MGM+ GODFATHER OF HARLEM | RETURN TO HARLEM

Last month in our MAR ISSUE #111 of Athleisure Mag, we had the pleasure of chatting with the Creator, Executive Producer, and writer Chris Brancato (Narcos, Narcos: Mexico, Hotel Cocaine) and members of the cast of MGM+'s Godfather of Harlem. This month, we talked with Elvis Nolasco (American Crime, Claws, She's Gotta Have It) and Erik LaRay Harvey (Boardwalk Empire, Luke Cage, Chicago P.D.) who play Nat Pettigrew and Del Chance, respectively. We wanted to know about what drew them to the show and playing their characters.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We have enjoyed watching Godfather of Harlem and it’s great to connect with both of you as we love to see you in scenes together, as well as with Forest! What drew you to want to be part of this incredible show?

ELVIS NOLASCO: It was just knowing that this historical figure I would say, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, and knowing of him and being from Harlem and NYC and knowing what that name meant, in the community and knowing that this was created by Chris Brancato, and the late Paul Eckstein (First Wave, Hoodlum, Narcos) and knowing their trajectory, being part of Hoodlum, the film, and them being part of Narcos and having a certain level of respect and admiration for their work, it was something that I knew that I had to be part of this. Especially, if I have an opportunity to work with Forest Whitaker (Black Panther, Havoc, Andor).

ERIK LARAY HARVEY: Forest was it for me! I had seen him in The Last King of Scotland and really enjoyed that. I knew about that time period and I thought that he was brilliant in that role. I was like, “Forest – what? I’m on board!” What’s the story about, I don’t care! I'm on it, I'm going to be working with Forest. He exceeded my expectations of him as a person and he’s such a loving, fun, and quiet guy! He has so much passion for the business and the work. These 4 seasons have been such a joy. It has been absolutely incredible to work with that man.

AM: How do you approach playing your characters?

ELH: I walk the streets of NY. Some of these people piss me off you know! So it was really easy to bring that sort of energy into the set! You need me to what, kill somebody – do you know what that man did to me? Do you know what he called me today? Yeah, I’m ready to kill somebody! Haha no – I’m joking, but you know what I’m saying!

EN: Haha I feel the same way. You’re walking around and especially when you’re 135th street! I’m on my way to the Schomburg Library and this dude comes at me with, “Yo dude,” and I’m like “Dude what?”

ELH: You know how NY is!

EN: It’s crazy!

AM: Ha!

So, where did we leave your characters in S3 and where are we picking up from them again in S4?

ELH: Well we ended S3 with the death of Malcolm X. We began S4 with the remembrance of Malcolm X. Bumpy sees him in the club briefly. Malcolm X still has his presence with us. With his best friend gone so to speak, Malcolm X and Bumpy were best friends, and now that he has left us, we embark on a new journey that Malcolm X wanted us to do which is for Bumpy to go legit and to get out of harming the community so to speak. But then this jackass, Frank Lucas (Rome Flynn) comes in and he wants to harm the community. So that is where we begin S4, with a jackass coming in.

IG @elvisnasco

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | MGM+/Godfather of Harlem

Read the APR ISSUE #113 of Athleisure Mag and see MGM+’S GODFATHER OF HARLEM | Return to Harlem in mag.

MGM+ GODFATHER OF HARLEM | RETURN TO HARLEM

We have been fans of Godfather of Harlem since the first episode premiered in 2019. This historical fiction brings an array of iconic figures in the 60s from Ellsworth "Bumpy" Jackson (Forest Whitaker), Malcolm X (Nigél Thatch/Jason Alan Carvell), Vincent "Chin" Gigante (Vincent D'Onofrio), Rev Adam Clayton Powell Jr (Giancarlo Esposito), Joeseph Colombo (Michael Raymond-James), and more. We get to see Harlem during a pivotal time in American history while also understanding how communities navigated various topics of the time.

We sat down with Creator, Executive Prodducer and writer Chris Brancato (Narcos, Narcos: Mexico, Hotel Cocaine) to talk about the show, its intracicies, and what to expect from S4 launching April 13th on MGM+.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Chris it is so good to see you again! I had the pleasure of interviewing you a few months back for Hotel Cocaine which I loved and I told you then that I love Godfather of Harlem as well. So it’s so great to connect with you again!

What drew you to create Godfather of Harlem. It’s incredible prestige TV, it’s always great to see the depth of characters, dynamics, and interactions!

