Mike Colter Talks Villains, Comedy, & New Movie “The Union”

Mike Colter is always changing things up. He doesn’t want anyone to get too comfortable in figuring out what role he’s going to play. From playing superhero Luke Cage in the titular Marvel series, to drug lord Lemond Bishop in The Good Wife, to a priest on the series Evil, his portfolio is diverse and varied in good measure. 

“I just want to have fun and I don’t want to bore myself,” he tells me in a video interview. He opts for different roles that allow him to play against type. That’s exactly what his latest role in the Netflix action-adventure, The Union, afforded him. 

Colter, 47, stars alongside Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry in the action adventure, which hit #1 on Netflix upon release. It follows a New Jersey construction worker (Wahlberg) who is recruited by his long-lost high school sweetheart (Berry) for a dangerous intelligence mission in Europe. Colter’s character, Nick Faraday, keeps them on their toes. 

As Nick, the South Carolina-born actor shows a different side of himself. He’s mysterious, but fun, with a wicked sense of humour. The latter is something Colter doesn’t always tap into for his on-screen roles. 

When I point this out to him, he says with a smile: “I’m much more fun than I portray in some of my roles, but I think that’s my intention. Once I let my fun side out, I don’t think I can put that back in. So, I think I’m going to keep [playing a] dramatic action character for a bit. Then, when I get to the comedies, I’ll probably stay there for the rest of my career.”

Colter comes across as an introvert — he’s most comfortable in the skin of his on-screen personas. He gets excited when he talks about his career and where he’s at right now, as if he’s already thinking about his next gig. One thing is for sure, though: his younger self is proud of how far he’s come. (“Well done, sir,” is what his young self would say, he tells me.)

I spoke with Colter about his career, playing against type, working alongside Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg, and what brings him joy.

Congratulations on this whirlwind action adventure. At this point in your career, how strategic are you with the projects you take on?

There are two ways to look at it. Careers can go any way you want them to go, but I don’t think you can control your career as much as we’d like to think we can control our career. I think for me, I try to control it, but I don’t know what the end result will be. I just want to find things that appeal to me, that don’t bore me. Then, hopefully, the audience likes them.

Once you find a niche that people like you in, it’s easy to fall into the thing — like: ‘Hey, he does that well!’ If you stay in that line, you’re going to have an audience that follows you because they know what to expect. There are people who do the exact same role: [they] just change the setting, change the costume. There’s nothing different, and they have a huge audience for that. There’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe at some point in my career, I will also jump on that train of ‘This is good, and people like that role, and I’m just gonna do a variation on that.’

But I try to find something to change it up. I want things that are gonna excite me, not gonna bore me — something my fans, or people who are familiar with my work, do not expect. They can’t get too comfortable in trying to figure out what to expect from Mike Colter, because Mike is always changing things. So, that’s where I am right now, and that’s what I asked my team to do for me. I feel like a character actor who’s in a lead man situation sometimes. I just want to have fun and I don’t want to bore myself. I don’t know where that’s going to lead me, but I do love the journey. 

How did The Union fit into that equation?

The Union, I think it was one of those moments where… sometimes you play the hero and sometimes the antihero, sometimes a person with an extreme moral compass, or person who doesn’t have any moral compass. So I was looking at this guy, and I went ‘interesting.’ He’s got a little bit of this. He presents this way, but then he’s a little bit of that. He’s a spoiler because you don’t know what to expect.

I love this element of surprise with him, and I love how he presented it in the third act. You’re like: ‘Okay, wait a minute.’ There was so much fun to be had with that character. Like, ‘Oh, he really just doesn’t care. He’s going all out and he’s gonna do whatever he feels is gonna work for Nick Faraday.’ I love that — it’s a fun character to play. I responded to that surprise element of Nick Faraday and how much he stirs the drink. He keeps things moving.

You looked like you were having fun portraying Nick. It felt like his sense of humour was infused with your own. 

I’m much more fun than I portray in some of my roles, but I think that’s my intention. Once I let my fun side out, I don’t think I can put that back in. So, I think I’m going to keep [playing a] dramatic action character for a bit. Then, when I get to the comedies, I’ll probably stay there for the rest of my career.

