From left: Finn Jones, Mustafa Shakir, Mike Colter and Cheo Hodari Coker —PHOTOS COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Don’t be intimidated by Mike Colter’s aura of invincibility and 6’3” frame. While there’s no doubt that the 41-year-old star of Netflix’s “Luke Cage” is more than capable of punching the living daylights out of baddies and toughies, it’s quite disarming for the actor to admit that one of the people he holds in high regard is almost a foot shorter: WBA welterweight champ Manny Pacquiao, whose skills as a prized pugilist he admires.
Mike has always struck us as a sensitive actor and all-around cool guy since we first met him during a set visit to “The Defenders” in New York last year. Our paths crossed again last week when he, along with “Luke Cage” showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker and costar Mustafa Shakir (who plays John “Bushmaster” McIver), graced the 2018 edition of AsiaPop Comicon Manila.
Adding excitement and stellar luster to the eagerly anticipated fan event were Finn Jones and showrunner Raven Metzner (“Iron Fist”), executive producer Adi Shankar (“Castlevania”), producer Takashi Yoshizawa (“Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters,” “Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle”) and well-loved mascot Aggretsuko.
As fearless as his character is in the Marvel show, Mike is hard to ignore when he’s asked to answer potentially controversial questions, like the one concerning US President Donald Trump.
Our Q&A with Mike, Mustafa and Cheo:
Do you think being an actor portraying a superhero requires you to be more responsible as a person?
Mike Colter (MC): There’s a lot of evil in the world right now. Having superpowers is something you want people to have so that they can intervene and do something about it. The show is escapism at its best, but it has heavy stuff [tackling relevant issues], as well.
[On a lighter note,] playing “Luke Cage” reminded me of one of the reasons why I am in this business: When I was a kid, especially when there was nobody around, I would jump around, pick up stuff and pretend I was fighting bad guys.
Portraying a superhero is just a complex version of playing a high-level game of pretend. It is a job, but it isn’t one that carries a [do-or-die] mission. You can’t get a better gig than this (laughs).
Mustafa Shakir (MS): Many people relate to characters who stick to their guns no matter what. I find it funny and amusing that Bushmaster starts out as a villain but, in the end, people end up rooting for him—which is cool, because I grew up loving Superman. You look at larger-than-life characters like him and get influenced by [the nobility of] their actions. You can see it as a responsibility, which is all right if you consider yourself a good person.
Cheo Hodari Coker (CHC): The responsibility rests in the way we tell the story. The series appeals to a global audience. The fact that we can travel 7,000 miles away from home and talk about the show in Manila the same way we talk about it in Chicago is the coolest thing. The world gets to see “Luke Cage” and accept it on its own terms.
Mike Colter (left) and Rosario Dawson in “Luke Cage”
Why does the second season of “Luke Cage” seem to put more focus on family or identity?
MC: All of my favorite shows, whether it’s “Good Times” or “The Sopranos,” have always evolved around family. If you can “humanize” the characters and make them relatable to viewers, it isn’t hard to imagine them investing more time and emotion to the people involved in the series.
Examining themes about family and identity is a way to connect the character you’re playing to people from all walks of life because, at the end of the day, your family is really all you have. That is why Luke’s relationship with his father strikes a chord with viewers. Love is a justification for doing the things we do. Nobody’s going to do [bad things] to anybody if he has love.
CHC: “Luke Cage” is a superhero series, but it’s also a family drama that examines Luke’s [combustible] relationship with his father. The show is as compelling as it is when you understand Bushmaster’s backstory, especially in terms of what happens to his mother and how he isn’t going to let someone get away with it. The same is true with the family Luke is trying to have with Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson).
All these relationships fit together well with the tale of “Luke Cage.” Even if you take the superhero stuff away, it’ll still be an affecting drama. Other shows in the same genre can’t make the same claim.
Season Two’s unique storytelling tack makes it tonally distinctive from other superhero shows. This time, music (especially jazz and R&B) and humor are seamlessly incorporated into the cleverly realized plot. Please tell us more about this.
CHC: I’ll gladly take responsibility for the show’s use of music. As for its humor, the actors are funny; I’m not (laughs). This season, music is a crucial part of it. I look at it this way: You do the music first, then build the narrative around it.
It’s a trick I stole from Prince in “Purple Rain,” where music dictated the direction of the story—which I think is why the story feels seamless.
I obsessed for hours picking the right songs, and it’s one of the most fun parts of the show. The only thing that is more fun than that is watching Mike, Mustafa and the whole team working their way through the storytelling.
Music is universal, which is why people are known to watch the series more than once—first, to see how the plot unravels and, second, to “listen” to the way the story and its music are strung together. It’s like watching the Spanish series on Netflix, “Money Heist” (aka “La Casa de Papel”)—the translations or subtitles could lead to different interpretations, but its music makes it universal.
MC: It’s an ingenious device. There’s an acting technique based on the so-called (Michael) Chekhov discipline, where the physical aspect informs how the mind operates. (In this technique, an actor physicalizes an internal need or emotion through an external gesture.)
It’s the opposite of most acting techniques. It sounds crazy, but it gives an actor’s characterization a clear direction and intention.
Talk about the idea of having a superhero in the context of its relevance in a country like the Philippines.
MC: We’re big fans of Manny Pacquiao. He is a good representation of the Filipino people: Strong, tough, resilient and hardworking.
CHC: When Manny knocked out Ricky Hatton (in 2009), that’s still the best knockout I’ve ever seen in my life. I thought Manny killed Ricky. That being said, I hope that no matter what culture viewers come from, they see themselves in Luke Cage the same way I saw myself in Bruce Lee as a kid.
MC: It’s not so much the physical similarities; it’s his essence that matters.
The timeline of the show is similar to ours. Given the current world order, what would Luke Cage say to Donald Trump?
MC: Oh, so many things. But, honestly: Find your soul, man.
MS: He needs to take some medication, because he holds an important office.
MC: He’s not fit to do anything.