CB: First of all, that’s entirely due to my friend Paul Eckstein (First Wave, Narcos, Law & Order: Criminal Intent) who passed last year. He was my best friend and Paul told me about Bumpy Johnson who put his grandmother through secretarial school. He told me that Bumpy was this gangster/philanthropist in Harlem and over the course of time, we developed several projects – the movie Hoodlum in the 90s with Laurence Fishburne (What's Love Got To Do With It, The Matrix franchise, John Wick franchise) playing Bumpy in the 1930s and then 20 years later, Markuann Smith (King of Paper Chasin', The Hit Boys Redemption, The Realtor) and Jim Acheson (Numb3rs, For the People, By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem) producers came to me and Paul and said are you interested in doing Bumpy in the 60's?

Ultimately we decided yes – let’s do it. They were bringing Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, Southpaw, Black Panther) to the table. So lo and behold, we develop the show Paul and I and there you have it! Godfather of Harlem which we wanted to make it different in the way that we sought to do that was that Bumpy and Malcolm X were friends. So the friendship and the ability to explore both gangsterism and also the Civil Rights Movement was something that we felt was going to give us a fresh angle.

AM: It’s amazing because as you’re watching it, it’s like you have 80 onions that are all unlayering. You have these iconic people from so many sociodemographic areas layered in – it’s truly amazing. The styling of the show, the setting – what do you love most about it?

CB: I think that I love most about it is the actors that we have brought to the table. In other words, when you have Forest Whitaker playing the lead role, that’s when you can get a Vincent D’Onofrio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Daredevil series, Daredevil: Born Again series), a Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian, The Residence) etc. etc. Watching these people – obviously writing this show, is difficult to blend all of these historical characters into this story, but then watching the actors make it come to life is my greatest pleasure!

So I love editing the episodes because I’m looking at the footage of the actors and the work that they have done.

AM: What should we keep an eye out for in S4?

CB: S4 is explosive if I do say so myself! We’ve got Frank Lucas coming to town straight off the bus to basically challenge Bumpy Johnson before they end up becoming pals. Then, Bumpy’s daughter Elise (Antoinette Crow-Legacy) joins the Black Panther movement in the wake of Malcom’s death and Bumpy isn’t too cool with that! He supports what the Panthers are doing, but not so much his daughter doing it!

AM: Right!

CB: So that’s going to create some friction! So we feel like we have 2 driving story lines this year. The introduction of Frank Lucas and Bumpy’s continued fight against the Italians and then on the Civil Rights side, we have Elise joining the Panthers and participating in their actions!

AM: We truly appreciate you taking the time! It’s an incredible show and anytime your name is on a project, it’s going to be amazing!

CB: Thank you! I appreciate that!

IG @cbrancato86

@godfatherofharlem

@mgmplus

After chatting with Chris Brancato, we wanted to speak with the cast. We started by talking with Rome Flynn (How To Get Away with Murder, Grey's Anatomy, Chicago Fire) who is joining the cast as Frank Lucas. We wanted to know what he enjoys about this series, what it's like to play this notable figure, and what he hopes fans will walk away with after seeing this season.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We have been fans of yours since How To Get Away with Murder so it’s so nice to talk with you today!

ROME FLYNN: It’s nice to talk with you.

AM: What drew you to Godfather or Harlem?

RF: I mean, I couldn’t find a reason not to! It was a lot of positives you know - working with Forest Whitaker was at the top of the list and then working with Chris Brancato because I knew his work from Narcos and also just being a fan of the show in general. I was like, to be on a show like this would be a dream as an actor.

AM: You’re playing Frank Lucas which is amazing and exciting. How did you approach playing him?

RF: Yeah, it’s a different process to playing someone who lived and breathed on this Earth and left an impact whether it’s good or bad. There was a heavy sense of responsibility, care, and just an attention to detail on discovering who Frank was and trying not to necessarily imitate who he was but finding his essence and bringing that which was extremely important to me because I don’t think that we have seen a version of him like this.

I was afforded an amazing opportunity to play a character that people know, good or bad – we’ll see.

AM: What did you enjoy about playing him, bringing him to life, making him your own especially because regardless of what you know about him, if you think about American Gangster for example – there is that version of Frank Lucas. So it’s exciting to see it and what did you like about doing that?

RF: Yeah, I got to step into the shoes of a man who was equally charming, but also cutthroat and also unpredictable and dangerous. He was also troubled too. As an actor, you want to play a character who is fully dimensional and is carrying a lot of baggage, trauma, and who is still struggling with their purpose and why they are where they are in life. That’s just really fun and rich to play.

