WE’VE ALREADY expressed how good David Oyelowo is in Lawmen: Bass Reeves and with so many facets of excellence encompassed by the legendary figure, it’s no surprise the British actor vigorously prepared for the role.
“The need for me to get my job right in telling that story is incredibly intimidating,” Oyelowo shared..
He added: “There’s the horse riding, and how skilled Bass was at that, and how much of a natural he was as a lawman. The joy of my job is, for a time, becoming an expert in any given skill the character has.
“And it’s of course not to the degree that someone who spent decades and decades doing it, but you’ve got to be able to project that.”
If you haven’t tuned into the first few episodes of the hit Paramount+ show, when you’ve finished this article go and do just that.
Telling the story of one of the first Black US Deputy Marshals west of the Mississippi, Oyelowo, supported by a stellar cast including Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Dennis Quaid, Donald Sutherland and more, delivers a masterful performance.
Known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, Reeves worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded.
Oyelowo dealt with his nerves by making sure he did everything he could to pay honour to the character.
“For this, that involved over a year of fairly constant horse riding in every terrain California has to offer, 15 months of physical training to be able to weather the stamina and endurance needed for the six month shoot,” said Oyelowo.
In addition to the very physical endeavours, Oyelowo spent many months working with dialect coach Denise Woods trying to perfect an Oklahoma/Texas accent from the mid 1800s.
“That’s a tricky task in itself as there are no recordings from that far back,” he said.
“We have transcripts of how Bass spoke from court records, but you’re having to build the way he might have spoken from scratch through exhaustive research.”
The tale of how Reeves became a lawmen is one thing, but navigating that unbeaten path is juxtaposed excellently in the show with the pressures of being the best husband and father he can be.
Given the appreciation for Reeves’ obvious skill set by wider society at the time, in contrast there was little to no respect for the journey he would undergo in developing as a husband and father.
How good he was at those things was of no interest to wider society and definitely not his new employer.
Lawmen: Bass Reeves does a brilliant job of portraying the balance or imbalance that Reeves underwent as he established himself as both a family man a Deputy Marshal.
This dichotomy of importance in this aspect is not lost on Oyelowo, who described the internal struggle.
“There’s a real tension between your love for your family and your need to go out there to provide for them,” the Oxford born actor mused.
“His identity is morphing into someone who is fighting for justice, someone who loves his family, loves his wife, and someone who is dealing in such murky waters, that the notion of justice becomes a little bit more nebulous.
“The notion of family becomes something a bit more distant.”
Reeves’ story is much more than that of being a legendary lawman. His story is a story about Black families and a celebration of Black success.
Chad Feehan, show creator, Writer and Executive Producer said: “David, I and many others sought to tell a story about the human condition and its undeniable universality, the emotionality that connects all of us.”
They hit the nail on the head.
Turning the Wild West into a civilized place to live required a collective dedication and unwavering spirit, which had never been seen. For Reeves to become a vital cog in the wheel that brought law and order to a lawless and unorderly time required a level of assimilation that is unprecedented.
Becoming a father and being the husband to his dutiful wife was a skill set he had to learn as he went.
Fusing this narrative together in order to paint a realistic depiction was immeasurably important.
Lauren E. Banks, who plays the role of Reeves’ strong, beautiful and fiercely loyal wife, Jennie, shared her thoughts on why it was significant for her.
“It’s really important to see that as a man, as a Black man, and a family man, that literally walks off of a plantation into the unknown, creating a life for himself is so important to see and have illustrated on screen.”
Lawmen: Bass Reeves is streaming on Paramount+ on Sundays.
*David Oyelowo, Chad Feehan and Lauren E. Banks were speaking before the SAG-AFTRA strike.
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