NOCC: Billy Dee Williams Q&A
Company: Wizard World Product: Billy Dee Williams Q&A
Billy Dee Williams, better known as Lando Calrissian of the Star Wars universe, graciously conducted a Q&A, answering questions ranging from Star Wars to Colt 45 to Duke Ellington to Robot Chicken, but he seemed to have a great time doing it. Billy Dee was asked what was the most rewarding aspect of working as an artist or an actor and he responded, "All of it." He's felt very fortunate in his career, which began at age 6 and he's been very involved with the arts all of his life. Another fan asked why he was wearing Han Solo's clothes at the end of Episode V. A collective and awkward groan came up from the audience, along with a few hoots. The moderator shared that the real answer is the costume designer decided to put them in the same clothes, although they were sized differently. The fan answer is it's actually part of the Corellian Corp group and it's an old army thing. He was asked about playing Harvey Dent in Batman and what happened since he was replaced with Tommy Lee Jones in later movies. He answered that the films changed hands and just simply went in a different direction, although he was disappointed too. One fan asked Billy Dee to sing Happy Birthday to his mom and he happily obliged and another asked if Colt 45 really works every time and Billy Dee responded with a sly grin, "It works for me every time," to which the audience erupted in cheers. Seeing him in action, I think he's telling the truth. Yet another fan asked about him doing a voice appearance on Clone Wars and he said no one had asked, but he wasn't opposed to it. He mentioned his work on Robot Chicken and other shows. Another fan asked what he would like to see in the way of advancement for African Americans and acting and he said that things ware changing and people are more open. There is more opportunity and we live in America and he's optimistic that things will get better for everybody, not just African Americans. Another fan wondered how the role in Star Wars came about and Billy Dee said that they came directly to him for the role. Most actors have to go audition for a role, but again, they came to his home. They discussed philosophy and many other topics and the rest, as they say, is history. He was asked whether he'd ever take a chance on producing or directing movies and he says he's considered it. He's always looking for new projects and he hasn't ruled it out, but it would have to be a project he was really in love with in order to take it on. Billy Dee said action/adventure requires a real sensibility for that, but he would like to see something with a great story that is character-driven and if a lot of action is a part of it, that's fine. A project will simply have to click with him.
Another fan asked about the strangest experience he's ever had with a fan and Billy started to talk about a female fan, but was quickly deflected by the moderator to talk about his horrifying taxi experience coming from the New Orleans Airport to his hotel. While funny, something tells me the other story would have been much more interesting. He was asked about his experience on Robot Chicken where a rabid fan attacks him and he is forced to defend the character of Lando Calrissian and whether there was improv involved and Billy shared that most of it was improvised. He said that bit was a lot of fun and he gave the idea to Seth Green prior to doing it. Since people are always accusing him of betraying Han Solo, he thought it would make a good piece. Indeed, he spent many years defending himself for Lando's actions every time he'd drop his daughter off at school. Can you imagine the ugly looks he'd get from the little kids in the schoolyard? One young fan asked Billy Dee if he could go back to any role, which one would it be and why? He mentioned playing Martin Luther King on stage and he really enjoyed it, but it was only a short term role and he left it after 3 months because he missed his young daughter. He always regretted not staying with the show for a longer period of time because he may have missed out on a Tony nomination, but his daughter was far more important. He was asked about the tone on set of a comedy like The Ladies Man as opposed to some other films and he said he's worked with a lot of comedians; some are ridiculous and some are really concerned about their craft and he prefers the latter. When asked if there has ever been a role he passed on and then later regretted it, Billy Dee said he can't recall of one, but he's had good advice over the years, so that hasn't been an issue.
Billy Dee has had such a long career, and he was asked if he still finds inspiration in the roles that he plays or is he at a point where he needs to make his own inspiration. He felt that was too complex a question and he didn't really know how to answer it. Another question involved famous improvised lines from his films (that either made it into the film or didn't) and if he had a personal fave? He really liked "Do you want my arm to fall off?" from Lady Sings the Blues and, of course, the famous Colt 45 line. It's a real complement for an actor when you do something where people quote the lines and find them memorable. He was asked to provide some insight into what it was like to work with Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues and he said he really enjoyed kissing her. When asked about a project he might really like doing, Billy said he would love to play Duke Ellington. He felt like he would be the only one who could really pull it off and although he almost did the project a few times, if never came to fruition. After a microphone chat back and forth with a local investor, maybe the project will finally become a reality.
Billy was asked about playing a cameo of himself in the early episodes of Lost and how that came to be. Jimmy Kimmel, who is a big Lost fan, would call him up to do crazy little parodies on Lost and the Lost people picked up on it. He had lots of fun doing it, playing a killer. He was also asked about his formative years and schooling at the Music and Art High School, the "other" school, as he called it. He said his school was better than the School for the Performing Arts, even though the never made a movie of it. When asked about teaching his craft and mentoring other actors, he stated he's done seminars and such and directed a few acting classes, but he can't take actors for very long and doesn't like hanging out with actors. "Actors are the most ridiculous people in the world." When asked about his role on Scrubs and what that experience was like, he said it was a lot of fun and he really enjoys expressing his comedic side. Lastly, he was asked if he would ever run for President and he said no, laughing to himself. He said he'd screw everything up. Finally, for anyone who is interested in checking Billy's original art, they can check out his website at www.bdwworldart.com. Billy Dee was an absolute delight to listen to and I highly recommend you check him out in person at future Comic Con's because you won't regret it.
-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins
Related Links: Billy Dee Williams' Official Site
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