Everett Osborne joined KRLD's What to Watch team to talk about his starring role in the movie 'Sweetwater' where he plays Nathaniel 'Sweetwater' Clifton, the first African-American player to sign an NBA contract.
So other than the research you did, take us through how you prepared for this role.
Well, the research was the tipping point of the preparation, honestly. I actually had a second callback. I did the callback at Warner Bros. In person. Then he texted me the same day that I got it. I was actually on my grandparents house. I was super happy because that's where I made the first. That's where I actually started playing basketball. So it was a full circle moment for me. But the preparation was once I found out I got it, was to dig more deep into the research. Who is this guy? You know, by the time I did the audition, I kind of knew who he was. But once I got the full script, because I didn't see the full script until I got the role, or maybe was around the second audition. So I kind of dug deeper into the full script and really understand that, Hey, if I'm going to tell this truth of a real human being, I've got to put everyone to the side. I got to absorb a whole new world, figure out what this guy went through. How do you feel during these times of Great Depression and grew up after that time? What was that living like? So I spent a lot of time really going through the day to day of his personal life to really understand who this man was outside of the basketball star.
So speaking of basketball, of course, the Harlem Globetrotters, they have a very distinct yet skillful way of playing basketball. How did you prepare to play that style of basketball?
Well, try to. Yeah, because what those guys went through with so much racial tension, not getting paid, the very compensation that they deserved. They had so much grace kept a smile on their face and so much fun. Right. So that's something that I kind of saw through line beyond their skill set. So I focus on that aspect. The spirit of the Harlem Globetrotters, what that stood for, how we want to represent that, and then actually learned how to do the tricks as a whole. Another thing, like I knew how to spin the ball. I mean, I played pro so I had some basketball skills, but it's totally different. Shout out to our Bling and shout out to Kevin Davis, who is actually Harlem Globetrotters in real life. So they had a lot of help with this film and we kept it authentic. They taught us a whole bunch of different stuff. So when you see the film, you see all these cool tricks. So no stunt doubles, no edits, it's real guys doing it. So it was fun.
You played basketball professionally before, so how was that translating your personal experience in basketball to playing a legend on the big screen?
It was a dream come true. It was wild to even conceptualize. You know? Well, kind of what I told you before, I have all this basketball experience. But that's a pitfall waiting to happen if I think I'm going to just use my basketball experience and bring it to Sweetwater's story from 1950. Being a trailblazer, breaking boundaries and barriers, changing the style of play that we've never seen before. I can't assume that Everett Osborne knows what that life is. So even though I love basketball so much and my own personal attachment, I literally had to surrender myself. And I knew if I'm going to tell this man's story, I got to put Everett Osborne to the side. And that came with my knowledge for basketball. So it was like me being a baby all over again. I kept open heart and absorbed the whole understanding of the game.
Find our full interview with Everett Osborne here.
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