Making a name for himself with acclaimed roles like Major Cedric Daniels on The Wire and Detective John Basil on Oz was not something Lance Reddick had originally planned. Reddick had always hoped to make it big as a musician, but turned to acting as a way to make a living. He recently decided to return to his first love and is currently working on a new album, while still filming season four of The Wire. Reddick recently took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to us.
What was it like attending the Quaker High School of Friends School? How was it different than your average public school?
One of the big differences was that the academic curriculum was a little more advanced than the average public school - at least in Baltimore. It was also predominately white at the time. I have since been back and it is much more integrated.
Also, even though Quakerism wasn't taught in the school, we were exposed to it. I don't know if you know anything about the Quakers, but we went to something called "meaningful worship" once a week. I don't know a lot about the history of the Quakers, but they always had a history of political activism. From their inception, they were anti-slavery. They believed that each person had a right to their own private relationship with God. So, there are no ministers in Quakerism. A Quaker meeting service, basically people just sit in silence and whenever someone feels moved by the spirit, they stand up and share whatever they feel moved to share. And also, Quakers are traditionally pacifists.
Did their pacifism come through in the discipline at the school?
No. The students were typical teenagers. We still had a football team and a lacrosse team. Guys still got into fights. The place where it came through was whenever there were political issues. They would have speakers come in and talk to students before classes started.
How did you get into acting? How old were you when you started and how did you decide this is what you wanted to do?
Even though I have an older brother, he's much older than I am, so I essentially grew up as an only child in the 70s. I grew up addicted to television. When I was very small, I'd do a lot of playing by myself. So, I feel like that was always in me, but its not something I ever grew up wanting to be. I grew up wanting to be a musician my whole life. The first time I ever acted, believe it or not, was in an English class in seventh grade. We were studying Macbeth and we had to pick a scene from it and act it out. I did the famous soliloquy where he is debating with himself whether or not to kill the king. It was the coolest experience. I felt like I became him.
The first time the general public had a chance to see your work was on the show Oz. How did you land the role of Detective John Basil?
It's funny because I had never seen the show when I did it. I had been hearing so much about it - it was one of those shows that everybody wanted to do in New York. My agent pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed because he heard this role was perfect for me and I got put on tape and I was cast from the tape. So I actually never met Tom Fontana or any of the producers before I started shooting the show.
What was it like working on that show?
It was phenomenal. I felt like I was doing a film role. Up to that point, I felt like it was the best group of actors I had ever worked with and the best writing I had worked with, at least on television.
From there, you went on to work on The Wire. How many times did you audition for the show before landing the role of Cedric Daniels?
I auditioned four times and the first three times it wasn't even for Daniels. Originally, I went in for Bunk. I read for that role three times. The third time I read for it was for David Simon and he asked me to read Bubbles on the spot - cold. Then I was told a week later I was second choice for Bubbles. And then a week after that, they called me in for Daniels because they had a hard time casting Daniels and they were looking for a name for that role.
When did you finally find out that you got the role?
It was over two weeks after I auditioned. It was after they had told my agent I didn't get it. I still don't know what happened. I thought it was a dead issue when I got the call. Literally, I thought I was dreaming. It's the only time in my life I really wondered, "Am I dreaming this?" Because, it was like my life changed after that.
You grew up in Baltimore. What is it like filming The Wire in your hometown? Does it mean more to you working so close to home?
When I'm in Baltimore, it's almost like being a movie star. You have people you haven't heard from since high school, junior high, even elementary school, calling you out of the blue. My first season, I was asked to speak at the graduation of my high school. The other thing that's cool about it is - I feel like I'm learning about the political history of the city by doing this show.
Do you feel the show accurately portrays Baltimore?
The part of Baltimore that it's seeking to portray, yes.
What has the response been like from Baltimore police officers?
Honestly, I get responses from police officers everywhere. I've never done any show that cops respond to more. And it's always positive. More than once, I've had cops say, "That show is so real, it's scary."
Does it ever get you out of speeding tickets or anything like that?
(Laughs.) No. Matter of fact, for the pilot, I was on my way to a cast reading and I got a speeding ticket.
The fourth season of The Wire is in production now. Where do you see the character of Cedric Daniels going next season?
I don't know much about my character. What I do know is that, after my promotion, I'm not going to be as connected to the day-to-day of the unit. With the promotion, I'm actually in charge of a whole district now. But, the wiretap unit is still my baby. For me, it's going to be a lot of dealing with politics. The politics of trying to keep the unit running the way I want it run and being a buffer between the unit and the higher ups. I know there is going to be some friction between me and the new lieutenant who takes over for me. I also know that I'm going to be somewhat involved in Baltimore politics because my wife is running for city council. The whole issue of us being separated and me now being more open with the district attorney - it's going to cause a lot of conflict that I'm going to have to deal with.
