Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: adrien brody, exclusive, interview, jesse eisenberg, John Trengove, LGBTQ, lionsgate, Manodrome, Sallieu Sesay, toxic masculinity

Manodrome: Sallieu Sesay on Jesse Eisenberg, Immersion, LGBTQ & More

Sallieu Sesay (Barry) talks to Bleeding Cool about the Lionsgate thriller Manodrome, director John Trengove, Jesse Eisenberg & more.

Sallieu Sesay has been working his way up in Hollywood as a character actor since bursting into the scene in 2015 in the TV series Almost 30. Working his way through the indie scene, he's landed higher profile roles, including ABC's The Rookie, Snapchat's Solve, Roku Original's The Fugitive, CBS's SEAL Team and FBI: Most Wanted, Urbanflix TV's Broken Seeds, and HBO's Barry. Sesay stars in Lionsgate's Manodrome, which follows a repressed Uber driver and aspiring bodybuilder Ralphie (Jesse Eisenberg), who is inducted into a libertarian masculinity cult and loses his grip on reality when his repressed desires are awakened. The actor spoke to Bleeding Cool about working with director and writer John Trengove, making the most of his limited scenes as Ahmet opposite Eisenberg, and providing authenticity to the LGBTQ experience. The following contains minor spoilers.

Prepping for the Intensity of 'Manodrome'

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Manodrome?'
Sesay: What intrigued me about 'Manodrome' was that I'm an actor who wanted to act, and it came through [laughs]. I'm going to be honest with you. It came through as a third audition I had that day, and I shot it. I'll tell you what intrigued me about what I came up with in the audition process. I created a free, fluid character who was confident in who he was, and I had fun. When you have fun creating a character and shooting a self-time, the producers, director, or writer usually have fun watching it.

How do you describe working with John on this? How did you reconcile the ensemble nature of the film with the screen time you got?
It is a process, and John is meticulous. He's had several features, one of which is called 'The Wound' (2017), which I watched and loved. He liked my audition, and then I hopped on a Zoom. We met, talked, and rehearsed. The second Zoom we got on was for rehearsal. I got the part, and it was me, him, and Jesse. I enjoyed the process thoroughly. He's a great director to work with and patient. He guides his actors and doesn't micromanage. He believes that once you hire the right actor, the right actor will do what they're supposed to do, and he can focus on other things. The director's job is complex, and they have a lot of different things looking at the shot and angles; maybe some of them are even working on what they're going to do in post-production and editing.

Most of your scenes with Jesse were from afar. Did you get together and work a backstory behind the scenes that helped prep for the inevitable confrontation?
Much like John, Jesse's a professional. He's been doing this for a long time. He was nominated for an Oscar. The craft, talent, and professionalism are there. He made me feel comfortable, and I told people he made me feel like a brother and we were best friends. When somebody makes you feel like that, you're more vulnerable and open and can connect more personally. Fortunately, we had an intimacy coordinator on set for our intense scenes. Even though it's an independent movie, it was well organized. They had everything they needed to ensure the actors felt supported. I enjoyed working with him since it allowed me to take some risks and big swings because we're dealing with sensitive content, and we want to do it justice. Working with Jesse, we're both heterosexual males and dealing with the LGBTQ community. We want to make sure we honor that community and represent them to the best of our ability. It was a great process honoring the community we were representing and making sure that we did the best we could regarding craft, delivery, maintaining a professional atmosphere, and then having fun.

Was there anything external, like a fictional work or figure from your life, you channel to play Ahmet?
No, it wasn't only working with John. My acting coach, Ivana Chubbuck, also helped. She's the one who helped Halle Berry to win an Oscar for 'Monster's Ball.' I workshopped the scene in her class and worked on all the homework with her. I was putting everything in the piece: action, the overall objective of my character, and each scene in seconds that I played with Jessie. There was a lot of work that went into behind-the-scenes. I have friends in the LGBTQ community who I had over for dinner. We had a discussion and deep conversations. There were tears and laughter. We ate, drank, and had a good time. I got to take a deep dive and immersed myself into the LGBTQ community, going to clubs and bars so I can approach this not on a superficial level and not trying to play out stereotypes. I wanted Ahmet to be layered. I made a list of his similarities and differences, and I must better develop a sense of character.

Manodrome, which also stars Adrien Brody and Odessa Young, is in theaters, digital, and on demand.

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