Tyler Perry’s on the cover of Essence…again.
Opening up about his new role as Alex Cross, Perry praises black women (his number one fan base according to Essence), and takes a serious moment to talk about the late greats Whitney and MJ.
Telling the mag, “When Black women are down with you and in your corner, you have an ally that will move heaven and earth…”, you can’t help but realize that even Tyler knows the huge number of female supporters, particularly those with religious backgrounds, have had a lot to do with his successful career.
Essence estimates that Perry’s film enterprise spawned from the beloved stage character Madea — a fierce-talking mother figure — is worth an impressive $1 billion. After parlaying his Madea plays into movies, the actor-producer aims to extend his entertainment brand even further by playing the complete opposite of the grandmotherly mad woman.
Yes, get ready for: Tyler Perry, Action Star. Taking over the role of Alex Cross, which was previously played by Morgan Freeman, Perry beat out Idris Elba among others for the role in the coming eponymous film.
“Rising past the haters — and the sheer desolation of losing his beloved mother — Tyler Perry has only just begun to soar,” the magazine states about the iconic producer. “Respected as a writer, director and mogul, the man behind the $1 billion-plus Madea franchise is now moving into unchartered territory: Action hero.”
Perry’s Alex Cross, in which he plays the butt-kicking lead, is certainly a departure from his female-oriented melodramas.
On the heels of the announcement that Tyler Perry will be uniting with Oprah Winfrey to produce original, scripted series for her OWN network, this is shaping up to be quite an exciting week for the performer who is also a seasoned television producer.
We’re glad to see Perry moving into a different genre but we wonder if he can finally shake off all the Madea stigmas he’s boxed himself into.
Images via Essence
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