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Actor Harry Lennix: I’d love to play a god from the Hindu pantheon in Bollywood
Hollywood actor Harry Lennix is known for his starring roles in superhero movies and his work on popular American television shows, but a still more interesting fact about him is his love for India.
Harry Lennix, recognised by many as Harold Cooper from the hit American thriller series, Blacklist, is an accomplished film, television, and stage actor, who has films such as The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Man of Steel (2013), and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) to his credit. He has been an integral part of the TV show for a while now, and says that his role is just getting better.
“Fans will get to see Cooper get out of office this year, and go into the field. You’d see a different side of him, instead of the usual man behind the desk who gives commands. That, I think, will be interesting for the fans,” says Lennix.
Remembering his favourite episodes from the show, the actor adds, “ An episode called The Stewmaker from the first season, and Cape May from the third season are my all-time favourites. The Stewmaker is one of my favourite blacklisters, and the plots and interactions for these episodes are just great.”
Many fans of Lennix had wondered why his character — General Swanwick— was not part of this year’s Justice League movie after back-to-back appearances in Man of Steel and Batman V Superman, two films from the same DC extended universe that came before it. Lennix says that it was because his role was cut out. “My character was originally written for the movie, but was written out. I feel that they wanted to establish the new characters, rather than concentrating on the geo-political concerns the first two movies had. But I’d love to continue doing the DCEU movies and hopefully will be back soon,” says Lennix.
What many fans of Lennix might not know about him is that he loves superheroes, India, and Bollywood. Ask him what his dream superhero role would be, and he promptly answers, “I’d love to play the Incredible Hulk! The Gotham TV series is great, too, and I’d love to play a villain in it.Spider-Man and Martian Manhunter are favourites too, so I’d like to play those characters if given a chance.”
Talking about India and Bollywood, Lennix says that coming to India is his dream, and so is being in Bollywood. “I would love to come to India, and also be a part of a Bollywood movie. Maybe both at the same time. It has been my lifelong dream to see the Taj Mahal and all the other sights there are to see. I am fascinated by the country, and I can’t wait to get over there. I have deep respect for the freedom struggle of India, the civil rights movement, and all the lessons we’ve learned from it,” he says. “As far as a Bollywood role goes, it’s really hard to choose a character. But I’m a big guy since I’m 6 feet 4 inches tall, so probably I could play a Hindu god from the pantheon. That would be something.”
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