Michael Ealy stars in the new thriller that may make you reconsider searching for perfection. ‘The Perfect Guy’ will be released on September 11, 2015.
What can you tell us about your character Carter?
Michael Ealy: Carter is seemingly the perfect guy. He does everything in his power to sweep you off your feet. When things don’t go his way, you begin to see his true colors and the sociopath becomes evident.
Are you ever concerned that after you execute some of your more twisted roles so well that people will look at you differently?
Ealy: I did after ‘For Colored Girls’ but most people that saw me after said “I’m still mad at you from dropping them kids out the window; but give me a hug”. People tend to get over it rather quick and can separate the two. I don’t think it’s something that is that difficult. I think people know who I am at this point in my career and they can make the distinction.
You are really private and seldom in the public eye for any scandals or gossip. So to the mass public we see a handsome and talented actor with blue/green eyes or the perfect guy. What would you say your most annoying or undesirable quality is?
Ealy: I don’t know. Let me just ruin the image right now. This is hard because you don’t ever think that your problems are problems as far as being undesirable. I can’t multi-task well, like I really can’t.
You once said waiting tables taught you a lot about human behavior. When tapping in to a character like Carter, what do you refer to or do to prep for that role?
Ealy: Well him being a sociopath, for me the most important thing is trying to get that part of it right. Trying to make sure that my performance is accurate and not clownish or anything like that. It was extremely accurate, that way it is much more believable. That is pretty much how I prepare. I did a lot of research on sociopaths and read a couple books on people that have been married to sociopaths. It’s fascinating the idea that these people are amongst us and they do exist and you just don’t know. It’s genetic so it’s not like it’s something you choose.
How was it working with Morris Chestnut and Sanaa Lathan?
Ealy: Working with Morris and Sanaa was a lot of fun. I mean I’ve been wanting to work with both of them for a little while now and getting a chance to work with them was nice. Sanaa is so good at a lot of our scenes and she is really fun to play off of. I didn’t have to do that much with Morris but what little I did do we had some fun with.
Do you purposely choose to play these types of roles?
Ealy: I purposely choose every role. Good guy or bad guy, whatever. I’m very careful of what I’m picking. I have to care about what I’m doing so I have to be particular about what roles I take.
Describe the film in three words.
Ealy: Intense, romantic and wild!
