We spoke to famed rapper and actor Tyrese Gibson amid the release of 1992, his gripping new crime thriller set against a tense Los Angeles backdrop during the titular early-’90s era. The city rightfully erupted in protest once the officers involved in the merciless beating of Rodney King were acquitted, and Gibson’s new film sees him in the gripping lead role as a dad in distress trying to protect his son against racism and a coincidental heist happening at his character’s workplace.
Gibson is a Watts native and spoke to MovieWeb about bringing real-life experience to 1992, which also stars Scott Eastwood and the late, great Ray Liotta. He said, “It wasn’t really a role for me. It was life. I was in South Central, Watts in ’92, I was out there protesting, looting, rioting. So was Snoop Dogg, and that’s also the same year that him and Dr. Dre released The Chronic album… So it was triggering.” Gibson continued:
“And it felt like, you know, it was a God-wink moment, like,
you’re 14 years old in the riots in ’92, and 30 years later, you’re going to do a movie called
1992
. It really… makes you a bit of a nutcase that this all timed out this way. And I guess for me, I’m really proud of the diversity in the cast.”
‘Neeson Can’t Have All the Fun’
It’s easy to favor Tyrese’s conflicted character Mercer in 1992, a struggling father who will do whatever it takes to shield his rebellious son Antoine (Christopher Ammanuel) from the violent mayhem that surrounds them. There are some difficult moments Mercer faces, including a face-off with a racist white officer, but he plays it cool in order to set an example for his son and prevent things from getting worse than they already are. “We need to see more images of that, you know, us as Black men. We need to see images, more images of us trying to protect our sons and daughters and being on this mission to do whatever it takes to get it, you know? [Taken star] Liam Neeson can’t have all the fun, you know?”
Tyrese continued, reflecting on the personal drive he brought to his emotionally charged new movie.
“Everything about doing 1992, I started with a heavy heart. I had just buried my mom, and we’re now on a movie set. So, there wasn’t too many jokes being cracked on that set, and nor did there need to be.”
On a lighter note, 1992 also provides a Fast & Furious-type reunion between Tyrese and co-star Scott Eastwood. “We had just done another film where Scott was number one on the call sheet. I was there, and then it flipped. Now I’m number one. He’s there, and he was sitting on my couch when I got the call from [director] Ariel Vromen, trying to figure out who should play the role of Ray Liotta’s son. And I was like, ‘Well, I got Scott Eastwood sitting on my damn couch here in Atlanta. So what do you think?’ And then it happened. It was the craziest day ever.”
From Lionsgate, 1992 is now playing in theaters.