It’s hard to argue with the quality of Chad Coleman’s resume over the years, working on TV shows like The Wire, The Walking Dead, and The Expanse, and the intensity and acting chops he brought to these roles. Recently we had the chance to talk with Chad about his impressive career, the relationships he’s built, and his new TV movie, A Christmas Prayer.
Directed by Aaron L. Williams, A Christmas Prayer follows a “former alcoholic and now respected leader of the local church [who] gets accused of a heinous crime. He struggles with the possibility of not only doing hard time but keeping his own ‘faith’ while trying to prove his innocence.” The holiday film premieres on December 11th on TV One.
HGL: Ok, let’s jump in and talk about A Christmas Prayer. How did you get involved in this project?
Chad Coleman: Well, the first thing was Jami McCoy-Lankford, who was the producer, she went to bat for me, much like the way Robert Kirkman went to bat for me to be in The Walking Dead, and she won out, so I got the role. Secondly, I loved the chance to be able to play a pastor. It really resonated with me.
I come from the Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, and my brother is a minister at East End Fellowship in the area we grew up. My brother has always been my GPS, not as an artist but as the man he is, so this was a great opportunity to do some substantive work with material that was an homage to him and the community, so that’s how it happened. Then I saw who was involved, Marla Gibbs and Stan Shaw, I was going to be in a scene with Creflo Dollar, so it made it really easy to say yes.
HGL: When I watched the trailer, I immediately appreciated the theme of faith, which is so important these days, regardless of whether it’s faith in an institution, yourself, or both. Was that one of the things that drew you to this film?
Chad Coleman: Beautifully said, beautifully said. Yes, and not how it’s demonstrated in fluff but in real life, real-time. The opportunity to play not only a pastor but a pastor in crisis was very appealing. Normally the pastor’s crisis is the lack of faith in the parishioners. That’s usually his biggest angst, but no, let us peel back the layers and show you what he goes through as a man as well.
His past challenges his faith as it comes back to haunt him, and he’s only as good as his flock. So now the community circles the wagon for the pastor to show it’s a tandem, we do this together, and we all need to exercise our faith.
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HGL: Your character Andre has the intensity you’ve brought to other roles. Is that dynamic something you find attractive in characters, or do you think it’s something you personally bring to the table as well?
Chad Coleman: It’s always been a part of me, always been there (laughs). That’s what I love about it; it’s an internal battle. How is anger going to serve you in this journey of life? Well, depending on the conditions, if you happen upon a situation where there’s domestic abuse involved, it may serve you to try and protect someone else. However, at the same time, you have to learn to harness that, and in order to harness that, you must have humility. You have to surrender.
Skye Dennis wrote this, by the way, and it’s just absolutely amazing what he was able to do because most Christmas movies lean towards being fluff. I think at this stage of the game, if people smell cheese, it could be a bit of a turnoff because we are going through so much right now. It’s like, if we meet them where they are and inspire and uplift them, I think they will lean in.
HGL: Obviously, you’ve had great success with TV roles over the years. Is that your favorite medium, or did your career path just work out that way?
Chad Coleman: Oh, the latter (laughs). I still aspire to a film career as dynamic and impactful as my television career, and I still aspire to create work, whether a film or television series, so it keeps me on my toes, humble, and striving for more. When I saw A Soldier’s Story, and I think that was 1985/86, that’s when I said, wow, film.
It was based on a play, and my goal was to make it to Broadway, so when I saw Denzel Washington, a young Howard Rollins, and David Allan Grier, I was like, wow, what an ensemble, what a film. I have yet to accomplish that lofty goal, to be part of something like that, so I’m still out here aspiring to that.
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HGL: Not only have you been on some incredible and groundbreaking shows, but on many of these, you were able to play your character for twenty or more episodes, which is rare. How fun has it been to build these characters you’ve played?
Chad Coleman: It’s been amazing. That’s the gift of the deal. When you start to realize just how difficult it is to do that, it brings on another whole level of humility. Even more, the people are dynamic, man. I’m working with and relating to some of the most dynamic human beings. From Charlie Day to Idris Elba, to Wood Harris, to Sonequa Martin-Green, from kids to adults, these are really dynamic people, even when the camera is not rolling. The same goes for the producers. They were brilliant. I mean, Scott Gimple, look what you got to do with Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln. These are truly incredible people.
HGL: You worked on The Expanse here in Toronto, which was a fantastic show for many reasons. How was your time working on that TV series?
Chad Coleman: Thank you, brother. I appreciate that. I had a great time shooting that up there in Toronto, working with so many great people. Bob Munroe, the visual effects specialist who made it look brilliant, he’s also a producing partner with me, and I’m so excited about what we’re trying to put together, but I will say I don’t miss the weather (laughs).
HGL: Is it almost like a double-edged sword, building these characters but eventually having to say goodbye? Was any one character you played particularly hard to walk away from, or is it always hard to leave a character and move on?
Chad Coleman: They all have a connection to me, really, but early on, when they killed off Idris Elba in The Wire, I realized anything was possible (laughs). From that point on, everywhere I went, I would think to myself, ok, just remember, they killed off Idris. We even had a conversation, Idris and myself, prior to that, and with me going, no way, man, they’re not going to do that, no way. So after that, it was always in the back of my head, and I realized you are here for a good time, not a long time, so make an impact.
The death of Idris, which was the birthplace of killing main characters with no warning, and young producers watching that, it really opened their eyes. They now wanted to do that as well. Network TV was different. They would say, no, you’re not going to do that, but when the construct changed to cable, the thought was, yeah, we can go at this a totally different way. The birthchild of that era, all those young producers, are now blessing us in the streaming world, not being cookie-cutter or predictable.
HGL: You’ve been in the entertainment business for a while now. How would you describe your journey from where you started to where you are now?
Chad Coleman: I’d say epic, with all sorts of twists and turns. Really, a roller coaster ride of, didn’t see that pothole, didn’t see that strike coming, now I’m on Broadway. It’s really like living in an amusement park, and I’m on the ride of my life. I never had a plan B, but I had other interests, which led to me going into the military for communications, being a video cameraman, doing radio work, editing, and things of that nature was always of interest. I would always pretend to be a DJ or news anchor, and I got to learn how to do that in the military, but no, I never had a plan B; I had to act; I had to do this.
HGL: What other projects do you have coming up?
Chad Coleman: Well, shameless promotion here; I have this hat on for Superman & Lois, which I’m incredibly excited about. This role encompasses everything I’ve ever done, and as superficial as it sounds, he’s the richest and most powerful dude I’ve ever played. It’s an amazing cast and showrunners. I mean, this is Greg Berlanti productions giving me a plateful of delicious food. I had done Arrow with him and also All American, so for him to serve this up, man, I’m excited.
I want to thank Chad for taking the time to talk with us.
