MASSIVE TALENT
Trevante Rhodes’ Fight for Hollywood Autonomy
Star and producer of Hulu’s film Bruiser, a raw portrait of Black masculinity, opens up about his rocky road since Moonlight and finding himself
While it’s unclear whether or not Trevante Rhodes is into astrology, it’s hard not to notice the ways in which he embodies the archetype of his zodiac sign, Aquarius: unconventional, independent, progressive, nonconforming, and most of all, a free spirit.
When browsing Rhodes’ Instagram, one learns he has a thing for art and sunsets. He’s also a poet with great taste in music, in particular jazz and the soulful sounds of the ‘70s, such as the work of the great Marvin Gaye. But when asking Rhodes to define himself, he replies: “A hustler. Point-blank, period.” And he has the receipts and experience to show for it.
The 33 year-old from tiny Ponchatoula, Louisiana, is a man proud of his roots. His production company is called Toula67 Entertainment, and aided in the production of the well-acted but divisive Hulu series Mike, which Mike Tyson spoke out against, and now the Hulu film Bruiser. The latter was written and directed by breakout filmmaker Miles Warren, and sees Rhodes co-star alongside Jalyn Hall (Till) and Shamier Anderson in a nuanced exploration of Black fatherhood and masculinity. It centers on a 14-year-old boy (Hall) who, after being beaten up in school, turns to a macho drifter (Rhodes) for guidance. “I fell in love with the hustle of acting because of the physicality of it all. It reminded me of being an athlete,” Rhodes tells Rolling Stone. “But I think the business side of things is important, and I’ve always been more business-minded.”
When Rhodes broke out playing Chiron in 2016’s Moonlight, which was eventually awarded the Best Picture Oscar, he was 25 and full of hope for his future. Chiron — a comet in space known in the astrological world as the “wounded healer” who has to overcome adversity to get to the other side — serves as a metaphor for Rhodes’ real-life experiences working within the entertainment industry. While his talent is undeniable, Hollywood has underappreciated it.
When looking at his career opportunities (or what feels like a lack thereof since Moonlight), he’s had to take matters into his own hands in order to have full agency and autonomy in his art and personhood. His approach to his craft now is similar to his approach back when he was running the anchor leg in the 4 x 100 relay during his track and field days at the University of Texas. “I was the cat who would get the stick and we’d be in third or fourth place and I’d start passing the [other] dudes, looking at them, and the whole crowd would be like, Whoooop, whoooop!” Rhodes brings a unique combination of physicality and vulnerability to his roles, including in Bruiser, and is always gunning for first place.
You started off acting but now you’re also producing projects.
TP [Tyler Perry] is my only entertainment OG. He was the first person who got me a job, and it allowed me to see that this is not only possible but it’s right there for me. So, I’m following in his footsteps but trying to do it in my own way.
There have been a lot of conversations regarding femininity and masculinity on social media. You’ve taken a lot of jobs that explore these things, forcing the audience to wrestle with themselves and the world at large. What does masculinity mean to you?
I’ve been working since I was 10 years old, helping mom pay the light bill at 13. Growing up with that kind of understanding, I think that masculinity is proficiency, power, courage, compassion, being honorable, and having a sense of calm.
We see these themes in Bruiser, especially the tension between Porter and Malcolm. I’d argue that the tension between these men is a tension many men have, especially Black men, within themselves and throughout the world.
I think you’re right. I think Porter and Malcolm are two sides of the same coin. In my psyche, I’m either one of them at any time of the day, depending on the situation. And it relates to the real world, specifically within the Black community, because men are put into a particular box and they have to find a way to maintain, sustain, and grow life outside of that box. You can either choose to be attached and be a square within that lifestyle or be unattached and find a way outside of it.
What do you think Bruiser says about family? I thought it was kind of dope that despite Porter and Malcolm’s issues with one another, Monica was in a unique position where two men genuinely cared about both her and her child. You were also able to see Black fatherhood from a different perspective, where the conflict centers around both men’s desire to be genuine fathers.
That’s it. This piece is dedicated to my son. Speaking more so to the end of the movie, because people are confused about the open-ended concept, me being both Malcolm and Porter in one, I’ll fight to the death for my son. I have no idea what it’s like to not have that profound sense of love for the person you brought into this world. Time and attention and intention. Follow suit fellas, please.
There’s a lot of buzz about how the movie ends. We see Malcolm and Porter duking it out and the son walks off. It left many of us wondering what happened next.
My favorite type of art is colon poems — poems that are just left. That’s how Moonlight was. The ending is up to you and what you bring to it. The film was about Darius, so I felt that there was some resolution, which was hope. You have two men fighting for his love but handling their own conflict. That wasn’t so much so about him than them, and him being the bigger man out of all three of us and walking away from that situation. My mom’s favorite part of the film was when Darius gets in the car, and he applies this understanding that his mother gifted him in teaching how to drive and he plays the song that his mother always sang. This film is about masculinity, but throughout his mother imparts wisdom into him and at the end, at the most stressful point, he applies it.
