Meet the men behind Punks, the first black, gay romantic comedy
Sisterhood
Words Lawrence Ferber
Snaps Richard Mitchell
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A former MTV Films executive and model, Polk was working for Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and Tracey Edmonds' entertainment company when he decided to write a script that featured gay black men in ways they were rarely depicted in film: dignified, sophisticated, well-to-do and romantic. When he presented the idea to his employers for an opinion, and perhaps financing for a short film version, they decided to executive produce the full feature.
However, distributors weren't so eager to pick up Punks. But now almost two years after it debuted at Sundance (alongside the white-as-Wonder-Bread Broken Hearts Club, which was immediately picked up by Sony Classics), new company Urbanworld is bringing this delightful groundbreaker to screens.
Seth Gilliam (The Cosby Show) stars as Marcus, a successful photographer who seems to have everything he wants... except romance. Dwight Ewell (Chasing Amy) plays Hill, an HIV+ cynic who breaks up with a cheating lover and becomes the town slut. Los Angeles transgender actor Jazzmun plays fierce, maternal—and egotistical—drag queen Chris. Rockmond Dunbar (Showtime's Soul Food) is Darby, Marcus' sexy and charming neighbor who may not be as straight as he first seems. And Renoly Santiago (Con Air and Broadway's The Capeman) plays Dante, the irresponsible rich kid whom Punks' elders take under their collective wing. We recently sat down with Gilliam, Dunbar and Santiago to take some photos for our cover story and to talk about their labor of love.
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Gilliam: I thought it was sweet, and I had never read anything like Punks before. I've done some mainstream roles before this, but for the most part they were victims. The noble first black somebody somewhere who got beaten down and stands tall, shit like that. [Laughs.} To date, this is the most three-dimensional character I've played.
How much did you identify with your characters?
Gilliam: I related to Marcus' shyness, his inability to ask for what he wants. His hopefulness. Also, the hopelessness of, "I'm just far too romantic for the world I'm in."
Dunbar: I related to Darby in the way he's open and free. He allows the process |of falling in love with a man] to go through him without judging or creating some kind of roadblock or sabotaging himself. Santiago: Dante was really easy to play in the sense I've always been a New Yorker in the club scene. I've been going to clubs since I was like 15. Dante was somebody I saw as a young kid who likes to have fun and wants to do everything and not think about the responsibility around it,
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