Keegan-Michael Key reveals how comedic acting led to more serious acting jobs and roles in Hollywood.
Keegan-Michael Key made a name for himself first starring in Mad TV and later in the sketch comedy series Key & Peele, which ran on Comedy Central for five seasons. Since the series ended in 2015, one of the stars of the show, Jordan Peele, won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for a film that was also his directorial debut, Get Out. Meanwhile, Keegan-Michael Key has been working on his acting skills and appearing in movies outside of comedy. In 2017, he appeared in the Public Theater’s production of Hamlet starring Oscar Isaac. This year, Keegan-Michael Key switched it up once again appearing in the action film Predators. He spoke to the New York Times about growing as an actor and working without Jordan Peele.
When it comes to working in front of the screen, Key admits that he feels that he is never on top of his game without Jordan Peele. He explains, “I felt like I was at my absolute best with the best possible partner. There was an alchemy there that will never happen again. I will admit that there is a certain amount of trepidation to moving forward and going: ‘How naked do I want to be in front of people? What will it cost me to show who I truly feel I am to audiences?’”
Key admits sketch comedy made him into a star but, he was not happy with that aspect of acting. He confesses, “Part of it’s the genre, in that it’s going: ‘Well, you’re not asking for me to be me. You’re asking to see wigs and mustaches and hunchbacks and one eye and different accents.’ But also, I’m an adult male still trying to discover who I am. And sometimes it’s the little pedestrian questions like: ‘Do I like mint chocolate chip ice cream? Or do I eat it because somebody else liked it and I felt like I was supposed to like it or people weren’t going to like me?’ Part of why I’ve always been a very good actor is I’m very good at taking direction. I don’t know what I want, but I’ll do whatever I can to give you what you want.”
When asked about why Key describes comedy as a “19-year detour,” Key explains, “I was on my way to doing dramatic and classical work in Detroit, and I met a bunch of real fun actors, and they were all performing at Second City. And I thought: ‘Well, I feel like I have a facility for comedy. I should go audition for this place.’ And I got in, and that was the beginning of this other path. So from June or July 1997 until October 2015, that was my life. I enjoyed it and I learned so much from it. But then you just start getting itchy.”
Related:
