Russell Hornsby has taken his role within the BMF story to the next level.Â
Not only is he exploring fatherhood in his portrayal of Charles Flenory in the seriesâ third season, but the renowned actor is fulfilling his dream of getting behind the camera.
âDirecting has been a labor of love of mine for a while,â Hornsby told Blavity’s Shadow and Act. âIâve wanted to get behind the camera for several years now, and I think that both 50 [Cent]Â and Randy [Huggins] as well as Heather [Zuhlke], our showrunner, were very supportive of me getting behind the camera, getting the opportunity to direct. I went to 50 at the end of the first season to talk to him about it and he said, âIâm all for supporting you.ââ
Not only did 50 Cent, consider Hornsbyâs goals, but he also provided tangible steps to help him achieve them, allowing him to shadow directors throughout the showâs second season, ultimately preparing him for his standout moment as a director of an episode in the current installment of BMF.
âThis gave me time to study, to learn more about storytelling, more about the camera, how it moves, having a better understanding and a better ability to take and communicate with actors,â Hornsby said. âThen the third season came about, and because I know the show and the other actors, it was a lovely experience. I felt that I was able to have a shorthand with everybody. I like to think that I was able to get the actors, especially the young ones, to a different level. Also, Iâve gained a lot of respect for directors, writers, and all of the people who are behind the scenes. You realize that many hands make light work and it takes a good number of people to move this mountain, to move this ship.â
âI think all actors should understand what happens behind the scenes,â he continued. âIf thatâs the case, you wouldnât see as much tardiness. You wouldnât see the lack of preparedness that can arise with a lot of actors when it comes to set. ⊠It just humbled me to know and see how much work goes into putting up an hour of television.â
Hornsby said his character, Charles, also learned some valuable lessons this season.
âThe biggest lesson that Charles is learning thus far is that you canât cheat yourself and you canât cheat others and that you canât cheat life,â Hornsby said. âThings come back around, and they affect you and the ones you love. All of the things that heâs done, the infidelity, decisions that heâs made that have affected Lucille, decisions heâs made that have affected the kids, and the decision that heâs beginning to make with Meech and Terry, they have a cause and effect.â
He added how portraying the character has also affected him as a father.
âI realized more than ever that every decision that I make will have an effect, whether it be positive or negative, on my children and my family,â Hornsby explained.
Whatâs more, the former Lincoln Heights star said he continues to stick to his recipe of embodying peopleâs spirits, which has allowed him a successful career of continuously perfecting his craft.
âI donât say this to brag, but I am a shapeshifter. I embody peopleâs spirits,â Hornsby said. âI embody the elements of the men who helped raise me and I use it as needed.â
Previously, he said that men like Charles Flenory âcome from a generation where boats were made of wood and men were made of steel.â
âItâs the mannerisms of which one walks, the way which one talks. How do you talk? Out of the side of your mouth? Itâs manners of speech,â Hornsby continued. âAnd all of the things that I said of those men of steel are embodied because the reality of it is and was that they didnât care about vanity. They didnât care about or werenât looking for the âgram or Twitter or whatever. They werenât worried about that. They were worried about providing food for their families and putting crusts of bread and such on the table and so thatâs why, with Charles, only now in this season, do you start to see him sort of change his look with different haircuts and clothes. Prior to this, you never saw Charles worried about necessarily how he looked or the manner of how he dressed and things of that nature, because those werenât major concerns. It was more about how he provided for his family.â
The new season of BMF airs each Friday on Starz.