Henry Simmons On Working With Ava DuVernay On Cherish The Day

Can you talk to me a little bit about your character? You play half of a high school couple that drifted apart and came back together. Can you tell me about the dynamic that attracted you to the project? What was challenging about it for you as an actor? 

I got a call from Ava DuVernay, and I was told that she wants me for this role. I was like, "Really? Ava DuVernay? I'm listening." And the second thing was it's a romantic lead. I had never played a romantic lead before in my life. Most of the things I've done have been men that are strong, using their fists. They're aggressive, things like that. I've done comedy, but I've never done anything [that] was a love story. It was an opportunity to be vulnerable, and I'm extremely attracted to that. So I was like, "Absolutely."

Let's be real. When Ava DuVernay, when Oprah Winfrey want you for a project? You are going to say yes. I don't care who you are. That's what I did. I went into this with an open mind, and I loved it.

The challenging part of it was, most of the characters I've played [have] so many layers of dimension, and there's not a darkness but a complicated nature with a lot of the men that I play. There's a lot going on underneath. 

This character was a little bit different. The way the story is formulated, they want to have the story more about the love story and moving forward with that. So this character was not quite as layered in that way, where there was a lot of complexity and a lot of angst. It was very different, a very [much] lighter note for me to play. And in a way, for me, it's more challenging to play an individual like that than it is to play someone who is wrapped up in a lot of dimension and complexity and layers. So it was quite interesting, and I loved the challenge. ... It was a lot of fun.