We sat down with Kevin Daniels, star of the new film Not Another Church Movie, a hilarious parody of Tyler Perry films. Daniels takes on a multitude of roles in the movie, including “Taylor Pherry”, a character clearly inspired by Perry himself. We discussed the challenges of juggling multiple characters, the behind-the-scenes action on set, and Kevin Daniels’ exciting career path.
Not Another Church Movie takes hilarious aim at the eildest moments of pop-culture church life. It’s a full-on comedic assault on the most talked-about scenes and outrageous characters from recent church-themed films and TV shows. It tells the story of how God, played by Jaime Foxx, sends his favorite church-going son, Taylor Pherry (Kevin Daniels), on a mission to tell his family stories and how the devil (Mickey Rourke) will have nothing to do with it. Driven by strong faith, Taylor, goes to extraordinary lengths to serve God, all while staying miraculously sin-free.
Interview with Kevin Daniels
Boasting an impressive career that spans over two decades, Daniels has seamlessly transitioned between theater, television, and film. His authenticity, charisma, and talent have captivated audiences for years.
Currently, Kevin plays Franklin, a police detective, alongside Ramón Rodriguez and Erika Christiansen in ABC’s procedural Will Trent and recurs as Tiny on Paramount Plus’s revival of Frasier. You may have even spotted him on shows like Sirens, Modern Family, Atypical, Why Women Kill, among others.
After graduating from Juilliard, Daniels made his Broadway debut in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. And then in 2012, Daniels played the lead role of Magic Johnson in Broadway’s Magic/Bird. He is currently starring in Monsters Of The American Cinema at the Rogue Machine Theater in Los Angeles.
On taking on multiple roles in Not Another Church Movie
During our interview, Daniels discusses the challenges of playing multiple characters in a movie. The biggest challenge was acting opposite oneself and staying focused in the heat. Improvisation was also a big part of the filming process, with the actors riffing off each other within the outlines provided by the script.
Monica, Temple of Geek: Can you tell me a little bit about your approach or the challenges you faced playing all these different, distinct characters? Because in some of them, you’re essentially talking to yourself, right?
Kevin Daniels: I mean, that’s really the hardest thing. Like, how do you deal with being by yourself playing more than one character? But I had this incredible stand-in, who would run the lines with me, and he’d give me great jokes, and like, writers around us would pitch jokes. We just got to do it that way.
But, it was really fun. You don’t want to lose yourself, you know, like, “What am I doing? What am I saying?” I think the heat was the biggest challenge was it was so hot, man, it was like… was like 90 degrees in the summer. We’re like, “Okay, let’s go.”
Not Another Church Movie arrives in theaters on May 10th.