It wasn’t just about being a gangster or playing someone who is put in those situations. It was about playing a man who is navigating his life who is in these situations and trying to find the commonalities with a person like this.

AM: What do you want fans to walk away from after seeing S4 and getting to see Frank Lucas and his interactions and dynamics with everyone else this season?

RF: I just hope that the moment that the season is done that the people are clamoring for another one! That’s how I felt just being a fan of the show too! But yeah, I think that there is still so much story to be told. You guys when you love this show, you should talk about it and share it! There is no other show on TV like it that has this sort of historical precedence and is really honoring the details and honoring people during that time. We’ve got to keep this show going! We have to make sure that people see this show because it’s important.

IG @romeflynn

We were excited to sit down with Lucy Fry (Wolf Creek, Mr. Church, Bright) and Michael Raymond James (True Blood, Jack Reacher, See) who plays Stella Gigante and Joseph Colombo respectfully. Lucy has been in the world of Godfather of Harlem since the inaugural season and Michael came into this series during S3. As they have a number of scenes together, we wanted to know more about how they came to the show, what they love about it and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so great to connect with you guys as I’m a fan of your work as well as the show!

What drew you guys to want to be part of Godfather of Harlem?

LF: When I first read the script, I guess I really wanted to get into the world of the 60s, gangsters in NY, I thought it was really cool. I'm a fan of Forest Whitaker, so I was really excited to be able to work with him. Yeah that was about 6 yars ago when I first joined. My reasons for loving it have continued to evolve over the seasons, but that was the initial impulse.

MRJ: Yeah, for me, when I got the offer, and when I heard that Forest had asked for me, you know when Forest Whitaker says that he wants to work with you, run you don’t walk. For me, it was kind of a no-brainer.

and when I heard that Forest had asked for me, you know when Forest Whitaker says that he wants to work with you, run you don’t walk. For me, it was kind of a no-brainer.

AM: Obviously you guys play Stella Gigante and Joseph Colombo. How do you approach playing these characters?

LF: I guess there is a mixture of reality and fiction for me anyway with both of us as the story is inspired by real events, but it’s fiction and Stella is a fictional character. So I approached it by looking at the context of the time and the world of NY in the 60s and the gangs and reading the Chin’s – one of his kids actual autobiographies. But then finding the things that are personal to me to fill the fictional world with.

MRJ: You know, Joe Colombo, was a real person and there is an element of – you want to be sort of respectful of that and stay honest to some of that. But, we are doing a show that is historical fiction as Lucy talked about and so it really is all about the material. As an actor, you get the material, you break down that material as opposed to me having to do an impersonation of Joe Colombo. We’re creating a whole new Joe Colombo and Stella Gigante based on the pages that we get.

AM: What have you loved about playing these characters and bringing them to life?

LF: I’ve really loved Stella’s journey over the 4 seasons. She’s really come into herself and grown into a woman that is hungry for power and manipulating the men around her and playing the game that she has learned from her father (Chin Gigante played by Vincent D’Onofrio). It’s been really fun to go from pushing her father away and having all of these romance things to someone who is taking power for herself.

I think that her relationship with Colombo is very informative in that development.

MRJ: Playing the game as Lucy said is really fun and there’s so much nuance and so much in between the lines where it’s not really just the words that you say. It’s the 4 moves ahead that you’re kind of playing. It’s like 3-Dimensional chess with every script. So that’s always fun to play things where there is a lot of nuance and subtext to kind of put your shoulder behind.

LF: I think that the gang world, it kind of gives you a lot more subtext than most genres.

AM: Right.

MRJ: Right.

LF: Because it’s like are they going to kill me? Aren’t they going to kill me? It’s kind of like a constant subtext ha!

MRJ: Ha – but also the people man! Lucy and I show up on set and it’s giggles immediately and sometimes it’s hard to break free from that, but what’s always fun is that the giggles are always just underneath.

LF: Right

MRJ: And you see it come out a little bit in the work. Just a little bit – like holding back laughs and it’s a very serious scene where we’re talking about murder.

LF: It’s quite fun and you can tell that our characters really enjoy the game!

IG @lstowell

@gabehonig

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | MGM+/The Godfather of Harlem

Read the MAR ISSUE #111 of Athleisure Mag and see MGM+ GODFATHER OF HARLEM | Return to Harlem in mag.