I feel like that is part of the point with masculinity and femininity that people try to define. It’s the yin and yang, like you described Malcolm and Porter. They both inform each other.
That’s the most beautiful thing. We don’t have Monica in the film a lot, but the most important part about the piece is the wisdom she imparts, and that’s what motherhood has been for me. My mother has always been there for my brother and I, giving wisdom. We do our own thing because that’s what you do as a boy and then a man, but when you need to apply that wisdom, you’re like, she was right.
How do you feel Moonlight has informed your career trajectory?
Man. [Laughs] This is a funny question because I know a lot of people have ideas of what my career should be like right now. But that particular experience informed everything. It informed the way I move now creatively and business-wise, because I experienced certain things that might have turned me off to certain aspects of what we do. I’m someone who if I notice something and I’m averse to it, I’m going to be very firm in my stance and I’m going to do what I want to do. So understanding the business from that gifted me confidence to move in a particular way. So I don’t have an agent. I don’t have a manager or publicist. I like to negotiate my own deals. I had to take a step back and I had to forfeit a few projects because of the way the business is.
Does this go back to you starting to get into production and trying to understand that realm of things?
Absolutely. I had to. I had pimps in my family, so I’m averse to a certain manner of being dominated. I can’t be dominated, and I won’t be dominated. So I had to develop an understanding and the way to move for myself, and it took time to develop that understanding and develop those relationships, and I took a hit for it. I had to forfeit projects, some that you’ve seen and some you haven’t. I had to start from scratch just because of my own masculine energy. Some people could regard that as toxic masculinity within itself, but I’ve been blessed enough to figure it out and get to this point.
Do you feel you’ve gotten your just due within Hollywood?
The way our business is, you have to be a certain way for people to want to help you. To be given jobs, you need help, but at the same time it’s like, ‘I’m helping you too.’ I’m not one to complain. I’m going to take my lumps and that lesson, and I’m going to keep it pushing and be much better because of it. I’m really stubborn and if you disrespect me, I’m going to bite back and make it happen myself. That’s why I like doing stuff like Mike. Even with that, the thing with Mike Tyson going against that project was confusing because he had just did his documentary with Hulu the year before, so it’s like, what are you talking about? You just worked with these people and now you made this so messy for me, for no reason. But that’s my experience in life. That’s how it’s always been for me. I’m used to that kind of energy.
I was going to ask you about that. I think you did an excellent job in Mike, and that was actually one of my favorite projects of yours, but I was a bit confused by the backlash and was wondering how that must have felt for you.
We only did 25% of the push we were going to do because bruh was so against it, it was crazy. I was like, man, this is love, my n****! You one of my… [his voice trails off] But you know, that’s the experience. We taking them hits and we’re going to grow and keep it pushing.
What was it like being a part of Jay Z’s “Family Feud?” You Kill Michael B Jordan’s character in the music video. How was that, working with him?
It was cool, man. I was in New York and Ava [DuVernay] called me like, “You want to do this Jay Z video?” and I was like, “Yeah, I love his music,” and I popped out. Played a little with Mike and Thandiwe [Newton] and that was that. It was blessed. It was fun. It was quick. Everybody on set was beautiful. Thandiwe was beautiful. Mike was beautiful. Ava was amazing to work for. It was just a cool experience
I see that now you’re preparing for a Tyler Perry movie releasing on Netflix, and you two have past history working with one another. Oftentimes Perry catches a lot of heat because of the ways in which he writes about Black women. Do you find some of the critiques valid or do you feel like he has grown and viewers haven’t given him a fair opportunity to show that?
That’s my brother. I can speak to the plays in the early 2000s. My mom took us to one of his plays, and she was like, “You need to work with Tyler.” Fast forward to getting in the industry, he gave me the first job I had [If Loving You Is Wrong] and he was the first person to sit me down and show me what the industry was. At the time, I didn’t understand, because it was just like a big brother saying, “Watch out for this, this and this,” and it was like, OK. I’ve been trying to get TP to do a big action piece with me for years and he was always like, “It’s not time,” and it was like, “Man, what are you talking about?” So, now is the time. I’d say this piece we are working on now is a step in the right direction and he’s very open creatively to all the people he works with, which I really appreciate. I like hearing the critiques outside of the fact that I know it hurts his feelings, but he’s entering into a new phase and I’m happy to be one of the people that are helping him enter it.
Looking at previous projects, even the upcoming one, how have they made you grow as a man?
For me, they’re all just different colors of my perspective and spirit. The biggest change was during that Moonlight era. I was trying to be liked by everybody, and be accepted by the industry as well, because you’re trying to make money too. But my little brother, I’d never forget it, he was like, “N****, why you acting like that?” and it was like a gut-punch. It was about being comfortable and being myself. When I was young, I was always very secure in my masculinity, but socially having the confidence to be like, “If y’all don’t like me, y’all don’t like me” — I think that’s something to be said about masculinity, but also just in general. Just being comfortable in one’s skin.