'It's Important To Give Voice To These Voiceless Characters': Actor Rob Morgan On 'Just Mercy' & 'Stranger Things'
(CBS Local)-- Rob Morgan has been in a lot of big movies and TV shows over the past decade, but his role in "Just Mercy" could be the most important.
The actor's character is a man named Herbert Richardson, a man who was given the death penalty after he was charged with capital murder. The new Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx movie was one of the most powerful films of 2019 and it is based off the book from the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson.
Playing an inmate on death row was one of the biggest challenges of Morgan's career.
"To use my artist and my vision and my voice and talents to work with a director like Destin Daniel Cretton and phenomenal co-stars like Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, and Tim Blake Nelson was a no-brainer," said Morgan in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "When I read Herbert in the script, I felt the beautiful responsibility of being the guy to position this character in America's living room. I wanted to give voice to this character, so it could be right in our faces and we can ask ourselves if anyone is worth that kind of punishment. It's important to give voice to these voiceless characters."
2020 will be another busy year for Morgan with roles in the new Tom Hanks movie "Greyhound" and "The Photograph" with Issa Rae. All of this comes on the heels of the actor reaching a massive international audience in his role as Officer Powell in "Stranger Things."
"The initial thoughts about Stranger Things was that some of us were running around set thinking this was an advanced web series," said Morgan. "We were like this is cute and we did it with our hearts and our passions and we loved the characters and the stories and put it out there. The beauty of that project is that it resonates with such a big market. You had the cats from the 80s that was there and lived it and their kids that are impressed with the 80s and want to learn about it. I think that was the perfect timing for that project."
"Just Mercy" is in select theaters now and opens up nationwide on Friday, January 10.