On April 28, magical thriller Sleight opens in theaters across America—15 months after WWE and Blumhouse bought the world rights in 2016. And while the film marks many milestones—including the directorial debut of 29-year-old J.D. Dillard and the largest acquisition to date for indie producers Eric B. Fleischman and Sean Tabibian—it’s also the first time actor Dulé Hill (The West Wing, Psych) gets to play the bad guy.
“I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career on stage and [in] television,” the 41-year-old TV star explained atop a snow-drenched balcony in Park City, Utah. “But because of the parts that I’ve chosen—because of Charlie and Gus —I’m not thought of for this type of role.”
The West Wing’s Charlie Young was just about the nicest character on television. Psych’s Burton “Gus” Guster was always ready with calm, sobering advice. Angelo, on the other hand, is a drug dealer who takes a young street magician (played by Jacob Latimore) under his wing before turning against him with bunny-boiling dedication. (You’ll have to watch the film to know exactly how he tortures his former protégé, but trust us: it’s . . . a lot.)
“To call him intense would be putting it lightly,” Hill explained, before defending his character. “But he just wants respect.” (He’s made a personal pledge not to judge the men he plays.) “If you disrespect him, though, he has no choice except to disrespect you.”
Hill spent weeks developing Angelo’s backstory, defining the charismatic crook’s transformation into a violent thug. And while he tried not to get too heady—”I don’t need to know what cereal he ate for breakfast as a child”—that preparation was a necessary aspect of figuring out how to diverge from the affable roles he played previously on TV, to great acclaim.
“In my mind, Angelo started out selling drugs and wasn’t hurting anybody,” Hill continued. “But as business grew, and people started trying to take things from him, he had to take a different approach.”
He says Angelo never developed the understanding of a “proportional” response—that his punishments don’t necessarily fit the crime. “Say your roommate took too long in the shower,” Hill said, by way of example. “You might get irritated . . . complain about it later to a friend. But Angelo? Angelo would burn that bathroom to the ground.”
So, was Hill nervous to bring such an intense character to life? “It was definitely a challenge,” he said. “But the real risk came from working with a new director for the first time—especially one who didn’t have a large body of work.”
What sold Hill was Dillard’s clear vision—”something that’s very attractive to actors”—and the fact that the young filmmaker was also black. “I don’t go through a door unless I know it will stay open for those behind me,” Hill said. “That’s the mentality we need to have as people of color. That’s why I come work with first-time filmmakers for little or no money. I’m not an A-List movie star, but if me being there can help [launch a career] . . . that’s what I’m going to do.”
Hill also mentioned the large number of women and people of color working in television, wondering whether the feature-film industry poses bigger challenges for minority groups—even though study upon study has shown that films with a diverse cast do bigger business. And while he understands most studio decisions come down to marketing, he doesn’t underestimate the value of young black talent in Hollywood. “I get that it’s show business, but you can’t forget about the show,” he says.
It’s as if Hill, not unlike Angelo, lives his life by one simple code: Help your own. And if they aren’t getting the respect they deserve, it’s time to fight.
