Hector Lewis talks playing Carly Barrett in ‘Bob Marley: One Love’

Prior to receiving an email from Paramount Pictures that the producers of the Bob Marley: One Love biopic were inviting him to audition for a role, musician and singer, Hector Lewis didn’t know anything about the documentary which is based on the life of reggae superstar.

However, the graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, and a member of Nexxus Performing Arts Company, grasped the opportunity with all 10 fingers and immediately sent off the video which was requested. A follow-up email informed Lewis that he had been short-listed; the final email told him that he had been selected for the role of Marley’s drummer, the late Carlton ‘Carly’ Barrett.

“I was surprised, nervous ... not knowing what to expect. My wife was the one who read the email to me, and that made it real,” Lewis told The Sunday Gleaner.

The months that followed were surreal in part as the singer who recently started carving out his solo journey - having formerly been a part of Chronixx’s band - embraced the role and the suggestion to “make yourself adaptable”. Wisely, he met with Aston Barrett, the nephew of the man whose persona and spirit would become a part of him for the next nine months as he shot scenes in London and Jamaica.

“I learned so much about Carly Barrett ... he tried a lot of new things with drumming ... with the snare. He was quiet, but I think he reserved himself for the music. The dynamics between Bob [Marley] and Carly on stage was special. And Carly has his own story ... it was very tragic how he died,” Lewis said of the musician who, like Marley, died at 36 years old.

Carlton Barrett and his brother Aston, better known as Familyman, played on Marley’s albums for Island Records, among them Natty Dread, Rastaman Vibration, Exodus and Kaya. On April 17, 1987, Barrett was shot and killed outside his home in Kingston. Barrett’s Wikipedia bio notes that his widow, Albertine Barrett, was jailed in 1991, after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. Sentenced with her were Glenroy Carter and Junior ‘Bang’ Neil.

For Lewis, being a part of the movie, which he predicts will be a blcokbuster following its February 14 opening in theatres, was “an honour”, and it is a story which he is looking forward to sharing with his children and grandchildren.

“It was a whole driven experience,” Lewis recalled. “The education part of it was something else. We got two weeks of good acting classes ... and, between Ziggy [Marley] and the producers, they shared with us some rare footage of Bob Marley. I am seeing the world through Bob’s bravery and the messages that he made his own, even when he was re-recording a song. Things won’t be the same again.”

Naturally, he could recall several highlights, but perhaps one which stands out more than the others is a particular scene in which Carly asks Bob “Where yuh waan start?”

“Kingsley [Ben-Adir] asked us ‘What would Bob say?’ and we were there discussing it. Then [Jamaican actor] Sheldon Shepherd dropped the gem for us. He was passing by and overheard and he whispered to me, ‘Tell Kingsley to say ‘from the beginning’. That was it,” Lewis shared.

Not only did Ben-Adir repeat those three words, that scene was so powerful that it was selected as the opening moments of the first trailer for the biopic. Lewis had do a reality check and to pinch himself when the trailer dropped.

Lewis speaks highly of the Jamaican cast, which includes Shepherd, Aston Barrett Jr, Sevana, J-Summa and Naomi Cowan. And he gives kudos to Lashana Lynch, who stars as Rita Marley, and Kingsley Ben-Adir, the British actor whose announcement as Bob Marley was met with some consternation from those who believed that a Marley scion should have played Bob, or at least a Jamaican with a Jamaican accent, rather than a foreigner.

“There is this thing with art where approaching it with honesty is important. Kingsley was very honest. Bob was more than just an accent. He was the man who had all these things happening at the same time. Kingsley became a student of learning Bob. He opened his mouth and he became the man ... the true embodiment of Bob Marley,” Lewis said honestly.

He added, “He led us on set. Kingsley and Lashana protected us on the set ... always looking out for our best interests. We rewrote lines together. We had Fae Ellington on set and there was nothing that Kingsley did that she didn’t like ... there was nothing that he did that Ziggy or Neville Garrick ... may his soul rest in peace ... didn’t like. We saw the revolution in Kingsley Ben-Adir. This man is going to show the world who Bob Marley is.”

In fact, reports are that Ben-Adir was so invested in his role that he had a Bob station on set of the Barbie movie. Talking to empireonline.com about it, Ben-Adir is quoted as saying: “I had a little desk in there which I’d sit [at] between takes, practising the patois. I was with Ryan [Gosling] the other day, and he said, ‘You were on a mad one, bruv! One minute you were Basketball Ken, the next you were Mr Redemption Song!’”

Empire also stated that director Reinaldo Marcus Green, in a nod to Ben-Adir capturing the spirit of Bob Marley, noted that “he went on a relentless pursuit of who Bob was. He went off the deep in search of him”.

In that same interview, Ben-Adir states, “There’s not a road in that country [Jamaica] that doesn’t have a picture of the man on some kind of mural. Bob is everywhere. I think everybody knew we were on sacred ground with Bob. I’ve never been reminded more by people not to [expletive] something up more than on this movie. ‘Hey, you’re doing Bob Marley? Do not [expletive] it up!’”

Lewis is excited about the Jamaican premiere this week.

“It would be great if Jamaicans can take away that Bob spoke for us; he was a universal sound. I am looking forward to millenials coming to check out this film which will help the world to understand the greatness of this country and the people who come from it,” Lewis stated.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com