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“font-family: Verdana;”>“I must say that when I heard that I would be speaking with someone from St. Louis, I was all jazzed up about it,” said legendary actor and St. Louis native Robert Guillaume.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I have special memories there. I had great education there, and almost all of the foundation for my career and success I owe to St. Louis.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>While he was excited to talk about the re-release of the 3D version of The Lion King, he couldn’t help but reflect on the good old days that paved the way for a groundbreaking stage, film and television career.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I used to sing when I was in school and we went all over St. Louis and I sang this song, ‘Just a Kid Named Joe,” Guillaume said. “I was about 20 and I thought about my singing and said, ‘Maybe I’ll get back on stage.’ The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I didn’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer or anything like that.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Nearly 65 years after he made that decision, Guillaume’s resume and character credentials have served as an inspiration to generations.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>He stands alone as the sole African-American winner of a Best Leading Actor Emmy in 1985 for the title role in Benson. He remains the only black actor to perform the lead role of The Phantom of the Opera, replacing Michael Crawford on the national tour of the Broadway classic.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>But as The Lion King returns to screens after 20 years to impact and inspire a new generation, the conversation centered on Guillaume’s most commercially successful role – one that few recognized was even him.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“When I got there I sat in the control booth with Don Hanna. We searched and searched and searched for a voice for this character called Rafiki, and finally one day I thought of a character that might work,” Guillaume said.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“It was something that I had been doing kidding around from time to time at parties with this vocal sound. In my mind, I thought of it as a fake Jamaican accent. I always enjoyed this character. And I started doing it – and lo and behold, it worked.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Creating this voice and lending it to the project was a liberating experience for him.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“The funny thing was that I had never before or since felt so free with a character,” Guillaume said. “It’s something that was just so freeing to me as an actor. I couldn’t do any wrong. Once we found the voice, I threw caution to the wind and it worked. No matter how crazy it got, it always seemed to make sense. The more I tackled it with abandon, the more it worked.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The Disney classic (which also stars James Earl Jones and the late Madge Sinclair) follows the theme of walking in one’s destiny towards greatness and fearlessly building on the foundation of elders and ancestors. It is Guillaume’s Rafiki that reminds lead character Simba that the commitment to leading his family and pride members is not an option. It is Rafiki that reminds the heir to the King of the Jungle that he doesn’t have the right to abandon his responsibilities.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“It’s a special joy, because as an actor you always hope you’re going to do something that resonates. I’ve been lucky in my career to have done things that take on a life of its own.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The film introduced Disney to a new audience base, and Guillaume hopes that the phenomenon will repeat itself when the 3D version of the film hits theatres this weekend.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I love it that character will live on long after I’m pushing up daisies,” Guillaume said. “I’m all jazzed up about the Lion King’s return too. I hope that there is something about the character and my work that viewers can connect with – and it means something positive.”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Lion King 3D opens in theatres nationwide on Friday, Sept. 23 “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>.
