Who: Chukwudi Iwuji
Stopped: Outside the Public Theater on Lafayette Street
What are you doing at the Public Theater this afternoon?
I鈥檓 in rehearsals for the mobile unit production of Hamlet. I鈥檓 playing Hamlet.
Wow! So many actors dream of playing that role. Was it something you鈥檇 always wanted to do?
Definitely. Hamlet has always been on the bucket list. Always. And it鈥檚 turned out to be a role that has blindsided me in its richness and challenges. Most roles, I know what I鈥檓 getting into. This is the first time where I鈥檝e played something that鈥攆or all my imagination and all my excitement and the countless productions I鈥檝e seen鈥攈as turned out to be entirely different from what I imagined it would be. It鈥檚 never happened before; I鈥檝e never experienced that with a character in the past.
What drew you to this production?
Oskar Eustis! I had a sit-down with him ,and when people like that say 鈥楥ome and do 贬补尘濒别迟鈥�, you say yes.
How are you feeling about performing in correctional facilities and homeless shelters?
The mobile unit side of it is very new to me. I don鈥檛 know what to expect, but I鈥檝e been told that it鈥檚 probably the most honest audience you can hope to have. We talk about art being important and changing lives and being current鈥攚e talk about that a lot from a comfortable seat in the theatre. It鈥檚 another thing to be in the heart of that鈥攇oing to perform for people who might not have seen a play before. For me, that creates true communion. The theatre has always been conceptually about communion, but this is actually it.
Are you nervous at all?
I am. There鈥檚 pressure to make it a memorable and relevant two hours. I think art, when done best, should always be relevant. With that, comes a desire to be authentic鈥攁ny performer knows how scary that is. The show isn鈥檛 going to be steeped in tradition of what Hamlet should or should not be鈥攊t鈥檚 about being relevant to these audiences where we鈥檙e performing.
What does it mean to you to have someone like Oskar Eustis supporting you?
I don鈥檛 think I could have ever pictured sitting in an office with Oskar and him saying 鈥楥ome do Hamlet.鈥� Or someone like Patricia McGregor [the director] who is so bright, relentless and driven鈥攆or her to say she wants to work with me. It鈥檚 a balance between wanting to take off on the wings of hubris and staying grounded. It鈥檚 no exaggeration to say it was one of the proudest moments of my whole life. And at the same time, it was a very humbling moment. Something so flattering instilled a lot of humility in me, because now I want to give back what I have been offered.
I love your accent! Where are you from?
I鈥檓 originally from Nigeria: I lived there until I was ten, then my parents joined the United Nations, and we started traveling all over the world. We first lived in Ethopia, where I went to an American school, and then I went to a boarding school in England. My accent has always been alien.
How did so much traveling shape your concept of 鈥榟ome鈥�?
My home is wherever I act. I know that sounds like a bit of a clich茅, but I feel like that sort of life makes you comfortable with moving around. You see it as an advantage, and it makes you excited to start new chapters, rather than something to be frightened of. I don鈥檛 have a problem living out of a suitcase, but at the same time, I鈥檓 a homebody. My favorite place in New York is my couch.
