EXCLUSIVE | 'Godfather of Harlem': Malcolm X's relatives were unnerved by a pitch perfect Nigel Thatch's portrayal of the civil rights leader
'Godfather of Harlem' had a star-studded cast— a defining factor and the secret recipe to the show's success. Critics have always stressed on the importance of a solid cast to back an impressive and compelling narrative, and 'GoH' ticks this box by introducing some heavyweights with concrete character arcs. Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. were powerhouses in the '60s and the show sees Nigel Thatch and Giancarlo Esposito playing the two roles to perfection.
The two characters may fight for the same cause, but their attitudes and methodology are as different as chalk and cheese. Series creator, Chris Brancato, considered himself lucky when he had Esposito play Adam Powell Jr. In an exclusive with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), he spoke about the two characters and all that went behind in prepping Esposito and Thatch to help nail their roles.
"Well. First of all, we were smart enough and lucky enough to get Giancarlo Esposito," said Brancato. "He at first was not available to us, but because of a schedule change, then became available. So we jumped at the chance to have this incredible actor play the role. This was that type of character who you sort of see having a lot of selfish tendencies— womanizing, drinking, but he sure was a fun character. And he was a very powerful man and a man who, despite in his own personal flaws, had his heart in the right place in terms of helping his community."
"Giancarlo watched documentary footage of Powell. He was watching a lot of stuff on YouTube before we went to the camera and then sort of came in there with this take on it. It had a little Southern-fried flavor to it but also it's just that he's just so much fun to watch and he's so funny. We loved his performance."
Brancato also explained Thatch's preparation. "Nigel had played Malcolm in the movie Selma, and so we knew he was very good as a Malcolm, but we also actually were sort of interested in trying to find someone who hadn't done it before, but it kept happening. We saw some great actors for that role, but none of them could match Nigel's authenticity, the perfection of his performance, and the grounded nature, the power of it."
"It's so good that all season long, he just, every time he showed up, we would stand there. We had relatives of Malcolm's come to the set one day to watch...relatives and people who knew him really well. Professor James Small went out to see the person and the person said, he is. So the spitting image, I almost, I almost can't watch him. He so beautifully portrays Malcolm and obviously, if Nigel's performance wasn't as strong as it was, the show would suffer immensely. He really is the glue that holds all these different characters together."
(To lend an easy-to-read experience for our readers, the original interview is split into multiple stories. Stay with us as we update our site with more of Brancato's valuable insights on 'Godfather of Harlem')