What makes MGK’s appearance in Beyond the Lights even more impressive is that he shot his scenes over the course of two months, in between trips to Los Angeles–in between his tour. He tells Hip-Hop Wired he auditioned for the role five times and after getting the part, his actual rapper-esque scenes were the ones he honed in on the hardest.
“I was on the road and I was flying back and forth to L.A. and most of the preparation was for the choreography for the BET Awards scene so I could develop a good working relationship [with Gugu] so we could transfer that chemistry on-screen,” he remembers. Relativity Media and associate producer Amar’e Stoudemire did a great job of incorporating today’s musical landscapes into the movie to make the characters look like stars of today. For example, the aforementioned BET Awards scene features cameos from the likes of Big Sean and Stoudemire himself, but it all was created for the sake of the movie.
As a somewhat antagonist within the film, MGK is on the right track but he’s not allowing his character’s fictional personality traits to get misconstrued with who he is. Actually, he doesn’t care. “I’m so forgone at worrying about people’s opinions of me so I wouldn’t be hurt if they really thought I was an asshole,” he admits. “All I’m worried about is being able to deliver a good performance on-screen.” Seeing that the acting bug is easier to acquire than Ebola, he’s more eager for the people to absorb his initial appearance on-screen and give him the feedback he needs to keep going.
“I’ve already shot two other movies that are releasing next year and I’m definitely going to persue acting from this point on. I’m really curious to see the reaction of my performance of this film as I move forward in efforts to push the rapper/actor stereotype before I continue to dive in,” he continued. As for being able to lock lips with on-screen girlfriend, he makes it seem like it was the perk of a lifetime.
“It was the best feeling in the world,” he says in reference to the Mbatha-Raw with fevered enthusiasm. “You know how people make jokes like, ‘If I was kissing her, I’d mess up every scene so they have do it again?’ I swear every time they would yell cut, I would be like ‘YES!’ She’s one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Not a bad sight for a rookie to witness.
Beyond the Lights is in theaters today. Skip the line by buying your tickets on Fandago and enjoy it this weekend. Hit the next page for the made-for-movie music video, “Masterpiece” by Noni and Kid Culprit.
