Urban Thought Collective

Acclaimed actor Charles S. Dutton talks about his new film, THE EXPRESS.
Presented by Electronic Urban Report.

This weekend “The Express” will start its voyage in theaters nationwide.

The new film, based on the life of college football legend Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the highly coveted, highly celebrated Heisman Trophy, stars Rob Brown in the leading role, and acclaimed actors Dennis Quaid and Charles S. Dutton.

Dutton plays Willie “Pops” Davis in the film, and though he admitted that going into the film he only knew the highlights of Ernie Davis’ story, but he remembered them well.

“I don’t remember the 1959 title game, when Syracuse won, but I do remember him winning the Heisman Trophy in ’61,” veteran actor Dutton said. “I do remember him getting drafted by the Browns because I was from Baltimore, and we were Baltimore Colts fans and when we knew that Cleveland got him, we knew they were going to kill the Colts – with Jim Brown and him in the back field. I remember the news reports of his illness and the picture he took with Kennedy and the remarks Kennedy
made when [Davis] passed away and ‘Wide World of Sports’ announcement that he died.”

While Dutton is a much acclaimed actor and director in his own right, he couldn’t help but talk about lead actor Rob Brown and his exceptional job in the film.

“That young guy is great,” he said. “Him and Omar [Benson Miller] both, all the young folks that came in – what I appreciated was that they are really actors. They’re not rappers, they’re not singers, they’re not personalities. They don’t come in with a bullsh*t persona of ‘I’m a tough guy.’ They were eager to learn.”

Dutton continued that he felt the cast did quite well with the film being a very “tough” shoot. He said that because the film is based on a true story and real people, it is often difficult for actors to do…

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