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Tyrese Gibson stars alongside Oscar nominee Naomie Harris in a brand new film from director Deon Taylor (The Intruder) titled Black and Blue. A gritty crime/police drama, the film centers on a rookie cop (Harris) who captures on her body-cam a trio of cops executing three young men in a drug deal gone bad. After she survives being shot by one of them, she goes on the run to evade the police and a local crime lord (Mike Colter) who was part of the deal. She's determined to get her body-cam footage back to the station before she falls prey to the many elements looking to take her out (including a ferocious Frank Grillo). She elicits help from the reluctant Milo 'Mouse' Gibson (Gibson) and drags him into her harrowing battle against time and her possible death.

Last Friday on the day of the film's official release, Tyrese stopped by the Collider studios for an extended interview with me about the movie. We discussed why he felt this was an important film to be coming out at this time in our country and our world. He also revealed what it was like working with Harris on this project and what obstacles they had to overcome in order to find the right chemistry for their roles. Never one to shy away from controversy, Tyrese also references Eric Garner, Tekashi69, and Donald Trump in his answers to my questions about the topical nature of the movie.

He also gives some hints about the character he's playing in the upcoming Morbius from Sony that stars Jared Leto as the titular vampire anti-hero and provided some thoughts about Fast & Furious 9 and if Michael Bay returns to direct another Transformers film, how eager he'd be to reprise his role of Technical Sergeant Robert Epps. He also opened up about the Teddy Pendergrass biopic that he is working on with Lee Daniels attached to the project. To see what questions I asked him see below and to watch his answers click on the video at the top of this article. Black and Blue also stars Frank Grillo, Reid Scott, Nafessa Williams, and James Moses Black. It's out in theaters now and received an A+ Cinemascore from opening weekend audiences while racking up $8.9 million in ticket sales.

• What spoke to you about this film and attracted you to to make it?
• What's your character's relationship to Naomie Harris's Alicia West?
• What are some of the real life instances that influenced his approach to the movie?

  

• What was it like working with Naomie Harris and how they established the chemistry between them?
• How intense is Frank Grillo to work with in the movie?
• Did he want to take Mike Colter's fur jacket that he wears throughout the movie when the shoot was finished?
• Will he be involved in Deon Taylor's just announced Free Agents movie for Lionsgate?
• How his body is holding up as he gets older in these action movies?
• What excites him about playing Agent Stroud in the upcoming Morbius movie?
• How deep will the relationship between Morbius and Stroud get in Morbius?
• What he feels is John Singleton's legacy as a film director?
• Would he return to Transformers if Michael Bay returns to direct another installment in the franchise?
• What was the experience of doing the 9th installment in the Fast & Furious franchise?
• What is the status of the Teddy Pendergrass biopic you've been working on?

Here’s the official synopsis for Black and Blue:

BLACK AND BLUE is a fast-paced action thriller about a rookie cop (Naomie Harris) who inadvertently captures the murder of a young drug dealer on her body cam. After realizing that the murder was committed by corrupt cops, she teams up with the one person from her community who is willing to help her (Tyrese Gibson) as she tries to escape both the criminals out for revenge and the police who are desperate to destroy the incriminating footage.