Delroy Lindo Revisits ‘Da 5 Bloods’ & Chadwick Boseman’s First Day On Set [Interview]

“That was Chadwick Boseman‘s first day at work, that final scene,” Delroy Lindo says. Lindo is in the middle of an interview recalling the final scene featuring his character, Paul, in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods.” It’s a haunting moment where Paul comes face to face with what really occurred during his tour in Vietnam over forty years prior. So much has happened during those months including the shocking passing of the “Black Panther” star.

READ MORE: Spike Lee talks difficulty of getting “Da 5 Bloods” made: “There was nowhere to go after Netflix”

“It’s difficult for me to talk about work retrospectively sometimes because I then have to go into this process of deconstructing something, in this case, that happened two years ago,” Lindo says. “And you know what? On some level, one just wants the scene to speak for itself without analyzing it. So I will just say that it really kind of sort of blows my mind that he was able to be as present and as there in the scene as he was given it was his first day of work. And every time I recount that story to a journalist, it just enhances my appreciation all the more for who he was as an actor, as a professional, as a colleague, as a human being on the planet.”

Lindo discussed reuniting with Lee (they have collaborated four times now), the unexpected response he’s gotten from viewers of the Netflix film, and, oh yes, that “O” word.

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The Playlist: You won the New York Film Critics Best Actor Honor and there’s been a lot of talk about an Oscar nomination. How are you taking all that in?

Delroy Lindo: I feel really, really affirmed and gratified with the win, the New York Film Critics Circle Award. I feel really good about all of that, all of the best actor recognition. As far as what I’m very quickly beginning to identify as the “O-word,” I’m not going there. Meaning it’s wonderful to be here in this place. I don’t want to be coy about this. It’s terrific, and it’s terrific that it’s for this particular film that I’m very, very proud of. But other than that, I’m not indulging it.

Which I 100% understand. I just wanted to ask, at least.

Yeah, I hear you.

I know you’d worked with Spike Lee…

I actually want to add something.

Sure.

I have not in my career been in this position before with so much what you guys would call “buzz.” But I have in the past. Some of the work that I have done, that word has come up and it has not panned out. So, I am aware that it is a process. The “O-process” is a process, and there are lots of components that contribute to who ends up having a statue in their hand. And because I’m aware of how multilayered that process is with all these various other dynamics and components involved, that also is the reason why I am maintaining a very, very circumspect position.

I think that’s 100% understandable. I totally get it. To be honest, I would probably be in the same position if I were you.

Thank you.

I know you’ve worked with Spike many times in the past, but did he come to you directly about this one?

Yes. He came to me directly. He called me up, said he had this film he was doing. He sent me the script and we started to talk, so the answer is yes, he came to me directly as he has done with all of the work that I have done with him, except “Malcolm X,” for which I auditioned.

When you were discussing this character, was it already fully fleshed out on the page, or did you explore more of his back story?

We did not talk about the character per se, other than the Trumpian aspect. We did speak about that. Other than that, Spike allowed me to investigate the character and bring the work that I was going to bring to the work process. And that is what he has allowed me to do on all of the films that I’ve worked with him on. We didn’t discuss the character as written. There were certain guidelines, guideposts in terms of how Paul was described in the text, but Spike left it up to me to investigate those things and bring whatever I was going to bring.

One moment in the film I wanted to ask you about is when Paul leaves the group and goes off on his own. He is recanting a prayer, and he’s emotional. I don’t want to say wailing, but it’s close to that. Was that in the script? Was that something that you thought he would just do at that moment?

You can’t see me, but I’m smiling right now because that is a brilliant example of Spike leaving me alone. That was not in the script. It is a wail. I am wailing. I’m having a hard time, man. At that point, will you begrudge me a wail or two? Where’s your humanity, for God’s sake? That was not in the script. That was all improvised and it’s the genius of Spike Lee that he kept the camera rolling. And it’s the 23rd Psalm. That’s not what it was originally. We had to rerecord in ADR, but what I was reciting was the 23rd Psalm and Spike, as I was walking off into the underbrush, he kept the camera rolling to record what I was doing. And at that point, it was all improv. I was improvising the whole exit from that scene. And he kept the camera rolling and he got it, and the sound guy picks everything up that I was saying. And we also had an added component that may not be really evident in the film, but the wind started kicking up because it was about to be a major storm. So mother nature, God, whomever you, however you want to describe the phenomenon, was also gifting us this added component at the end of that scene. And it all came together to produce what that moment has become.

