Interview : Laurence Fishburne

For Fishburne, joining the cast of "Mission: Impossible III" was the realization of a childhood fantasy. "When I was a kid, it was the show we ran home to watch," he says. "We’d play Impossible Mission Force and pretend to be secret agents, play with the gadgets, sing the cool music, all of that. Now I’m the boss, the guy above Mr. Phelps – I’m the guy who sends the envelopes. Who could pass that up?"

Over the past few years, acknowledgement of Laurence Fishburne’s work has been impressive. In 1992, he received a Tony Award for his Broadway debut in August Wilson's acclaimed play, "Two Trains Running." In 1993, his rare television appearance in the premiere episode of Fox TV’s "Tribeca" landed Fishburne an Emmy. That same year, he was also nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor for his portrayal of Ike Turner in the film "What’s Love Got to Do With It." When he was cast in the title role of Othello in 1995, it marked the first time an African American played Othello in a theatrical film. Fishburne played the enigmatic Morpheus in the highly successful "Matrix" trilogy, and he has also appeared in "Assault on Precinct 13," the critically acclaimed "Mystic River," and most recently, "Akeelah and the Bee."

In the latest installment of the Mission Impossible series, Fishburne delivers a sensational performance as Theodore Brassel, head of the Mission Impossible Force. Here’s what he had to say about his MI 3 filmmaking adventure:

Q. Laurence, thanks again for your time this afternoon.

A. You’re welcome.

Q. Set Brassel up for us. Who is the man? How much power does he have?

A. Theodore Brassel, the character I play in "Mission Impossible 3," is the man. He is the cheese. He is the head cheddar. He is the head of the Mission Impossible Force. This guy…that’s it. He’s the top of the pyramid.

Q. How nice is it to play this guy who has so much power?

A. How nice is it to play the guy that has the absolute final say about everything? (delivers an incredibly demonic laugh in response to his own question) It’s that nice.

Q. In terms of you coming on board this massive franchise…everybody knows it started off as a TV show… two movies have gone… How much is it to be brought on board and how much of a fan were you a) of the TV series and b) of the film itself?

A. I was a huge fan of the TV series. Huge fan of the TV series. And that’s really kind of where, you know, that’s where my motivation comes from to be involved in this film. Particularly because this movie is more like the series than the other two movies. And so that’s really kind of nice and gratifying. So I was thrilled to be asked to come do it and had a great time working with J.J., with Tom, with Ving, with everybody. And just, you know, what can I say? I’ve never really gone after the thing that was popular to do, but it’s fun.

Q. You mentioned before working with the likes of Tom Cruise. Your paths have crossed, but you’ve never actually worked with him. He seems a very enthusiastic, very energetic, and a very giving actor.

A. Super enthusiastic man. Super enthusiastic. Very, very considerate man. Really, really very professional. And kind. Very kind.

Q. Tell us about J.J., because obviously, coming on board his first feature film… he’s come from TV, coming into such a big movie. He’s got to have some butterflies there. He seems a very level headed, very amicable, very clever guy.

A. This guy is a tremendous writer. A really gifted writer. Great imagination. Great sense of humor. And hard working. He understood what this kind of undertaking meant. And so he prepared himself for it. He had basically a year to put this picture together in his head and write it and conceive of how … How do you take a franchise, a recognizable brand like Mission Impossible, with such a recognizable actor like Tom Cruise, and put a spin on it that makes it just a little bit different than you would expect it to be? And I think he’s done that very, very well.

Q. We’ve talked about them individually (Abrams and Cruise), but tell us about you working alongside them. How giving are they in terms of allowing you to create? Brassel is a figure head. Quite ambiguous. We don’t know if he’s good or bad. Tell us what it’s like in terms of creating that character.

A. It was fine. Basically you have to remember it was all on the page. It was all there. So I didn’t really have to do too much. Essentially, what Brassell needs to do is he needs to exude an air of authority. And that’s something that I’m capable of doing. So I come in and do that. And playing off of Tom and playing off of Billy Crudup. That just makes it easy. So I came in just looking to service the material, and the material is strong.

Q. But individually, looking at all these actors who played part of the team and you’re in charge of, how was it like to play alongside all these people? They’re obviously great actors individually. You know, you’ve got Ving, Maggy Q. They are all bringing something to the table What’s it like sitting there as the boss behind these guys?

A. Absolutely wonderful because at any point I can say, ‘you’re fired.’ (delivers another demonic stage laugh and claps) Yeah!

Q. And finally, just summing up, tell us… Obviously you’re a fan of the TV series. You know I and II. What makes Mission 3 different than what we’ve seen before and what perhaps does it bring new to this franchise?

A. I think the most important thing is that it’s an ensemble piece. It’s very, very ensemble if you look at the caliber of actors involved in this piece. You know, whether it’s Jonathan (Rhys Meyers) or Philip or Crudup or Fishburne or Maggie or Monaghan. Everybody’s like… everybody’s at a level. And it just feels like the series. Whereas the other two didn’t really feel like that. The other two felt obviously like based on the series, but they didn’t have the same kind of texture and characters and colors that this has.

Laurence, again, thank you very much for your time.

Laurence Fishburne’s next projects include "The Death and Life of Bobby Z," directed by John Herzfeld and currently in post production, and "A Landlord’s Tale," based on the novel by Gammy Singer and optioned by Fishburne’s Cinema Gypsy Productions. Be sure to also read our Michelle Monaghan Interview  our Tom Cruise Interview and our Philip Seymour Hoffman Interview