You share the screen with Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg. What did you realize when you got to work with them creatively?

I think they both bring a certain amount of professionalism to their projects. They both have done this for so long, [they’re] able to bring a certain credibility to the performances. They bring a certain expectation. I think with them, I like to try to play off of that. I play with people who have an established persona or established star quality.

I think Mike allows me to be a character actor that I can be sometimes; I can find the right elements in my character, my performance, to come up against them. That’s the thing about villains — or playing anything that’s like a villain or an antagonist — you have to find a way to get under the skin of the people who the audience are supposed to be attached to. Like, where their allegiances lie. I want to always be able to needle that; that’s the important part.

When you’re casting people in characters like my character, you want to be an interesting villain. You’ve got to find out what makes the villain tick. Nick Faraday, I can relate to him: cool suits, flashy cars, lot of money, you know, travel the world. What’s not to like?

I have followed your career and seen most of your work — from Million Dollar Baby to Luke Cage to Evil to The Good Wife. It looks like you try to not be typecast: there’s range on this acting canvas. What is the legacy you want with your body of work?

I think my legacy, if you can be so bold, is just taking chances and always trusting the process because the universe has things in store for us. The thing about actors and people in my position, in their careers, you really do try to force things sometimes. I think people try to force things in a certain way, things that don’t fit or things that aren’t for them. I have had things that have missed, things that I’ve had in my hand, and I had to let go of them because of scheduling. I’ve had things that I’ve wanted that didn’t work out for many reasons. I think you just have to enjoy the process. The near-misses, sometimes, are as good as the hits. You have to keep enjoying the process because you don’t know where it’s going to lead you. 

I look at the experiences. It’s not the end product that I remember as much as the journey. What I was doing while I was creating the project — that’s what I remember. I don’t sit and watch my own work all the time, because it doesn’t make sense to do that. I also want to keep a clean, fresh palette, mentally, because I don’t want to see myself in any certain way. That’s why I don’t watch myself because I also will then become influenced by what I see. I have an image of myself in my head, and that’s why I keep my head — I won’t allow myself to get influenced by the characters that I play.

So what part of the process brings you joy?

Traveling to wonderful destinations, meeting interesting people, coming together and collaborating on our project that hopefully makes people smile and entertains them. That’s a good place to start.

Artistically, if you look at it, [acting is] finding ways to make people feel something when they watch your work. It’s another added bonus to this whole thing, and it opens doors to try other new things, to give you the right to try other things. We just want the freedom, as artists, to try something else. [Once] they trust that you are going to execute, they’ll try something else. That’s what you really want, that freedom. 

I know you worked hard and struggled to follow your passion and craft. So now, what would your high school self say about where you are right now and what you have been able to accomplish?

My high school self would say: ‘Well done. Well done, sir.’ 

I used to do that. I used to go back every so often. I used to have a really strong imagination — like you have a hard drive in your head, and [can] play back portions of your life. Everything about your life is, sort of, on a video. I play moments in my life when I was just having a journey, and it was nowhere near success. I was having a lot of fun along the way — some disappointments — but really having fun, and I think to myself, those really are the pieces that I hold on to.

I mean, I wish I had taken more videos and pictures back in the day, because now it’s all here [points to his head], you know? But I’ve had a good journey.

I have to ask, Nick picks a fun suit at the end. I was like, ‘Now I get who he is.’ How would you define your own sense of style?

Oh, that’s a fun, fun question. When I was younger, I think I chose stuff that was neutral. I didn’t really have a style when I was younger, because I didn’t want to think about stuff in terms of dressing. It was always like: ‘I’m an actor — take all that brain activity and put it on something else.’ Like, I just wanted to focus.

I go through moments where either I wear black — all black — or I’m wearing something that’s really interesting and really cool, or I’m wearing a pair of overalls, or I’m wearing a white tee and some jeans. I go through moments. I don’t know who I am, fashion wise. That’s why I love stylists, like: ‘Oh, that looks good. It was her idea, I’ll wear that. Oh, my character has this cool thing. I want that. I’ll take it home with me.’ I don’t know who I am in terms of fashion. I know what I like, but I am all over the place. 

The Union will be streaming on Netflix starting Friday, August 23.

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