Three-time NAACP-nominated actor, author and MTV award-winning choreographer Darrin D. Henson is seen in the latest BET mini-series, The Family Business. The multi-talented Henson plays Orlando Duncan, son of family patriarch L.C. Duncan (Ernie Hudson). In the series, L.C. begins to think about retirement and has to decide which of his children should take over the family’s lucrative exotic car dealership. The Duncans live the high life and have made their share of enemies doing so. Under siege from some of the top politicians, mafia and drug cartels in the city, the Duncans will have to stick together or die separately. Henson (The Express, Tekken, Stomp the Yard, Lincoln Heights, Soul Food, etc.) has the ability to comfortably slip into a role as if he’s lived there before. The actor understands Orlando Duncan’s virtues and flaws and creatively draws you in, as they unfold throughout the episodes. You may love or hate Orlando Duncan, but Henson will make sure you know the soul of the man. Darrin Henson brings an intensity that his fans have come to expect and he never lets them down. The Family Business premiered Tuesday, November 13th and returns to air tonight (January 8th), airing every Tuesday at 9/8c on BET.
Below, I speak with Henson about his career, the aforementioned role and much more.
RESPECT.: You’ve been in the game for a while almost 20 years and that’s a golden age in entertainment. “You portray Orlando Duncan in BET’s new television series “The Family Business”. Bringing a book to life in a television series, why is this role important to you?
Darrin H.: It’s important to me because I can unfold as an actor over many years in the episodes. It’s important to continue to unfold and I get to do that with Orlando on the television series unlike a film with a story is in put into two hours. A television series is over a number of years. We get to see great are unfold.
RESPECT.: As far as portraying the role Orlando Duncan compared to other roles you have played, how do they all come together as far as who you are as the actor?
Darrin H.: Well Orlando is a lot different from Darrin. Clearly, Orlando is in the family business that deals with narcotics and he sleeps at times with exotic prostitutes. Orlando is different from Darrin because Darrin doesn’t sleep with prostitutes or sell drugs. It’s very important to play the human qualities and find the truth in them. Everyone have needs. We all have six human needs and when you put them in perspective, one day that may be a different alignment that somebody else put them in then we get a completely thing, then you get a totally different character or persona. I’m playing the need of Orlando Duncan that have a different needs than when I played Lem on Soul Food.
Photo Credits: BET Networks
RESPECT: Knowing that truth, what could a person due as far as pursuing acting, how can they put more focus in their gifts? How can they find their true self?
Darrin.: I can never tell a person their true process is. Each individual has to find out what works for them. What works for me may not work for someone else. One of the most important thing you can do is study. If you have a craft that you desire to be good at then study. People quiessentially ask me questions that deal with fame. People are interested in fame and I don’t have the answers for that. Fame comes when you are good at what you do. If you want fame, be good at what you do, stand out, and be outstanding. When you’re outstanding then you have the opportunity to stand out. Don’t focus and worry too much on fame because whatever you are looking for is also looking for you.
it’s very important to play the human qualities and find the truth in them.
Everyone have needs. We all have six human needs and when you put them in perspective, one day that may be a different alignment that somebody else put them in then we get a completely thing, then you get a totally different character or persona. I’m playing the need of Orlando Duncan that have a different needs than when I played Lem on Soul Food.
RESPECT.: I’m learning about myself as far as journalist as well. I’m familiar with processes and with it knowing that you have to be patient. You have to have faith in something other than yourself. Nowadays with social media it’s easier to connect with each other daily and interact with a person however you choose. With that time how can you use it to invest in your gifts?
Darrin.: If you don’t believe in anything other than yourself then that suffices. You know Snoop Dogg just received the Hollywood Walk of Fame star last year and he said “I want to thank Snoop”. You have to acknowledge yourself. You have to acknowledge the work that you do. You have to acknowledge the focus that you have and the sacrifices that you’ve made. Without doing that how can you have anything else? If you don’t believe in anything other than yourself, that’s enough to propel you. I think that’s what people lack today. They are always looking outside of themselves for confirmation and permission. If you go no further than yourself, you’ll see that’s far than enough.
RESPECT.: What are your top three favorite cars?
Darrin: Rolls Royce, Bentley, and Ferrari.
RESPECT.: What are your three favorite albums to listen to when you’re crusing the city?
Darrin: I would say it would have to be Jodeci, Lionel Richie’s Greatest Hits, and Jay-Z’s Black Album.
RESPECT.: What’s in store for you this year?
Darrin: In 2019, there’s more of the Family Business. There’s more feature films that I have coming out that are already filmed. There’s more books coming out and I hope to be in consistent production with my own intellectual properties. More of Darrin Henson is what you can expect.
RESPECT.: What does RESPECT. mean to you?
Darrin: It means asking more of myself that anyone could every ask of me.
Special thanks to Sasha Stoltz of Sasha Stoltz Publicity
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