Legendary comedians Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart co-star in Get Hard.
A hedge fund manager, James (Ferrell) is sentenced to ten years in a maximum security prison for embezzlement and fraud. James seeks help from Darnell (Hart) to toughen himself up in order to survive in prison.The two go through hilarious moments and obstacles in attempt to prepare James for the dangers he might encounter there. The hilarious film will have the audience gasping for air and waking up with a set of sore abs the next day. We spoke with one of the film’s stars Edwina Findley. Read our exclusive interview below:
What was it like working with Kevin and Will, some legendary comedians?
Edwina: It was absolutely hilarious, very inspiring and just incredible. It was an incredible experience. I definitely have been a Will Ferrell fan since I was a kid watching SNL. Then with Kevin Hart, I remember it was about five years ago when Alfre Woodard opened up her laptop and played this YouTube video and she was like, look at this guy, isn’t he hilarious? I had no idea who he was at the time, so it’s just so funny things coming full circle and being able to work together. It really is a dream come true.
So speaking of Kevin, what was it like to play Kevin Hart’s wife? How was that experience?
Edwina: It was great. One of the things I really adored was that Rita is sort of a ying to his yang, like we know the antics that Kevin and, of course his character ends up finding himself in, all the crazy shenanigans and my character is really the one that balances him out. Yes he’s charming and funny, but also she smacks him back into reality as well when he gets too far along, you know.
When he comes to me with this crazy plan that he’s going to pretend to have gone to jail, even though he’s one of the most white collar people you know, to sort of come in and say, yeah, I’m gonna help him go to jail and I’m going to play right on into that stereotype. Maybe you play the adult, but he has these wonderful values as well, because as husband and wife, we have this dream of buying a house and coming out of the hood, we have a dream of being able to put our daughter in private school. It just so happens that I have a more practical way of approaching things, which is work hard, save money and one day we’ll be able to afford it and his is more get rich quick, we can do this $30,000 in one lump sum and at the end of the day, his plan works.
What was it like working with director Etan Cohen. He’s also a co-writer on it?
Edwina: Etan is absolutely wonderful. I mean just wonderful to work with. It’s funny because after I got cast in the role and he sent me his number and he said, please call me any time and so we were talking and he said, Rita is really the moral center of this film. I said, wow, really? He said, yeah … your character is really the moral compass of this film and it was just special hearing the director’s point of view, from the co-writer’s point of view, as far as what my character really represents in the world of this movie.
I did find Eton to be a very sensitive person, a very caring person and just the attention to detail is incredible. When you see the finished film, there’s so much detail in every moment and I think we were just really directed by a masterful hand. The fact that this is his first directing film, but he’s written so many comedies in the past, for him, to kind of have this opportunity to direct this huge movie is really a dream come true for him as well.
So are Will and Kevin just as funny off camera?
Edwina: You know, one of the things that was awesome about working with was getting to know them off screen, which I actually was so pleasantly surprised to see how humble Will Ferrell is. He’s always a sweet, gentle man, really. He’s a lot more quiet than he is in character. He’s really a listener. He’s a very just a kindhearted person and Kevin is definitely really funny off screen, but he’s also a businessman as well. In between takes, he’s balancing all these different projects and has his hand in all these different business ventures. That was inspiring to see as well … how he’s managing life as an artist and as a CEO.
What did you think of Will’s thug transformation?
It’s hilarious, it’s ridiculous. The funny thing is that I remember when we were on set and the costume designer was coming up with different looks and I was talking with the director and he was telling me how we’re dressing Will as Lil Wayne pretty much, there’s this whole get up that’s homage to a Lil Wayne outfit at this concert. It’s like the level of humor is so ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh. You can’t help but laugh when you see this straight laced rich white guy walking down the street with high tops in an orange vest and a hat cocked to the side. It’s ridiculous but it’s also just hilarious.
Speaking of laughs, was there a scene that was so funny that it became difficult to film?
