The co-star of Seven Pounds gives us the inside scoop on the film, working with Will Smith and the benefits of going Blu… 

HDR: In the movie Seven Pounds you play the brother of Will Smith’s character Ben Thomas. What else can you tell us about your role without spoiling the mystery for those who might not have seen the film yet?

Ealy: Not much! I’m his only surviving family member and I’m genuinely concerned throughout the film about what it is he’s doing because he’s distanced himself from me, so I’m just trying to figure out where his head’s at and help him any way I can.

HDR: The viewer is left unaware for most of the film as to what exactly has happened to Ben. How challenging was it for you to play your scenes knowing the audience would be oblivious to why you were so concerned throughout?

Ealy: It’s interesting because when we were shooting the movie it dawned on me the only person who knows what’s happening is Will Smith’s character, he’s like this master puppeteer. There are certain people he’s trying to avoid, like me, and certain people he’s trying to help, like Rosario Dawson’s character Emily. I like the way it all unveils at the end and at that point you get the rest of the story from me as to why this happened. To me that’s interesting filmmaking.

HDR: The marketing for the film did perhaps too good a job of disguising the secret behind Seven Pounds, so much so that it was hard to tell from the trailers exactly what kind of film it was. How would you define it?

Ealy: Often from the trailer you can tell exactly what’s going to happen in a movie, but those kind of films are often not very interesting. For me it’s more interesting to go to see a film like Seven Pounds where you don’t know what’s going to happen and hopefully the reward is the big payoff at the end. I’ve been saying this since I read the script, but I think it’s one of the most intriguing love stories I’ve ever seen on screen, it’s like a love story rooted in tragedy.

HDR: How did you get involved in the film?

Ealy: My manager reached out to Will personally, Will loved the idea right away and two weeks later I was in the movie. The first time I met Will was at rehearsal. He’d seen all my work and it was funny that he was a fan of mine because I grew up watching him mature into the actor he is now, the biggest movie star in the world, and for him to like my work was like, ‘wow, this is awesome’!

HDR: What was it like working with Will?

Ealy: He’s a class act through and through. He likes to keep everything organic, and improvise, it’s about making the scene right and he’s not afraid to do whatever it takes to get that. One of the things I learned from him was how to conduct yourself as a leading man on a film set. He’s like the perfect leading man because his energy sets the tone for the cast and crew. He talks to everybody, he’s not one of these people that’s so method they only talk to their director. He’s considerate of other people’s time and he just enjoys the filmmaking process, I’ve never met anybody who has that kind of enthusiasm. It’s refreshing to see that at this point in his career he’s not jaded at all by the business.

HDR: Have you had a chance to watch Seven Pounds or any of your other films on Blu-ray yet and if so what do you think Blu-ray adds to the experience of watching these films at home?

Ealy: I got my copy of Seven Pounds two days ago on Blu-ray so I haven’t watched it yet, but I’m very excited to. It will be my first time watching a movie like this on Blu-ray, usually I’d watch something old, or an action film, or a war film on Blu-ray to really get the detail out of the picture. But for something like this where the story supersedes the images I’d be curious to see the difference, whether it takes me out of the movie or intensifies the experience.

HDR: You worked with Spike Lee recently on Miracle At St. Anna, what was that like and how was it working with someone as highly regarded as him?

Ealy: It was one of my favourite film experiences and one of my favourite life experiences because we filmed in Italy for three months, not a bad gig! And on top of that to be able to shoot a movie that matters, that has social and historical impact was amazing. My grandfather was in the army at that time and almost went over to Italy so it had a lot of personal resonance for me as well.

HDR: What do you have lined up next?

Ealy: There’s another film I’ve done called Takers, which is a bank heist movie with a lot of action and I play one of the bank robbers. What I’ve seen so far is amazing, there’s a shoot-out scene in a hotel which I’d put up there with True Romance, now that’s a movie I want to see on Blu-ray.