One day, if by some miracle, someone decides to do a WORLD OF HURT movie, I think I finally know who I want to play Pastor. First, a little background:
Back when I first started WORLD OF HURT, I struggled to find the right face for Pastor. I worked out countless sketches, but the only features I was settled on were the prominent nose with the flared nostrils and the widow’s peak, but I went back and forth on most of the specifics of his face. I figured it would be much easier if there was some actor out there who had some the features that I had in mind for the character. I really couldn’t find a contemporary Black actor with the facial structure that I was looking for. Most of the actors I could think of were too young, too pretty, or frankly looked a little odd without facial hair. Pastor is supposed to be a handsome guy, but I needed strong, manly, rugged features and intensity and intelligence behind the eyes. I also wanted his face to have just a bit of mileage to it. Frequent commenter, regular reader and fellow webcomic artist, Jessica, once suggested acclaimed British actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor:
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Some of the actors that I had in mind were Isaiah Washington;
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Lamman Rucker;
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comedian and former 7-Up pitchman, Godfrey;
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However, it wasn’t until just this week, I found the most unlikely candidate in actor and award-winning choreographer, Darrin Dewitt Henson. You might remember Henson from the commercial for the dance instructional video, Darrin’s Dance Grooves, which enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV during the late 90s (”Ain’t no lie, BYE-BYE-BYE.), however since that time, he has established a solid, steady acting career with performances in movies like Stomp The Yard and most recently, Tekken. He also starred as “Lem” in Showtime’s TV series, Soul Food, which was based on the film of the same name. However, it was these images from his appearance in the 2007 film, The Express which caught my eye:
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And especially this one:
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That IS Pastor! The best part is that Darrin Dewitt Henson was playing the role of Jim Brown in The Express, a role which he was hand-picked to play by Brown himself. Additionally, in an interview on The M’onique Show, Henson disclosed that he speaks fluent French, much like Pastor himself!
What do you guys think?
- JEP