Is he a director who leaves the door open for that in most scenes, or is he more of a, “Hey, guys. We have 20 minutes. We’ve got to get this done. Just stick to the script” sort of filmmaker?

Exactly that. One does not go in thinking I can do what I want. One has to have fealty for the text. But if there is a moment, if one is inspired to try something in the moment, there’s space to do that, as long as it is serving the story.

Right.

And mercifully, Spike, knock on wood, has never said, “We only have 20 minutes to get this, so we’ve got to do X, Y, and Z.” He’s never said that on any film that I have worked on with him. Now, which is not to say that there are not times when we’re up against the clock. There is time pressure. Yes, there have been those moments. However, it’s part of his innate genius, he knows how to capture what is necessary for the scene. That’s been my experience.

That’s awesome, actually. I feel like you don’t hear that about a lot of directors.

No, you absolutely do not. You absolutely do not. That’s true.

One of the final scenes that you appear in the scene is with Chadwick. It’s beautifully done where your character walks up and you think he’s talking to the screen, but he isn’t, and then you turn around and you see Chadwick’s character there. Can you talk about shooting that scene and what it was like working with Chadwick in the context of this film?

That was Chadwick Bozeman’s first day at work, that final scene.

Oh, wow. A tough scene for the first day.

Right. Exactly. Chadwick and I had met very briefly for probably less than 10 minutes a couple of days prior to our working on that scene. And I mention that because the fact that the scene is as powerful as it is, is a testament to whom Chadwick was as a human being, as a creative worker, as a professional. And all of those things, by acknowledging all of those things, enhance my appreciation for who he was all the way around as a colleague. I will say that everything that I’m saying to you right now, I was not thinking that at the moment. I was concentrating and concentrating on what I had to do in the scene, and he was off on another part of the set doing the same thing, I assume, and we just came together and did the work. I don’t recall how many takes we did. It’s difficult for me to talk about work retrospectively sometimes because I then have to go into this process of deconstructing something, in this case, that happened two years ago. And you know what? On some level, one just wants the scene to speak for itself without analyzing it. So, I will just say that it really kind of sort of blows my mind that he was able to be as present and as there in the scene as he was given it was his first day of work. And every time I recount that story to a journalist, it just enhances my appreciation all the more for who he was as an actor, as a professional, as a colleague, as a human being on the planet.

You’ve done so many things over your career from stage to screen to television, and you’ve been on shows that have been highly rated. This film was a huge hit for Netflix. Millions and millions of people saw it around the world. I know that you’re on social media just a little bit, but di you see the reaction at all? Have you felt the love for the film from people?

I do have a Twitter account, but I don’t engage in it very much and I have a Facebook account. And by the way, there are a bunch of bogus, false accounts in my name, so let me just officially say my accounts have the official checkmark. But yeah, I have been made aware and in the most beautiful and humbling ways of how people have responded. I do not engage Facebook frequently, but I check it every once in a while, and there were all these messages when the film first came out from people who were the offspring of [Vietnam vets] who said things like, “You helped me understand my father.” Somebody reached out to me on Facebook who was a vet of the Iraq war, I believe, and he said when he was watching the film, he had to leave the room because he didn’t want his daughter to see him crying. So yeah, I’ve been informed through messages like that, people reaching out to me, that the film has had an impact and that my work in the film had an impact. My wife and I have a son who turned 19, and back in the summer, we had a socially distanced party for him outside of our house. And one of my son’s friends came to me and said, “Mr. Lindo, Mr. Lindo.” This young man is from New Orleans. He came here as a result of being evacuated from New Orleans behind Katrina, Hurricane Katrina, and him and then his family came. And he came to me and he said, “Mr. Lindo, I have an uncle who was a Vietnam vet, and we always thought he was just crazy and just weird, and nobody wanted to be around him because he would just pop off and when I saw the film, I understand my uncle.” I’ve had lots of testimonials from various people. Some people that I know, many people who I do not know who have told me about the impact the film has had on them and for them.

“Da 5 Bloods” is available on Netflix worldwide.