It's not every day that a call comes in from London with a person named Chiwetel Ejiofor ( it's pronounced 'Chew-It-All Edge-O-Four' ) saying 'Hello' on the other end of the line. But there's nothing odd about the breakthrough performance that the British stage-trained Ejiofor gives in the bubbly British comedy Kinky Boots ( opening this Friday at the Landmark Century Cinema ) . Though most of his friends call him 'Chewy,' he'll soon have a new one from his fans: Lola. That's the name of the outrageous yet deeply dignified drag queen Ejiofor plays in the film. In the cheery comedy, a young shoe factory owner enlists the help of Lola to design a line of sexy stilettos to keep from going into bankruptcy.
Windy City Times: I know you've worked with Spielberg and Woody Allen and just did a film with Spike Lee. Can you just talk a little bit more about your background?
Chiwetel Ejiofor: Well I was born and raised in London and I started working in the theater and, eventually, the National Theatre for a number of years.
WCT: Have you ever done anything like Lola before? I'm guessing probably not.
CE: No, this was the first time. This was a real first for me and it was great.
WCT: How did the film role come about?
CE: I was in New York and I was sent the script, actually, and I just loved the part and I thought it was a terrific project and I loved the message of the film. I loved the characters in the film and I also thought the people involved were great so I was thrilled to get involved.
WCT: Wasn't there something about you going out and getting yourself a little Naomi Campbell wig?
CE: I went in to read a couple of the scenes with the director to audition and I was aware that at some point he was going to have to see a transformation, basically, and so I figured that I could either do one audition without it and do it later or kill two birds with one stone and head on in there, get a wig and wear it. So I went with a friend, got a wig, a little kind of androgynous shirt/blouse thing and went down. I only found out afterwards that nobody else had done that.
WCT: I know that the film was inspired by real events. Was there a real Lola? Did you meet her?
CE: The Lola character is actually an amalgamation of different people that Steve Pateman, who owned the original factory, came into contact with. So when the script was being written those characters became Lola.
WCT: Did you meet them?
CE: No, but I met other people who were drag queens and spent a lot of time in the clubs. There are quite a few in London and SoHo and I was basically in all of them. [ Laughs. ] Sometimes I went with Julian ( Jarrold, the director of the film ) and we had a great time and sometimes I went on my own to meet people in the clubs. I worked with them and saw the shows and hung out. It was great fun.
WCT: In addition to the drag get-ups, you also had to sing and dance in the film.
CE: Yeah and all those rehearsals were going on for all that stuff during the day and I always liked that about the script because it felt that the preparation for the role was similar to preparing for a theater production. There was going to be a lot of rehearsal involved, which I'm always interested in and find very enjoyable.
WCT: We don't see much of Lola's background and we probably don't really need to. It's obvious that she's cut a very difficult path for herself, which really any person who lives the drag queen life does. Have you experienced any of those similar choices in your life?
CE: Not really. I've always been very supported in my choices so I've never really felt that, fortunately.
WCT: Do you have a new insight and appreciation for that having played a character who's gone through such a difficult journey?
CE: Yeah, I mean it's never outside the realm of my imagination or the ability to envision what those sorts of things must be like and emotionally what they could do to a person, but it's one of those things that I channel from the outside. I approach it with empathy but you can't know exactly what it feels like.
WCT: Isn't every role for an actor essentially a drag part anyway?
CE: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I really enjoyed every minute of playing the part and I loved the fact that on one level it had that sassy cabaret element to it and on another level there was an opportunity to be pretty subtle and kind of nuanced about the emotions of it. I think the script was very textured and layered in that way. What's on the surface that seems very one note-ish is actually very deftly layered and put together.
WCT: We don't really see Lola involved with anyone though it's obvious that the character's meant to be gay. Do you think Lola always gets what Lola wants?
CE: I hope so. You hope that she gets over these feelings that she has for Charlie and finds somebody else.
WCT: Is there a chance you'd return to the Lola character if it's a big hit?
CE: I don't know, I haven't really thought about that.
WCT: Kinky Sneakers maybe?
CE: I'd have to find a way to make the heels more comfortable—that's for sure. Lola would have to invent something else.
WCT: There's this Internet game in which you can figure out your own drag queen name. You combine your first pet's name with the name of the street that you grew up on. Which makes my drag queen name 'Sparky Skyline.' So what would your drag queen name be? It can't get much better than Chiwetel Ejiofor.
CE: Mine would be Suzy Boleyn.
WCT: [ Laughs. ] Suzy Berlin?
CE: [ Laughs. ] No—Boleyn—as in Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII.
WCT: If you don't do what Suzy says, you're gonna lose your head!
CE: [ Laughs. ] That's right!
