February 28, 2017
Actor David Oyelowo says he had reserved his goofy side for
his children and friends, but is now excited to show it to the world through
"Gringo".
"Gringo", also starring Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried and
Joel Edgerton, combines dark humour with dramatic intrigue. It is directed by
Nash Edgerton.
"Before 'Gringo' came along, I'd never really done a dark
comedy before. The goofy side of me had always been reserved for my kids and my
friends. So for me, 'Gringo' was a great opportunity to express that part of my
personality," Oyelowo said in a statement.
"Gringo" revolves around
mild-mannered businessman Harold (Oyelowo) who is assigned the task of
delivering the formula of a new weed pill to a lab in Mexico and all the
obstacles he faces. It is being brought to India by PVR Pictures, and will
release on March 9.
Oyelowo brought some of his own ideas into the
project.
"I challenged Nash to make Harold a Nigerian immigrant," said
the actor.
The "Selma" star added: "My parents are Nigerian and I lived
in Nigeria for seven years, so that element gave me something I could really
relate to. I wanted to bring something fresh to the role because when you have a
character who is deemed a loser, there are temptations to go for fairly
low-hanging fruit by having him be nerdy and overweight and wear glasses.
"I felt having Harold be a Nigerian in Mexico was an interesting way to
truly make him a fish out of water."