‘Bob Marley: One Love’ stars talk biopic of reggae royalty

IT IS FITTING. YOU HEAR THE MUSIC ON THIS DAY OF LOVE. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE LEGENDARY BOB MARLEY WHOSE STORY IS COMING TO THE BIG SCREEN. >> BOB’S SON ZIGGY MARLEY IS ONE OF THE PRODUCERS AND STARS AS THE JAMAICAN ICON. >> THERE YOU GO. AND THE FIRST FEMALE 007 AND THE FIERCE WARRIOR IN “THE WOMAN KING” PLAYS BOB’S WIDOW. ♪♪ SONGS OF FREEDOM. >> WHEN DID YOU WRITE THAT? >> YEAH. >> YES! >> GOOD MORNING. >> WOW. >> GOOD MORNING! >> HAPPY TO SEE EVERYONE. >> HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY. AND COMING FROM YOU. >> I

KNOW. I KNOW. >> THIS IS FASCINATING IN TERMS OF THE APPROACH TO MAKING THIS FILM. YOU FOCUS ON TWO YEARS PRIMARILY, 1976 AND 1978, AS I UNDERSTAND IT. A LOT OF FOCUS ON THAT PARTICULAR TIME PERIOD. >> IN THAT PERIOD OF TIME, IT WAS A VERY LIFE-CHANGING PERIOD FOR MY FATHER. HE WENT THROUGH A LOT, EMOTIONALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY. HE GOT SHOT, HAD TO LEAVE, DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, HAD TO MAKE A DECISION. AND HE CAME TO A CONCLUSION AT THE END OF THAT TIME PERIOD THAT HIS LIFE WASN’T FOR HIM. HIS LIFE IS FOR PEOPLE. THAT’S

WHO BOB MARLEY IS. IN THAT TIME PERIOD, HE LET US KNOW WHO BOB MARLEY IS. >> WHAT DO YOU THINK HIS FATHER WOULD HAVE SAID ABOUT THE FINISHED

PRODUCT? >> THE GOOD THING IS THERE IS A MESSAGE THAT GOES WITH IT. IT’S HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE MESSAGE THAT IT CARRIES. >> KINGLY, I GOT TO IMAGINE THAT THERE WAS — LET ME ASK. WAS THERE SOME TREPIDATION ABOUT STEPPING INTO SUCH AN ICONIC ROLE, THAT A PERSON WHO IS FUSED INTO OUR MEMORIES. I MEAN, YOU HAD ZIGGY ONSET TO HELP YOU ALONG WITH IT. BUT DID

YOU HAVE SOME RESERVATIONS ABOUT IT? >> MAN, I WAS NERVOUS. BUT SOMETIMES I SAY NO AND SOMETIMES I’M LIKE YEAH. YEAH, IT WAS. LIKE IT’S UPS AND DOWNS, YOU KNOW. I WAS INTERNALLY FREAKING OUT. BUT IT WAS MORE LIKE, YEAH. YES AND NO. LIKE OF COURSE THERE IS PRESSURE. THERE IS ALWAYS PRESSURE. BUT EVERYONE WAS AROUND AND EVERYONE APPROVED. I JUST WANTED EVERYONE TO KNOW WHERE I WAS STARTING FROM, WHICH WAS SCRATCH. MUSICALLY SINGING I DON’T DO. WHEN I STARTED STUDYING BOB, I REALLY — I DIDN’T REALIZE. I DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BOB AT ALL.

>> REALLY? >> NO, BECAUSE I THINK WE ALL HAVE AN IDEA OF WHO BOB IS. WE ALL ATTACH TO THE PART OF BOB WE WANT HIM TO BE, WHETHER IT’S THE REBEL, WHETHER IT’S THE LOVE POET. EVERYONE HAS AN IDEA. WHEN WE START ASKING PEOPLE, I DON’T REALLY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BOB. I DEFINITELY REMEMBER THE FIRST FEW DAYS BEFORE MY AUDITION BY WATCHING BOB AND LISTENING TO HIM GOING, I DON’T KNOW ANY OF THIS. JUST SOUND BITES, LITTLE BITS, THE FAMOUS SONGS. WHEN I STARTED REALLY STUDYING HIM, I WAS LIKE, THERE IS A LOT MORE,

YOU KNOW? THE MUSIC. I MUST HAVE KNOWN 10%, 20% OF IT. I STUDIED ALL OF THE LYRICS, TRANSLATING ALL THE LYRICS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT BOB IS SAYING IN THOSE SONGS. AND THEN SUDDENLY IT IS REVEALED THE GENIUS THIS TAKES ON ANOTHER LEVEL. SO, YEAH, WAS I SCARED IN DEFINITELY. >> YOU CAN LOOK AT THEM IN THE MOMENT. WHAT DOES BOB MARLEY MEAN TO YOU? IT IS LIKE HE SAID, THEY ALL HAVE SOMETHING THAT MAKES THEM FEEL SPECIAL. >> YEAH. LISTEN, MY PARENTS ARE FROM JAMAICA. I’M VERY PROUD OF THAT. I ALWAYS BRING MY CULTURE INTO

MY ARTISTRY. I’M SO GLAD FOR THE MOMENTS WHEN I THOUGHT I NEED BOB OR I THOUGHT I NEEDED THE MARLEY FAMILY AND I GOT A CHANCE TO REALLY GO IN DEPTH INTO THE EMOTION, THE CARE, THE TIMES THAT THEY PUT INTO THEIR CRAFT, THE TIME THAT MRS. MARLEY PUT INTO HERSELF TO BE THE BALANCED HUMAN BEING SHE IS. >> YOU WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOUR DAD IS STILL A PART OF THAT FILM. YOU DID THAT THROUGH HIS VOCALS. HOW DID YOU INCORPORATE HIM? >> HIS VOICE IS THERE FOR REPRESENTING. THIS IS A BOB MARLEY FILM.

WE NEED BOB MARLEY IN THE FILM. WE REPRESENT HIM AND HIS MESSAGE. SO WE KEEP THAT AS A FOUNDATION THAT HELPS US TO BUILD EVERYTHING AROUND THAT. >> YEAH. AND KINGSLY, YOU WERE FILMING THE BARBIE MOVIE AT THE TIME YOU WERE PREPARING THIS. IS IT TRUE YOU HAD A SPOT IN THE DOJO BEHIND THE SET? THAT’S AMAZING. THAT’S AWESOME. >> I HAD TOO MUCH WORK TO DO. >> WOW! THAT’S SO GOOD. >> ALSO PRODUCER ON THE FILM AS WELL. YOU WERE ABLE TO, ESSENTIALLY, SIT AT THE FEET OF THE CHARACTER YOU WERE PLAYING. WHAT WAS

THAT LIKE? >> YEAH, I LITERALLY DID SIT AT HER FEET. I LITERALLY CAME IN WITH A PLAN. I WILL GO IN. I HAVE MY FULL NOTEBOOK OF QUESTIONS. YOU WILL GET THE ANSWERS, GOING TO BRING IT BACK TO SET. I WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO. AS SOON AS I WALKED IN, MY BODY JUST NATURALLY DID THAT KIND OF — THE STUDENT THING. I SAT AT HER FEET, CROSSED MY LEGS AND JUST LOOKED UP AT HER AND ABSORBED WHAT SHE WAS GIVING ME IN ORDER TO PORTRAY HER IN THE MOST AUTHENTIC WAY. I DID FEEL

LIKE A STUDENT. KIND OF LIKE A NEW CHILD THAT HAD BEEN INTRODUCED. >> PICKED IT UP BY