It was hard for Marlon Wayans not to pursue a career in entertainment, growing up the youngest of 10 in the Wayans family. Older brother Keenen Ivory Wayans blazed the trail, but many of the siblings - most notably Damon, Kim and Shawn - went on to find plenty of success in the industry.
You could definitely say that Marlon has created a unique brand of comedy for himself, starring in such films as Scary Movie, White Chicks and LiTTLEMAN (not to mention two films that all but destroyed childhood favorite franchises of mine: The 2000 Dungeons & Dragons flop and the 2009 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra). He has also had success on the small-screen, on In Living Color and in The Wayans Bros. TV series.
Marlon though, showed his versatility as a dramatic actor with his role as Tyrone C. Love in Darren Aranofsky's Requiem for a Dream. He also has been long rumored to star in a Richard Pryor biopic - a film that has been stuck in development hell for over a decade (he apparently gave a knock-your-socks-off screen test as the famous, late stand-up comic).
This January, Marlon Wayans is back in A Haunted House, a parody of the Paranormal Activity-type found-footage movies that have become popular in the past few years. As he puts it, the premise was quite clear: What would happen if these ghosts and ghouls tried occupying the house of a black couple?
The film stars Marlon Wayans opposite Essence Atkins, also starring a strong cast of talented comedians such as David Koechner, Cedric the Entertainer, J.B. Smoove, Affion Crockett and Nick Swardson. It hits theaters locally on Friday, Jan. 11, 2013 (check back on Friday for my full review).
Marlon was recently in Detroit promoting A Haunted House and I had a chance to sit down with him at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in downtown Detroit.
Click here for my interview with Marlon Wayans. Also, for the extended cut of the interview, be sure to click the link and video on the left side of this column.
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