CLEVELAND, Ohio — Inspired by the 1863 “whipped Peter” photos, which contributed to growing public opposition to slavery, “Emancipation” starring Will Smith is now streaming on Apple TV+.
The film follows Peter’s escape from slavery and journey to freedom. But it also explores the hatred that was at the root of slavery.
Insight into that hate is exactly what director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “The Magnificent Seven”) offers viewers in the Civil War-era film that also works as a modern action thriller.
“Emancipation” is now streaming on Apple TV+. (Courtesy of Apple TV+)
Peter is chased by ruthless and cold-blooded slave hunter Fassel — played by the inimitable Ben Foster — through the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana.
Without giving away too much, there’s a quiet, memorable and important scene with Fassel discussing how his father taught him how to hate that will invariably haunt viewers going forward.
We recently caught up with the award-winning Foster to discuss the brutality of “Emancipation,” why he didn’t talk to Smith on the set and his memories of “Six Feet Under.”
Hello, Ben, congrats on the film. It’s a brutal but necessary watch. What initially attracted you to the project?
I was a fan of Will Smith, who was already attached. And then, Antoine, I mean, “Training Day,” I’ve seen many times, so I’m a big fan of his. The script was beautiful and tough, and I wanted nothing to do with it. My grandparents were immigrants from Eastern Europe. Having escaped the pogroms, they fell into the Civil Rights movement and marched with Martin Luther King. My father marched with Martin Luther King a month after Selma. This is how I was raised so I had no interest in being the face of the white devil. As written, it was a really great script and a very colorfully written Fassel. But when I spoke with Antoine, I said I want to lift the veil.
As horrific as the realistic depiction of slavery is in the film, the origin story of Fassel’s hate proves equally devastating.
It occurred to me that the way to lift part of the veil — to talk about how systemic racism and antisemitism and violence are cropping up all over the world now — is to do something very simple and take all of what I call the sugar of the character out. I said, ‘Let’s place him in the Midwest. Let’s make him look like a farmer rather than having a skull on his hat, a ruffled shirt, a big mustache and snake boots. We’re not going to like this guy ever but we can lift the veil a little bit if we explore how hate is learned.’ That was our thesis. You’re not born that way. It can be generational. It can be taught. And if it can be learned, it can be unlearned. So we refine Fassel through the process of making the film, really keeping an eye on the fireside chat of what would happen instead of just being bloodthirsty. It’s a matter-of-fact cattle job working with people. Maybe when he was a kid he had a friend who was a person of color. And his father taught him a lesson and turned him into the man he is.
How important was it to shoot “Emancipation” in Louisiana?
I did a film called “The Survivor” about a man who escaped a Nazi prison camp. It’s a true story. We visited Auschwitz in preparation. Walking on those (Louisiana) plantations we shot on had a similar feeling. You feel that grief and you see the hanging trees are still there. And if you actually look at lynching in America as legal, it wasn’t that long ago.
Ben Foster plays Fassel, a ruthless and cold-blooded slave hunter, in the new Apple TV+ feature, “Emancipation,” starring Will Smith.Courtesy of Apple
Much has been made about how you didn’t talk to Smith on set. Is that part of your process as an actor?
It wasn’t on purpose. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t strategized. It was just, I walked on set and I saw a man going deep. I didn’t feel like I needed to talk to him. He didn’t go out of his way to talk to me. It just felt natural. So much of the job is discovery. You do your homework and you hope there’s an alchemy or something on your side that you can be in service of the thing. That just intuitively felt right. So Will and I didn’t talk for six months (laughs). Not a word. And, I think, ultimately both of us listening to our guts without being overly thoughtful of it just let it serve the story.
Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of your first appearance on “Six Feet Under” as art school student Russell. How did working on HBO’s great series inform your acting career going forward?
It was a huge shift for me on “Six Feet Under” and this is due to Alan Ball. I flipped out while making the show. It just says “sexually ambiguous love interest of Claire” (Lauren Ambrose). Six episodes in, I’m having a nervous breakdown. As a kid, I’m a young actor. I haven’t done serious work in a dramatic way. I was like, I don’t know how to do this. I was neurotic as a young actor. Thank God that’s been worked through, which is much to do with Alan. After months of asking, as I recall, Alan took a meeting with me. I said, “Alan, can you tell me where the character is going?” He just looked at me with kind eyes and said, “Do you know what’s going to happen in two minutes?” I’m thinking, you’re going to fire me. He said, “Me either.” So I’ve taken that with me of being OK not knowing.
Finally, what do you think Russell would be up to now?
Oh, Russell, I hope he’s found some joy and calm in his life. I hope he’s OK with being who he is.
