The premiere of season 4 of “Masters of the Game” is preceded by an interview with Jeffrey Wright

Interviewing Jeffrey Wright is a joy. Just before the Oscars, I spoke with him in Los Angeles about the next episode of “Masters of the Game,” season 4 of which begins March 29 on GrioTV. He soared high in the wings as he played the good lead role in “American Fiction,” one of the best movies of 2023. I do know Wright. We live in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn and run into one another every now and then. He at all times has a pleasant smile for an old friend.

Wright is one of Hollywood’s best actors. He is a master of his craft and I get excited each time I see him, from his role as Commissioner Gordon in “The Batman” to Roebuck Wright in “The French Dispatch.” His acting shows intelligence and understanding of human nature.

Since this is “Masters of the Act,” I wanted to listen to him speak about what it means to be a master of acting. Three big ideas stand out from our hour-long conversation.

First of all, to be a master of acting, you want to really immerse yourself in the work. When Wright was much younger, when he was working on his first big film role in “Basquiat,” he considered work all the time. “At the beginning of my career,” he said, “I could think about a character 24 hours a day. In “Basquiat,” I considered this man’s life in my dreams” He continued “I could dive in. He delved deeply into his characters and you can feel that intensity in his work. Thanks to this, he quickly became an essential actor.

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That said, as an artist who is also a parent, he has learned to embrace his engaging moments because he cannot lose himself in his work in the same way. “I can’t do this anymore,” he said. “I even have children. You know, it is not at all times about creative purity. You have to make pragmatic considerations. My children, I do not find out about yours, insist on eating on daily basis. Many times a day. At least three or 4. They’ve been doing this for years.” I saw these voracious little people. They are very cute.

Secondly, to be a master of acting, precision in the use of language is essential. “For as long as I can remember,” Wright said, “I have had a great appreciation for dialogue, language, the way people speak and the way they express music through their language.” Wright talked about growing up near Washington, D.C. and learning to listen to musical differences in the way people spoke. Part of what’s most charming about Wright as an actor is the way he uses rhythm and music in his dialogue. What’s fascinating is that he began fascinated by this as a toddler.

Third, to be a master actor, you want to know how you can use your eyes. “I like the intimacy of the camera,” he said. “I like working with what I imagine is the strongest tool an actor has in front of the camera, which is the eyes. So I just attempt to, , express the story and the ideas and the emotions and so forth, really, primarily through my eyes. The body is obviously involved and all the things else, but the eyes are the window. “Most stories can be learned through the eyes.”

For more on Wright’s acting master class, try our Masters of the Game interview.