OCTOBER 2017 GQ.CO.ZA 51GQ: Do you think that these days artists
are more versatile and happier to
experiment with different career
projects and collaborations rather than
following narrow career paths?
DC: I think in general, the world’s opened
up. Social media obviously has a lot to
do with that, and people can speak and
communicate with one another directly in
a way that wasn’t possible before. We get
to see a lot of similarities where people are
artistically complementary in ways that we
didn’t imagine before. In my industry it used
to be a real sor t of no -no to do television
or a music video if you wanted to have any
sort of theatrical career. You would never
be considering series or a commercial, but
I think those sorts of imaginary lines have
disappeared and people aren’t taking
themselves as seriously and they’re also just
looking for different modes of expression.
You see a lot of ‘A-list’ actors doing Funny or
Die and really just tr ying to fl ex every kind
of muscle and play with all kinds of media.
I think that’s raised all of the creative bars.
GQ: Has it changed your thinking
around your creative output?
DC: I’ve always been someone who’s tried
to be platform agnostic because it doesn’t
matter to me. I gravitate towards the things
that are interesting to me. Here, today, what
we’re talking about is thanks to Chivas
Regal. The commercial I did with them
wasn’t strictly a commercial, it was an
opportunity for me to do something
altruistic that fi tted in with my philosophy
and philanthropic interests. I try to gravitate
towards things I can bring something to,
and which bring something to me as well.
GQ: What was the specifi c parallel
that made you want to be a part of
this campaign?
DC: Well this is about altruism and working
with people who are coming into the space
as entrepreneurs and attempting to better
the world. They’re not just on some sort of
a craven move to make as much money as
they can; they’re attempting to better their
lot and leave this place better than they
found it. That’s the entirety of it for me.
When I understood that, it was a no-brainer.
It wasn’t simply about getting involved with
the product to ingratiate myself, but about
working with people who were trying to
really change the world in substantive ways.
GQ: Have you long been a whisky
drinker?
DC: I’m newer to whisky, especially Chivas,
but it’s really good. When you’re young it’s
just like ‘Oh it ’s booze, right? ’ and it ’s all the
same. Then you taste it – Ultis is a blend of
because it’s just not so. Now more than
ever, especially with social media, there’s an
ability to fi nd like-minded people who are
working on issues you’re interested in. You
don’t have to reinvent the wheel; you can
become part of a movement that’s already
begun and then you can always look to
these people if you have some issue that
you don’t feel has the kind of trajectory that
you want it to, to learn how they did it.GQ: You’re working on Prince of
Darkness now – what drew you to and
excited you about that project?
DC: We’re talking about a black man in the
1800s who was a millionaire, and in those
days that was very unusual. It’s about
looking at the issues we have today and
how they refl ect and refer to a time
hundreds of years ago. It’s also around this
character who had maybe three identities
and was incredibly litigious – he never
backed down from fi ghts and is not really
a ‘good guy’ by any means.fi ve single malts and it’s really balanced and
premium. You can taste the difference, and
that’s something. I was a neophyte before
and it’s a fun way to learn.GQ: You’re prolifi c on Twitter and even
today by the time I got here you’d
fi red off probably over 15 tweets.
DC: I was tired with jet lag so I was like
‘Let me just hit these people up.’ What was
I saying today? You see, it’s already gone,
it’s like it’s disposable.GQ: Have you shifted what you choose
to speak about over time, or is it
a knee-jerk reaction?
DC: If I see something that sparks a thought,
I’ll voice that. It’s often supportive, but clearly
with our political climate in the US right now
it gives rise to a lot of reaction, and I think it’s
important to be a part of that voice.GQ: How do you think people can add
their voice to issues they care about but
may not be the best representative for?
DC: That’s interesting, especially having
come back here where we shot Hotel
Rwanda, where a lot of my activism began.
It’s where I was introduced to people who
were working on issues around genocide
around the world and was invited to join
a congressional delegation that went to
visit Chad, Darfur and Sudan to see
fi rst-hand what was happening there. I think
that was one of the questions I was asking
myself with my supposed platform: how do
I fi t in and what am I supposed to do?
Where can I infl uence people and sort of
drive this in a positive direction in any way
that I possibly can? I think that’s one of
those questions that individuals have to ask
themselves and take stock of themselves
and see where they have infl uence: is it in
school, or church, or your community?
I think people more often than not devalue
their ability to have a voice and it’s a shame