I'm not afraid to have a character say, "I am a Christian," or, "I believe in God," because I think they represent real people on this earth. There's this huge separation of church and state. There are people who believe, but I think they're people who believe in the closet. The thing about it is, I don't know why it's never talked about in film. In the same Beliefnet interview where he discussed Madea, Perry talked about his personal faith: He's also authored two books: 2016's Don't Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings: Madea's Uninhibited Commentaries on Love and Life, and 2017's Higher Is Waiting. Perry has produced and/or directed many non-Madea movies, along with TV series, while continuing to act. But it's been able to draw so many people in to listen to what this character has to say and provoke thought for so many people-just being a mirror: Do I behave that way? Or, am I this way in a relationship? So then people can say, "Okay, do I need to learn to forgive this person?" Or, "Do I need to pray more about this?" It's an opportunity for me to say all of those things through laughter. Madea is a character who knows nothing about salvation, because this character is so funny, I didn't want to have it based in Christianity, because it would turn off a lot of people. In an i nterview with NPR, Perry claimed that " she is the exactly the PG version of my mother and my aunt, and I loved having an opportunity to pay homage to them."īut, Perry told Beliefnet that not having Madea be religious was intentional: Played by Perry, she's a tough, elderly, not particularly religious African-American woman, prone to outrageous capers, chronicled in several movies. Serious success came with the creation - for the the 2000 play, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, later a 2009 movie - of the character Mabel Simmons, a k a Medea. He also suffered abuse at the hands of others during his childhood.Īfter moving to Atlanta, Perry began writing plays, eventually segueing into movies. Stars, friends and collaborators Idris Elba ( Daddy's Little Girls), Crystal Fox ( The Haves and the Have Nots) and Kerry Washington ( For Colored Girls) were on hand to pay tribute to Perry (see pictures here).īorn in New Orleans, Perry was raised by an abusive father and a churchgoing mother (who concealed the truth about Perry's biological father). 5, he officially opens his massive new Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. 1, the actor, playwright, filmmaker and comedian was honored with a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, adjacent to the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Despite the odds, he succeeded and continues to build on that success. Tyler Perry is an entertainment force to be reckoned with. Tyler Perry’s story is a modern-day rag to riches tale with all the elements of a fascinating and inspirational story. Sundance International Film Festival (1).Christians working in Arts and Media (7).
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