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MARIO BARRETT on 'STEP UP'
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor
for Radio Free Entertainment
August 7, 2006
In the tradition of inspirational, follow-your-dreams dance movies, Step Up tells the story of a troubled youth from the wrong side of the tracks (Channing Tatum) and a classically trained dancer striving to fulfill her lifelong goal (Jenna Dewan), and how they form an unlikely but explosive partnership in the arts.
R&B recording artist Mario Barrett plays Miles, an aspiring music student who combines classical instrumentals, high-tech wizardry, and a hip hop sensibility in his work. In this interview, Mario talks about how he relates to his character, and his experience making the transition from the world of music to the world of film.
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The Interview
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MEDIA: Director Anne Fletcher said that you blew them away during the auditions for your role.
MARIO: You know what? I don't know, because I was so nervous. This is my first feature film role. I got the script about a week before I met with them, and it was overwhelming. I was meeting with the director, not the casting director. I'm either going to get the role or not. I was nervous going in to meet with her, but she came at me with open arms. "Be yourself. I want to see who you are." As soon as I walked in the room, there were three people sitting there. And I'm like, "Hold on, let me get myself together. I know this character. I've been where he was in this script. I've been denied and I've been at a point where I've had to step up to a challenge. I've experienced something new that was going to take me to another level in my life." It was a matter of me being myself, and that's exactly what I did.
Did anyone ever steal your thunder like in this movie?
I wouldn't say "steal my thunder." I've had people who've pretended to be more than they were. They wanted to be there because of who I was or where they saw me going. It comes to a point where eventually they will come to show their true side. I'm sure everybody's experienced that before. To answer your question, yes I have experienced that before.
Were you concerned that this was Anne's first shot at directing a feature film?
Actually, it kind of made me feel more comfortable, like we were both experiencing something new. Anne helped me on set to feel comfortable, to feel comfortable with the role, with [my character] Miles, basically telling me every day, "You have him. We couldn't have picked anyone better for the part than you." But I also was feeding off of Channing and his energy. When I first met him, he was rehearsing, dancing, and he was telling me that was new for him. It wasn't like I was the only one experiencing something new.
Was your character's situation similar to your own high school experience?
The love interest part [was] a little bit. In high school I was always the young man that a girl would come and talk to about problems with her boyfriend. Why? I don't know. It's not a bad thing, but I was always that young man. I wrote a song about that also. And having friends that I could relate to that have the same love as I do for music? No. My friends were more rugged. More on the rough side. More street. I was more like "mama's boy/street." I didn't grow up with my father. My mother was into music and loved music. My grandfather listened to jazz and drank liquor. That's all he did. I grew up around a lot of music.
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Miles is always carrying around his Mac notebook, which he uses for his music. Do you do that as well? Is that real, or just product placement?
Yeah, that's so real. I can't go anywhere without my Mac. All my music's on there. Actually, two months ago, my hard drive failed on me and I was on my way to the airport. I canceled my flight and went to the Mac store and said, "You gotta fix this for me." He wanted me to send it out [to get repaired], and I said I need to have this information back. It's kind of upsetting to have to depend on a computer to have your good music, and [that it] can fail. But Miles was definitely someone that took his Mac everywhere with him. He had his brown bag. It was personal for him. Don't mess with his brown bag. He was focused, [and] everything he did was structured.
What was it like working with Heavy D?
He was cool. He's been in the business for a long time. His whole thing is just educating me on how important family is, how important true friends are, how important it is to stay focused and have the right people around you at all times--not letting anybody keeping you down or making you do anything you don't want to do. Being young, and an artist and actor and having to wear a lot of different hats can be stressful sometimes. A lot of people may try to take advantage of that knowing that you may not know certain things and you may just be starting out. Just being in control of your business. I enjoyed that. As far as acting, I learned more about it from Channing and Jenna, who have more experience.
Do you find that the music and film industries are similar in terms of business?
I don't think they're similar. The people in the music industry are more characters. It's show business, entertainment. If you're head of marketing or promotions at a label, you still have to be an entertainer. You have to be able to explain to an artist your vision, and have an artist frame of thinking. You have to think artistically. In films, as far as directors and producers go, there's a similarity in that. Your talent speaks for itself in films whereas in music, you can cookie cut. You can get away with some things for a couple of years. As far as longevity, you can't get away with too much. In movies, your talent speaks for itself.
Did this experience whet your appetite for more films?
Absolutely. By the middle of shooting Step Up, I was sold on shooting films. This is another way for me to express myself--and expressing not always what I want to express. Sometimes I have to dig deeper to find something I didn't know was there. That alone helps you with your growth and expands everything in your life.
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