that was done and completed, that you and anyone else might not have ever seen.

M: But we will get a chance to view that, right?

RJ: It's out. It came out June 19th. So everyone has got to go out and see it...

M: Go check it out.

RJ: ...it's a great film.

M: And what character do you play in Hav Plenty ?

RJ: I play Felix Darling.

M: Felix Darling.

RJ: This film is like the - if anyone asks me, "Is it like Love Jones"? No. "Is it like Soul Food"? No. It's like My Man Godfrey. Are you familiar with the old screwball classics?

M: Mm-hmm.

RJ: My Man Godfrey, Philadelphia Story, My Favorite Wife, Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer - those kind of screwball comedies, you know, where you had the smart, witty, dialogue, you had the eccentric, quirky characters, and there's usually one like straight-edged, serious guy?

M: Uh-huh, that's you?

RJ: That's me. I'm Felix Darling. I'm the career track guy. I'm serious and no nonsense. Meanwhile there's all this kookiness and everything going on. And usually in screwball comedies, as in this case, the straight man usually is like the foil to all the kookiness that's going on, so you know, even when there's a real intense scene between my character and my wife - and he's asking these serious questions, and most of the audiences that I've seen the film with, they laugh because he's so serious and he asks these questions - they're serious questions, but they really don't make any sense due to the context because - well if you see the movie you'll know what I'm talking about.

M: Well I can't wait to see it now because I've heard about it but I'm definitely going to make a point to go and see it. I noticed that you brought some soundtracks with ya.

RJ: We've got some soundtracks to give away, so you know, we can...

M: We can do that.

RJ: ...yeah we can do that. We can have some trivia if you like. I love trivia. I know my films, so you know, we can challenge some of your listeners out there. Whatever you wanna do.

M: Hey, trivia works for me. It definitely works for me, just to see exactly where our listeners are. Trivia works for me. You got a good trivia question?

RJ: Sure. We'll start with uh, let's - we'll make it easy. Babyface has a partner in his record company. I want to know who that partner is. What is that partner's name. I'm not talking about his wife either. She has her own record label.

M: Right, and I know what that is, but I'm not going to mention it in case you want to use that as a trivia question. So we're going to take a caller who can answer the question about who Babyface's partner is, right?

RJ: Right, for his record label.

M: Okay, want you to call us up right now at --- ----, we've got Reginald James in the studio. I tell you what Reginald, we're going to go to some music and we're going to come back. Is that okay with you?

RJ: Hey, that's fine.

M: Great. You're listening to Mid-days with Mystique for WRBP Jamz. We want you to stay right here.

[music/commercial break]



M: We're back. We are so excited to have Reginald in the studio. I'm excited. This is my first interview with an actor. I hope I'm doing okay here...

RJ: You're doing wonderful. This is my first radio interview too.

M: ...but listen, we were talking about the movie  Hav Plenty. You were talking, as far as going into the break, about what people think the movie may be about, as to what it really is about. You wanna expand on that a little?

RJ: I'd love to. One of the things that Robinne Lee - she plays my wife Leigh Savage, or Leigh Darling in the film. She described the movie as, it's not "Us in The Hood." And one of the most important things to get across is that it's a very smart, intelligent comedy, and the perception may be that's it's just another  BAPS or  I Got the Hookup. Because in fact, in New York City where I reside, one of the deejays on one of the major radio stations in the city, they were like, "Have you seen  Hav Plenty yet?" And one of the other deejays goes, "No I don't wanna see another  I Got the Hookup." Well, I just want everyone to know it is not like that, and Mystique wanted to know during the break, if you could take your family, and you can. You can take your kids to see this movie. The only thing, there is uh, - a precaution. There's profanity. That's why there's an R, but other than that, that's it. And like I told Mystique, the only person who goes topless in the movie is myself, you know, so depending on how...

M: So the ladies are definitely going to be out there checking it out, huh? You have any other current projects Reginald, that you're working on?

RJ: Right now I'm considering some other film projects, and I also may be back on stage in August. So we'll see 'cause right now things are bubbling because of the movie, and so we're in talks and trying to see what I'm going to decide to do, but I'll always jump back on stage no matter what.

M: Okay. Let's talk about this website you got going on here. Let's talk about that.

