In playing Chidi and doing the reading for the character, do you have a favorite philosopher now?
Oh no, no. Not at all. [Laughs.] I mean, it’s hard for me to actually pick a favorite. There are some ideas that make sense to me, just as a guy. Contractualism seems like something I can get behind. But nothing in depth.
I like the broad idea of the purpose of the world, the purpose of being here, is to do good by each other. Like we kind of establish in this week’s episode, I think just… “other people” is the “reason,” you know? That feels like something that would withstand a lot of testing. But I’ve still got a lot of reading and a lot of work to do.
Let’s talk a little bit about Dark Waters. Safe to say this is a very un-Chidi-like character.
Oh yeah. This is a guy who believes everyone’s entitled to some kind of representation, even if we don’t necessarily agree with them, or even find them morally reprehensible. And so it’s a necessary evil. I think that also, this was me thinking this for my own backstory: As the only black man at this big corporate table, I’ve got to maintain my status. There are people with a certain amount of comfort and a certain amount of wealth, and he’s just out there to preserve that.
This is another very dark film about America pretty much entirely based on a true story. How much did you know before you signed on?
I wasn’t aware of any of it. I got the script on just a jam-packed day, didn’t get a chance to look at it. I got back home really in the morning and I was like, “You know what? Let me just read some of this before I go to bed.” And I just bombed through the whole thing that night sitting at my kitchen table. This is based on this New York Times article, this documentary that you can watch. And so I sort of went down the rabbit hole on that.
And it makes you think between this and what’s going on in Flint, still, it’s not a problem that’s even going away. And you wonder how many of these things are happening out there we still don’t know about.
Right. Right! Like you’re talking about, I think it’s a very American outlook where it’s like: You just gotta do what you gotta do to get what you want. That’s just the way it is. There are ways in which capitalism has run amok. Everything is in pursuit of profit.
I think this film comes down on the idea there needs to be some good guy. When people cross the line, it’s up to the business to blow the whistle. It’s something that’s owed to the people who allow your profit margins to grow so vastly. It’s sad this still happens. If you want to conduct business freely, you’re going to have to regulate yourself better.
So, it’s the end of the decade and I’d like to ask: What have been your favorite or least favorite things from the past ten years?
You know, I definitely have a least favorite trend right now, In music, there’s this thing called the “Millennial Yelp,” have you heard about this? it’s in like, every song, every commercial.
Sure.
I… hate that. I hate that from the depths of my soul. Whenever anyone goes [Vocalizes an example very, very loudly] I’m like “Stop it. Stop it. Stop. Stop.” It’s the equivalent for me in high school, when everyone was into rock music and growling, “yarling” like Eddie Vedder. It’s the same thing. it makes me sick. I want to throw my phone and speakers out the window.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
