Being Bobby Brown
When you see the much anticipated BET mini series, The Bobby Brown Story, you will agree that Woody McClain embodies Bobby Brown. In this thrilling biopic we get to see the volatile life of the beloved and beleaguered Grammy award winning R&B pop star unfold. His family life, solo career and unwavering love for his iconic wife, Whitney Houston, all set the stage for this two-part show that comes on the heels of the riveting documentary, Whitney. It poetically allows McClain, who also played Bobby in The New Edition Story, to seamlessly portray Brown and tell his side of the story. When the credits roll, you too will see that the actor doesn’t disappoint. He sinks his chops into everything that it takes to be Bobby Brown.
Uptown: What do you and Bobby Brown have in common? Woody McClain: I mainly grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. We moved there when I was in elementary school and I had my parents at home like Bobby did. We both have sisters, so we are similar in that way, too. We also both come from great homes. But when we go outside, it’s a whole different world. If I stayed in Jacksonville and didn’t go off to college, I probably wouldn’t be in the best situation right now. I can honestly say that. Because a lot of my childhood friends [have passed away], or they are in jail.
Uptown: Were you a Bobby Brown fan before you made the film? Woody: I had heard of him, but I didn’t know much about Bobby until I started working on the project. I learned so much about him and New Edition, and that really opened me up to that genre of music. Now I’m wide open and I listen to it all the time. Musicians like Guy and Babyface have made music that is timeless. Anytime it comes on everybody is going to rock out and jam to it. The [New Jack Swing] era just makes you feel good. And I love music that makes me feel good. If I’m in a bad mood, trust me I’m going to go back to play the old school to make me feel better.
Uptown: And how about Whitney Houston? Did you listen to her music? Woody: Yes, for sure. But during the project I got to see all her energy and her style. It was amazing. And her music really, really touched me. If I needed to get to an emotional part of the film, I would listen to Whitney’s, “I Will Always Love You,” over and over in my headphones, and that would take me there. The lyrics really touched me.
Uptown: Did you feel like Gabrielle Dennis embodied Whitney? Woody: Having Gabrielle play Whitney was so perfect. So magical. When I read with her for the first time at our audition, I told Robi [Reed], “She is the one.” And I knew the audience would be able to see that energy on camera too.
Uptown: I think everybody would agree that they have a love story for the ages. Have you ever been in love like that? Or was playing such a deep love role foreign to you? Woody: I have definitely been in love... during all my college years. But Bobby and Whitney’s love was on a whole other level. You couldn’t separate those two. And just going back and watching Being Bobby Brown, and seeing them interact, they will have you laughing for days. Their energy was so great.
Uptown: This is an extremely intense story. How did you prepare for the role? Woody: Jesse Collins, the producer, and the BET team did a really good job getting me all of the clips, and all of the contacts who I needed to sit and talk to. Some of the people I connected with grew up with Bobby. Just being able to talk to people and watch footage over and over helped me to prepare for the role. I also had conversations with Bobby. And that absolutely helped me with the film. And our director Kiel Scott is amazing. I’m so happy that he was a part of this process because he’s such a great storyteller. He brought emotions out of me that I never knew I had inside.
Uptown: What was the hardest part about playing Bobby? Woody: I think I had everything I needed to be very prepared for the role. We met for The New Edition Story and that was the first time that we got the chance to sit in the room and just talk about everything. He told me everything he’s been through. It was more so difficult to talk to Bobby about Whitney and Bobbi Kristina, because I know these are real sore spots for Bobby. Like if he starts talking about it, he’s going to break down. You know what I mean? That was the difficult part for me. Just being gentle and talking to him like a real human being because he’s been through this stuff. So I didn’t want to...it’s hard to explain. But that was the difficult part.
