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Film Pr?"0 lil"a
From 'Amistad' to drag,
Chiwetel Ejiofor works it
By MICIIAEL GIIIZ
Irl ru | lsH actor Lnlu erer t.jro-
L2for - "Chewey' to his
llfriends, and to joumalists
JJ afrud of mispronouncing
his nme - is a quiet, commding
presence, whether he's playing a
,
.l
6drag, he becomes Lola, the
sta of"Khky Boots," open-
ing Friday. The based-on-
a-true-story British come-
dy is about a tiny fmily
shoe factory about to be
closed for good that pins
its hopes on designing a
line of durable-but-fabu-
,-: lous boots for drag qrreens,
. md Lola helps to inspire -
md market - said boots.
In "Dirty Pretfy Things,"
the international hit that
- tuned Ejiofor into a rising star,
the then-28-year-old actor echoed
his Nigerim-born father's medical
profession. But surely Lola - who
strides the stage with aplomb and
helts out numbers like "These
Boots Are Made for Walking"
without Iip-synching - has noth-
ing in iomon with Ejiofor's dad
But she actually does, since his
father, who died in a cil accident
when Ejiofor was Il, was also a
pop sru.
"That's right," says the actor,Niserian doctor in the tense thriller
"D-irty Pretty Things" (2002), the
calmly menacing villain iu last
yer's sci-fi adventue "Serenity" or
a classical pianist in Woody Allen's
"Melinda md Melinda" (2004).
But put him in knee-high red
leather boots, with a towering wig
and a microphone,..and Ejiofor
Decomes a commanolng presence
that is anything but quiet. Inwho went clubbing to places lile
Too Too Much in London's Soho to
get pointers on drag queens. "He
recorded albums in Nigeria iurd in
London. It was a group that includ-
ed my mother md his mother on
backing vocals."
So even though he'd never sungprofessionally before, Ejiofor came
by it naturally. The shoes and the
makeup? That was something
entirely different.
"Those 4 L/2-inch heels were the
great cha.llenge of the part," says
Ejiofor with a laugh. "They were
very difficult to get used to. I had
my eyebrows plucked, and my nails
were soldered on so I couldn't actu-
ally break them offat the end ofthe
day. So they were with me the
entire time."
When he walked the streets or
even ducked into his local pub for a
drink, Ejiofor felt self-conscious,
something he welcomed since Lola
faced that. as well. md had to ovcr-
come it
"I did look for all intents and pur-
poses, especia.lly if I was weaing a
polo neck, like I was an off-duty
drag queen," he says.
Plucked out of acting class for a
small role in Steven Spielberg's
"Amistad," Ejiofor has since worked
with top directors like Allen, Spike
Lee (iwice, including the current
hit "Inside Man") and Stephen
Freus. He's got two more films due
out this year, includilg a drama
with A.lfonso Cuar6n (director of
"Y Tu Mana Tmbi€n"), and a
strong desire to get back onstage-
After "Amistad," Ejiofor resisted
Hollywood's call md returned to
London because he felt he needed
more trainins md he hadn't worked
with major -theatrical companies
like the National That move led to
acclaimed roles as Romeo and his
breakthroueh turn rn
"slue/Orange," which led him to
'Dirty Pretty Things."
Now he feels the pull of the the-
ater agatn.
"I'vE been looking to get back
onstage for a while," says Ejiofor.
"There comes a time when you've
just been off-stage too long."
0H, MAN: out of drag, Chiwetel also
appeared recently in "lnside Man."
From 'Amistad' to drag,
Chiwetel Ejiofor works it
By MICIIAEL GIIIZ
Irl ru | lsH actor Lnlu erer t.jro-
L2for - "Chewey' to his
llfriends, and to joumalists
JJ afrud of mispronouncing
his nme - is a quiet, commding
presence, whether he's playing a
,
.l
6drag, he becomes Lola, the
sta of"Khky Boots," open-
ing Friday. The based-on-
a-true-story British come-
dy is about a tiny fmily
shoe factory about to be
closed for good that pins
its hopes on designing a
line of durable-but-fabu-
,-: lous boots for drag qrreens,
. md Lola helps to inspire -
md market - said boots.
In "Dirty Pretfy Things,"
the international hit that
- tuned Ejiofor into a rising star,
the then-28-year-old actor echoed
his Nigerim-born father's medical
profession. But surely Lola - who
strides the stage with aplomb and
helts out numbers like "These
Boots Are Made for Walking"
without Iip-synching - has noth-
ing in iomon with Ejiofor's dad
But she actually does, since his
father, who died in a cil accident
when Ejiofor was Il, was also a
pop sru.
"That's right," says the actor,Niserian doctor in the tense thriller
"D-irty Pretty Things" (2002), the
calmly menacing villain iu last
yer's sci-fi adventue "Serenity" or
a classical pianist in Woody Allen's
"Melinda md Melinda" (2004).
But put him in knee-high red
leather boots, with a towering wig
and a microphone,..and Ejiofor
Decomes a commanolng presence
that is anything but quiet. Inwho went clubbing to places lile
Too Too Much in London's Soho to
get pointers on drag queens. "He
recorded albums in Nigeria iurd in
London. It was a group that includ-
ed my mother md his mother on
backing vocals."
So even though he'd never sungprofessionally before, Ejiofor came
by it naturally. The shoes and the
makeup? That was something
entirely different.
"Those 4 L/2-inch heels were the
great cha.llenge of the part," says
Ejiofor with a laugh. "They were
very difficult to get used to. I had
my eyebrows plucked, and my nails
were soldered on so I couldn't actu-
ally break them offat the end ofthe
day. So they were with me the
entire time."
When he walked the streets or
even ducked into his local pub for a
drink, Ejiofor felt self-conscious,
something he welcomed since Lola
faced that. as well. md had to ovcr-
come it
"I did look for all intents and pur-
poses, especia.lly if I was weaing a
polo neck, like I was an off-duty
drag queen," he says.
Plucked out of acting class for a
small role in Steven Spielberg's
"Amistad," Ejiofor has since worked
with top directors like Allen, Spike
Lee (iwice, including the current
hit "Inside Man") and Stephen
Freus. He's got two more films due
out this year, includilg a drama
with A.lfonso Cuar6n (director of
"Y Tu Mana Tmbi€n"), and a
strong desire to get back onstage-
After "Amistad," Ejiofor resisted
Hollywood's call md returned to
London because he felt he needed
more trainins md he hadn't worked
with major -theatrical companies
like the National That move led to
acclaimed roles as Romeo and his
breakthroueh turn rn
"slue/Orange," which led him to
'Dirty Pretty Things."
Now he feels the pull of the the-
ater agatn.
"I'vE been looking to get back
onstage for a while," says Ejiofor.
"There comes a time when you've
just been off-stage too long."
0H, MAN: out of drag, Chiwetel also
appeared recently in "lnside Man."