Tyrese Talks 'F9' Stunts, How John Singleton Convinced Him To Do 'Baby Boy'

Can you believe Tyrese is celebrating his 20th anniversary as an actor?

Source: Rich Fury / Getty

Tyrese Gibson spoke with BOSSIP about his new role in ‘F9,’ 18 years of doing “Fast And Furious” stunts, his fears about his teenage daughter driving and the 20 year anniversary of ‘Baby Boy.’ Tyrese also spoke about Singleton’s legacy of making multiple film careers, both behind and in front of the camera.

Here are some of our favorite excerpts from the interview:

On doing stunts for ‘F9’:

Experience has taught me to definitely listen, but not heavily rely on everything they explain. I think the movies that kept me on the edge the most was Michael Bay movies. I did 1, 2 and 3 of ‘Transformers,’ I mean he is the king of making things blow up and he is the king of trying new stunts that no one has ever tried before. So when you are doing these new stunts, that have not been done 20 or 30 times, things are bound to go wrong. He walks up to you and explains all that he’s supposed to be doing and we are suppoosed to be doing and how he’s going to shoot it and then he walks back to his booth and I’m like, it’s go a lil ‘Good Luck!’ vibe on it. I don’t really know if I’m going to survive. I heard you and I’m going to do the best that I can but I’m one of the lucky ones who has never been hurt in all these years of doing it.

On his daughter Shayla learning to drive soon:

I don’t really think about the fact that she’s supposed to get a car soon. I moreso think I hope she don’t think the way I drive is the way she’s supposed to drive. I failed epicly at leading by example. I just hope she hasn’t picked up any of my habits. I tend to do what I gotta do to get there and be on time. She’s just so used to my driving she probably thinks this is normal. So hopefully when she gets her license she says ‘You know what, I’m gonna do things at my pace and not drive the way I’ve seen my dad drive.’ She’s 13 but she’s not that tall so the idea of her being in a car doesn’t quite register right now. She’s about to be 14 and I think between 14 and 15 she’s going to spring up. But yeah it was beautiful having my daughter at the premiere with me. She definitely grew up with a singer/movie star dad her whole life. Looking at all the photos it’s kind of scary to me. I still can’t believe I’m a dad.

On the legacy of John Singleton:

John Singleton. Thank God for that man. John Singleton came in this world. Was very very intentional about his purpose. Passed away and put everybody’s careers, male and female, directors, producers, actors, hair, makeup, wardrobe, steady cam operators. The amount of people that man put on and was very intentional about doing it. I literally ran away from that man for five years because he tried to get me to act. I finally said okay and my first movie was ‘Baby Boy,’ and I’m just looking at my life, even just sitting here with you. Like if I was just a singer, which is what I envisioned, I wouldn’t be sitting here doing this interview with you. It’s pretty crazy. He’s a starmaker but he’s a cast and crew starmaker. He’s the guy who put Ruth Carter on. He is just an amazing guy. I’m very lucky to be one of the people that man put on.

On Damson Idris and Daniel Kaluuya’s Dark Skin Society and whether he thinks Hollywood has progressed:

Absolutely. Back in the day if you didn’t look like Terrence Howard or Halle Berry it was hard getting a return phone call back. They love talking about black vs. white but in Hollywood it was definitely some colorism going on. I seen the clip online. I think in any way we can, all shades, we’re just all in a much better place period. I know there is stilll al ot of bad going on but I have never seen or witnessed more millionaires, more highly educated, more CEOs, more entrepreneurs, more male and female black and brown peoplle doing things on a more substantial level. Directors, writers. I’m just grateful. At 42 years old, I’ve seen a lot shift and play out right in front of me. To be able to say I lived to remember what it was like and to see what it’s like now. It’s very inspiring. There was no such thing as getting a $100 million deal at Netflix or any movie studio if you were a black or brown person. Films like ‘Crazy I’m seeing this aggressive, progressive change and I’m proud of it. Right now I think movie studios feel like if they don’t have a diverse cast, their movies are not going to do well. And there was no such thing as that period all of 15 years ago. Hopefully the Sydney Poitiers and all of the real legends from back in the day who carried that torch are able to see and appreciate how far we’ve come that because we stand on their shoulders.

Check out the full interview below:

‘F9’ is in theatres now.