Uptown: Is there anything that you thought about Bobby before playing him that changed after completing the film? Woody: Yes. Before I did my research I had an image that was painted in my head from reading the media. I had heard other people say things like “He’s a bad guy. He’s a bad boy. He’s like this. He’s like that.” But I knew better than that because I grew up learning not to judge a book by it’s cover. And when I got the opportunity to actually talk with him, and when he brought me around his family, I thought this guy is really really misunderstood. If people knew what triggered certain things for him they would understand him better. Plus, none of us are perfect. We all go through our own journey. And I want people to see what makes Bobby Brown tick and what makes him all that is in this movie.
Uptown: That’s a really good point about Bobby being misunderstood because this film could be viewed like a redemption piece, so to speak. Do you agree? Woody: This was the truth. I just think it’s his life. This is what happened. And this is what I want to tell. Because, I would call him and be like “Yo this... is crazy! This is what you want to say?” So you’ll be able to see Bobby go through the good, the bad and the ugly. We’ll go on this journey with him. And I feel like people will relate to him. He wants to be able to tell the truth so his kids don’t have to go into magazines, and they don’t have to ask anybody anything. They can really just look at the film and think “This is who my dad was.” And he didn’t hold back at all.
Uptown: No he didn’t, especially on stage. Were the concert scenes exciting to do? Woody: I love acting so it’s always fun for me. And that was the one thing he made very clear: His performance on stage. Every little scream, and anything the audience would feed him, would fuel his energy. And that’s why and how he would end up either giving you more nasty, or more vocals. All of that high positive energy fed him and that’s what he became. That’s what created the bad boy of R&B. He didn’t have a care in the world. He was just being free and being himself on stage.
Uptown: Do you think coming from such a supportive family gave him the over-the- top confidence to push his creative expression to the limit? Woody: He had a lot of strong people behind him, especially his mamma “callin’ the family meetin’ [to figure out his career].” And everybody had such great personalities. I wonder who they got them from? [laughs]. His family welcomed me with open arms, and I can call them for anything ’til this day. I got a chance to go to the studio with [his son] Bobby Jr. I spent time with [his daughters] La’Princia and Hendrix, and with his peers to get a good sense of their personalities. All of it was great: Being on the stage, spending time with his kids and his wives...just to be able to relive such an iconic life. Night two of the mini series is going to have people in tears because getting to go on the journey with moms, pops and his sisters is amazing.
Uptown: Yes, it’s a great piece of work. What’s next for you? Woody: Right now I’m working on producing my own stuff. Producing is numero uno to me. I was able to produce on Kevin Hart’s network Laugh Out Loud. I got a chance to executive produce and star in that with Kevin. Jesse Collins also brought me on to The Bobby Brown Story as an associate producer, and I’m extremely grateful for that. So I just want to be able to continue producing more content.
Uptown: Why are you so passionate about acting and producing? Woody: I enjoy making other people happy. I remember sitting in front of the TV and my mom seeing Eddie Murphy on the screen at an awards show. And she said, “I grew up and went to school with him.” To see my mom’s eyes light up [about a celebrity] that she used to go to school with was special to me. So when my peers hit me up now and say, “Yo, I tell my kids all the time that I went to school with you and they don’t believe me,” I’m like, “Yo we have to FaceTime, take a picture, do something together. Because I remember that feeling as a kid.”
Uptown: And was Eddie Murphy instrumental in your love for comedy? Woody: Yes. And I’m ready to do a comedy. I might have to team up with DC Young Fly. He’s dope. But I love comedy because I grew up watching Eddie Murphy. And I love how he was able to create content that worked for him and his generation. I admire how he was able to do Coming to America, Boomerang and many more. All of those films were amazing. Now of course I’d be honored to work with Denzel Washington. Everybody wants to work with Denzel. Also, Viola Davis, Michelle Mitchenor and Lex Scott Davis, who I was able to see work on set. And Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, and Steven Soderbergh are amazing directors on my wish list. And from “my class,” if I could pick right now, it would be William Catlett. But my number one is still Eddie Murphy. I want to be able to create and produce content like he did.