“Look, I want to be able to make the stupidest movies ever because they make people laugh and they make money. But that’s not all I want to do. And I think I’ve proven to some people — the ones paying attention — that I can do more. Everybody else, well, they can wait and see and make up their mind.” – Marlon Wayans

Marlon Wayans is seriously funny … as well as both funny and serious. His 2020 project, On The Rocks (directed by Sofia Coppola), has him starring alongside Bill Murray and Rashida Jones – and he has other irons in the fire for the coming year.

Earlier, we had a chance to chat with him about his multi-character Netflix comedy Sextuplets and just how hard it is to make such a funny movie.
Life is good for Marlon but he’s also on a serious mission and not about to slow down any time soon.

Imagista: I love Dawn. She’s so amazing. I love the scene where she sharpens her nails on the pavement then basically rips the guy’s face apart while your main character is trying to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Where does Dawn’s character come from?

Marlon Wayans: Dawn’s look and attitude comes from a lot of women I know. They talk with their hands. They have long fingernails and they’re always grabbing at you in the air, and they’re always clapping at you because that’s how they express themselves. At the same time, I took the look of two of my sisters.

The compliment I often get when I’m making fun of, or mocking someone, is when that type of person (the type of making fun of) laughs about it. It’s funny because women tend to love Dawn the most.

It’s like when I did White Chicks. You know you loved White Chicks the most – white chicks!

We do things with kid gloves and we always do it with love in it. We don’t have hatred in our hearts. Everything we do is complimentary, you know what I mean?

Imagista: Absolutely! And, by the way, that comes through in your performances.  It doesn’t feel like you’re treating your characters with contention. You feel a love for these characters as a result. I think that’s why they’re so believable and why they’re so funny.

Where does the character Jaspar come from?

Marlon Wayans: I thought it would be fun to make the super-intelligent brother a villain. I’d never played a before. I thought I’d make him like something out of a Bond movie. He’s probably the most damaged out of all of them. Although he comes across as the craziest it’s because he never got a hug from his mother. I thought that having him play the villain would be fun as well as give him a look that was different. The irony of him being the black sheep of the family even though he was the lightest skinned one.

I thought that was funny because, in most cases, white is supposed to be the good and dark is supposed to be the bad. I thought it would be funny to make the black sheep of a black family, a white guy.

Imagista: What about the brother who’s in hospital and ends up taking your kidney, so he can live, without your permission?

Marlon Wayans: We actually found a body double. We wanted someone small and sickly but not too small. 

Fun Fact: Marlon is the youngest of 10. His middle name is “Lamont” because his parents loved the TV show, Sanford and Son.

Imagista: The characters’ interactions are so seamless that I had to remind me and my son, that you’re playing all of these characters.

Marlon Wayans: This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

Imagista: I bet it was. I know it’s hard but how much do you actually laugh during the production? 

Marlon Wayans: It’s funny because from “action” to “cut” I laugh a lot.

Then when they say “cut” because it’s grueling to be in that makeup, I’m not exactly the happiest camper. I just try and survive and consume my energy before they call “action” again. I’ll sit and watch the playback on the monitor to see what I did. I have to remember the mannerisms for the next day so I know how the characters are interrelating onscreen so that I react in a way that feels real. It’s a lot to manage at once.

Imagista: How did the project with Sofia Coppola come together?

Marlon Wayans: Well, I read the script and I loved the script. Then I had a meeting with her and said. “You know what? I would love to do this”. We talked about the character. She was like “Ok, this will be fun”. I also know Rasheeda. We’ve been friends for a long time. It was nice to showcase some of my dramatic chops.

 I have a lot of versatility. If you look at my career you can see a lot of versatility. It took me a while to get to superstardom because of that. People would look at me and say “Well, what does he do?” I can actually do it all. I just want to be credible.  

Imagista: It sounds like it’s important for you to have a well-rounded career and not just be stuck in one genre?

Marlon Wayans: Yes, I want to be able to do everything. I love acting and I love comedy. I look at guys like Robin Williams; that’s the kind of career I want. That go could go from zero to sixty in a heartbeat and everything in between.

Imagista: You’re obviously a very hard working and very focused actor but what do you do when you’re not working? How do you rejuvenate yourself and how do you restore yourself after shooting a movie like Sextuplets?

Marlon Wayans: I go right back to work. I really haven’t taken any time off. As soon as I wrapped the movie I went straight to doing standup. I’m writing my next TV special. And as I’m working on my special I’m also developing five or six movies for myself. 

Imagista: Have you always been like that, so hardworking? Even as a kid?

Marlon Wayans: Some people think that ADHD is a deficiency. I personally think it’s a superpower.

Imagista: Well, clearly you’re a force of nature.

Marlon Wayans: My brother said to me, “if you want to be a superstar then you will have to be a force of nature”, and that’s what I’m going to be.

“You need to be lucky in life, but it’s also what you do with your luck.” – Marlon Wayans