Dennis Haysbert
Dennis Haysbert
Dennis Dexter Haysbertis an American film and television actor. He is best known for playing U.S. SenatorDavid Palmer on the first 5 series of 24, he is also known for portraying baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the Major League film trilogy, Secret Service Agent Tim Collin in the 1997 political thriller film Absolute Power, and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane on the drama series The Unit. He also appears in commercials for Allstate Insurance and has appeared in the films Love...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth2 June 1954
CitySan Mateo, CA
CountryUnited States of America
The fact that I'm an African-American man as a lead, it really doesn't surprise me at all because I've never seen myself as a victim or any of those things. I just thought that when I wasn't a lead before, it was just shortsighted.
There is definitely a certain cadence to David's work. You'll see his fingerprints all over the scripts. It really makes for entertaining dialogue. They were really fun to say.
All of the directors I work with have their own unique gifts. My particular segment deals with online dating. It's a very interesting take on it, and a great observation of what goes on there.
I knew that they were going to be reading actors for Manute, and I wanted to give it a shot. I wanted a shot to do it, and they embraced that and said, "All right, come on in. Let's see what you've got." So, I went in, and the rest is history. It felt good when I went into the office, and it just worked.
There's part of it when Manute has both eyes. And the character was actually fleshed out a lot more, in this movie. I got to show people who Manute is and why he is and how devout he is. He is Ava's protector and punisher.
I took to it very quickly. I'm very imaginative anyway, and it just set off that part of my brain. It made me focus in on the actors a lot more. I didn't have the distraction of looking at my surroundings.
Realizing that my surroundings were going to be built around me, the way that I performed, we helped the directors through the performance, to create the world that we were going to be seen in. I was very fascinated with that.
It's the chauffeur's outfit from hell, right down to the alligator shoes. I was wearing these alligator shoes and this very interesting and haunting chauffeur's outfit, but what really did it for me was the hat. And then, when I eventually get my eye taken out, the gold eye really brought it home for me.
First of all, I never think of my characters as good or evil. I play them as honestly as I can. When you're playing a good character, you have an idea that you're playing the hero and the good guy.
Actually, I think you're more stymied playing the good guy than you are the bad guy. As the bad guy, you have no inhibitions. Nothing stops you from doing what it is you feel you have to do. You do it because it's what's required. I have to protect my goddess, as best as I can.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm the good guy. I'm doing my job. That's how I look at it. I don't look at it as good or evil. I look at it and say, "I have a job to do. I love this woman. I love the people that I work with. They take care of me. I'm going to do whatever I can for them."
Europeans have a different take [on nudity] than American actors do. They're not quite as hung up.
Being on set and seeing all that green screen, and how it activated my imagination, was amazing to me. I fell into that world very easily, and it was incredible to be a part of.
I would love a combination of action/adventure and... love. And stories told with heart. I would like people to be invigorated as well as moved. People to see the movie and see that. I love to play, y'know, well-rounded characters.