Edwina: Yes. Oh yes, it must be the end of the dinner scene with myself, Will Ferrell, Kevin and our daughter Makayla and I’m telling you, I had a hard time getting through that one. There was one point in the scene where I started holding my mouth and then because when you’re laughing you making noises … so I’m covering my mouth and then I started making noises through my nose, so I covered my nose and covered my mouth, so I’m pretty much strangling myself to death. Just trying not to make any sounds in the middle of the scene … I literally thought I was going to pass out, A, from not being able to breathe and B, just from how incredibly hilarious it all was. I think the audience is really in for a great treat. It’s like if we can make each other laugh just by being in the scene, I know that the audiences are going to crack up.
Where did your passion for acting come from?
Edwina: When I was a little girl I was always writing and making one girl shows … always in the mirror creating these different characters, singing and dancing. My mom at a young age, really noticed that I had this gift and she started putting me in dance classes and in music lessons and acting classes and then I ended up going to a high school for the arts in DC and then I kept going and went to NYU Tisch School of the Arts for Theater and started working professionally after that.
I really credit my mom who unfortunately passed away last year. Kevin actually called her while we were on set because she had been diagnosed with cancer and his mom passed away from the same cancer, ovarian cancer, that my mom did and he called her for Mother’s Day last year. I even had to shed some tears this morning thinking that wow, she would have loved to be able to go to the premiere for this and be a part of this experience, but I just really credit her for seeing something very special in me when it came to the arts and wanting to cultivate that. I am who I am today because of her.
How did NYU impact you and what was that experience was like?
Edwina: It was wonderful. For New York to be, like Shakespeare says, all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players and so to come from DC and be dropped off in the middle of New York City with Broadway and with off Broadway and with musicals as well as TV and film, it was so exciting and then to be cultivated there at NYU where so many of our professors are working in the industry. While I was there, I had a chance to intern over at the Public Theater with George C. Wolf and just all these incredible artists, Jeffrey Wright and Joe Morton and these incredible artists that are doing Shakespeare at theater and music and dance. All of that really helped to prepare me for being able to work in the industry on this level and so yeah, being at NYU was definitely one of the incredible highlights of my life.
You have an organization called Abundant Life, that you founded?
Edwina: Yes. I actually founded the organization right after coming out of NYU and so we’ve been in this business for a number of years and now we’re actually launching the School for Life in Hollywood and so we launched a new program for artists called Artists CEO and it’s really helping emerging artists to learn both the class of art as well as the business side. One thing I’ve found is that even though those who come out of the most expensive school, training in our craft, a lot of times we haven’t been prepared for the business. Our career as well as our lives and so my team and I have really come together, created an incredible curriculum called Artists CEO and that’s launching in April 18 … No more starving artists. We don’t want to see anybody else, it’s just a hard business. It’s a hard world and people come here from all over the country with a dream. We’re here, Abundant Life is here to help people to fulfill their dreams.
What’s next for you?
Edwina: I have a couple movies coming out, one is called Free Indeed, that was based on a true story and I play the lead in that. Another movie is called, Where Children Play, which we just finished shooting that a couple months ago and I think that was coming out this year. Then All the Children are Insane, is actually in pre-production, so we are preparing to film that and then I’m preparing for films, the second season of my TV series, If Loving You is Wrong on Own.
Tell me a little bit about what it’s been like to join the Own family and work on that show?
Edwina: It’s been great. I mean, of course, who hasn’t looked up to Oprah Winfrey all their lives, I certainly have. Then I just have so much respect for Tyler Perry, he’s so prolific and all that he’s accomplished over these last several years is incredible. To be able to work with them and as far as the Oprah Winfrey network and family, it’s just been a dream come true. They both saw me in Middle of Nowhere, the movie I did with David and thought I would be great for this particular series and it’s just been wonderful. I’m excited that the show debuted as the number one series premiere in their whole network history and now we’ve just been picked up for 22 more episodes for season two.
The film hits theaters this Friday.