RJ: Yeah I have a website, it's called the Reginald James Domain, and I put it up when Hav Plenty was at Sundance. I just wanted to make sure that I had a presence on the web. I'm not this big famous actor or anything, yet. But I just wanted to make sure that if someone saw the movie, and they went to Yahoo!, or Excite and did a search, with the movie, or wanted to know more about the actors, that my site was there and available. I didn't want to react to people trying to find out about me, or the other actors, or the movie - because on my site there's a message board where people can go on and talk about what movies they like. They can ask me questions, and it's very hands-on because I answer all the questions directly. There's pictures, there's film clips from the movie. I have the trailer. I have scenes from the movie on the website. I have interviews that I've had. There's reviews from my stage performances. There's everything you want to know about myself - not just myself but also the other actors and the director himself. I have articles from different magazines on Christopher Cherot, the director as well.

M: Wow, that sounds really exciting.

RJ: Yeah, so I want everyone - if you surf the net head out to, w, w, w, dot, flash, dot, net, slash, tilde - that's the squiggly line, j-m-a-r-e-e-l.

M: Okay, I hope you got that. If not I'll have him repeat it just before we go off the air. Any tips for any aspiring actors or actresses out there?

RJ: Sure. Be very steadfast in your determination. Know what your talents are. Know what your limitations are. Do not deceive your - know exactly what you can do. Do not fool yourself into thinking that if you - if you are like the clean-cut guy next door, do not go and think that you can go play a hard-core character. There are certain types, so you have to be very familiar with your type. And one of the most important things: do not know what "no" means. Throw "no" out of your vocabulary. Because everyday, you're going to auditions and someone is sitting on the other side of a desk, or the other side of a table judging you saying, "Yes, you're for this part. Yes, I don't want you for this part," and you can throw that person out the window and put another person in place and you'll get the job.

M: Right, persistence.

RJ: Right. It's very subjective. You've got to be able to pound, pound and fight, because lots of times it's not necessarily that you were bad. You know, lots of times there are people just as good, but there's a certain image that they're looking for, as far as commercials, things like that. I had an audition for a commercial a couple of weeks ago, and they wanted me to shave my facial hair. If you see the movie, you'll see that I have a moustache and goatee thing happening. They wanted me to shave it. Well, I was working on a stage performance at the time, and I was not going to shave it, and so they didn't want to see me. You know? Little things like that. Whereas on the next day, I go on an audition, and all they wanted to know was, "Will you shave if we want you to?" And the simple answer was "yes." You know? So someone was smart enough to go, "Hey I can get a feel of how you look. I can see you have hair. I can pretty much see how you might look if you cut all of it off." But someone else was a little bit thicker in the head, and said, "Well if he doesn't shave his hair I don't want to see him." They couldn't stretch their imagination far enough. That sort of thing. So you run into all kinds of things like that. Someone's going to say, "You're too short," someone else is going to say, "You're too tall."

M: So don't take rejection personally is what I hear you saying...

RJ: That's exactly it.

M: ...to be persistent if this is what you really want to do.

RJ: That's it, that's it. Don't take it personal. Know your own worth and value. Because you're the one who's going to sell yourself, and you're the one who's going to break through, and then all the folks who rejected you and turned you down, they're gonna want you back...

M: Absolutely.

RJ: ...and that's when, you know, payback is a you-know-what right?

M: Okay Reginald. You know what? I appreciate you coming in and spending this time with us. I wanted you to, before we get off the air and go back - 'cause we're going to be taking another break, before we leave, I wanted you to give out that website again.

RJ: Sure. Reginald James Domain is w, w, w, dot, flash, dot, net, slash, squiggly line, otherwise known as a tilde, j-m-a-r-e-e-l.

M: Okay , and also another trivia question. We might as well give away another one of those soundtracks.

RJ: Okay. Tracey and Kenneth Edmonds, they have a little son. What is his name?

M: Okay , so listeners if you can answer the question, what is the name of Tracey and Kenneth Edmonds' son, they only have one, if you can answer the question call us up --- ----, and you will win a  Hav Plenty Soundtrack.

RJ: Wow, that was fast, phone's ringing already.

M: I want to thank you for joining us today. I really do. I appreciate you stopping by.

RJ: Thank you very much. Can I just say hello to ------ . Hello Youngstown, hello, and thanks for having me here. I appreciate it. Thank you.

---

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