Vernon Davis, in his official breakout role, stars as the bad guy, Randoku, in the action-thriller, The Ritual Killer.
In the film, Vernon plays a serial killer named Randoku, who kills based on a brutal South African tribal ritual known as Muti and is being hunted by Detective Boyd (Hauser). Boyd recruits the help of Professor Mackles (Freeman), an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into Randoku’s world.
The Ritual Killer also stars Cole Hauser, Morgan Freeman, Murielle Hilaire, Mayumi Roller, Brian Kurlander, and Julie Lott.
Check out our interview with Vernon!
So, what can you kind of tell me about the story?
Vernon: I can tell you that this story is— when the viewer leave from watching the story they will leave being educated and having a general understanding of what’s going on in the world. Because sometimes, there’s a lot of things that could be shoved under the rug. And this is one of those kinds of stories where when you watch and you hear and then you see what’s going on, you’re like, ‘wow, I can’t believe this actually happened at some point in time.’ And I think it’s a beautiful story. I think it’s a beautiful movie. It’s very entertaining. You know, movies aren’t meant to be real. It’s all, when it comes to an actor, it’s all just imagination. But the viewer can look at it and feel that it’s real because the human mind is a powerful, powerful tool. And sometimes we have to catch ourselves, ‘hey, it’s just a movie.’ But then there’s movies like this that has true meaning to it. And that’s what this is, The Ritual Killer.
Were you aware that it was based on a true story before joining the project?
Vernon: No, I wasn’t. I didn’t know anything about it. But I had to do my research and really dig into it just to so I can really have an understanding of what was going on. And I did and I found out all kinds of information, and I found just the whole logline to be totally true.
Was there anything about knowing that this was based on a true story that really surprised you?
Vernon: Yeah, the thing that surprised me is that human parts, body parts were being mixed with herbs and gold to come up with this powerful concoction. That was very disturbing and surprising to me. I never really imagined myself taking on such a role. But, there were so many different correlations when it comes to the actual craft, and my real life, so it all made sense. I thought I could really come in and bring this character to life and create something really entertaining.
That’s awesome to hear. And you play the ritual killer. What was it like tackling this darker material to play the bad guy?
Vernon: It was tough. It wasn’t easy. It was definitely tough. And I say that because the work that I had to put in, all of the research, the emotions and attaching myself to something really disturbing, it took a took a lot of just— I had to use a lot of me with this character and that’s not always easy when taking on such a role.
Can you explain that a little bit further. What do you mean by that?
Vernon: Yeah. So when you go back to your past and you attach some the deepest, darkest moments of your life to a role like this, you give a lot of yourself up. You give a lot of yourself up and you go back into the memories of a lot of things that you don’t really want to remember, because it was so dark. And now you have to bring it to life all over again. And when you do that, it can cause a great deal of stress, a great deal of anxiety. Since I got done with this movie, I had to go find a therapist, so that I can get rid of these demons and and come back to my real self.
Would you ever tackle a role this taxing again in the future?
Vernon: I would. I would definitely take on a role like this because even though there’s a lot of trauma and there’s a lot of past experiences that you have to bring up and it’s not always the best feeling initially, after you’re done, you come to an understanding that this was a wonderful journey because without this role, I wouldn’t have been able to go back into these situations and heal myself. There’s a healing in and even though it’s this thing that brings on anxiety, there’s also healing in it as well.
That’s a beautiful way to look at it. What is something that you are just incredibly excited for audiences to see when they watch this movie?
Vernon: I’m excited for them to see the performances. I thought everyone did a great job. Cole, Morgan, myself. I thought we worked really well together. Really, really well. And we were able to just stay in it and bring these characters to life. Because at the end of the day, it’s just names on a piece of paper. Just names, just words, but without the emotions and experiences from your real life, you can’t really bring these characters to life. So I thought we did a great job of that.
I love that I can’t wait to see. And I’m glad you mentioned Cole and Morgan Freeman, because you get to work with really spectacular actors. What was it like working with them?
Vernon: It was beautiful working with Morgan and Cole Hauser. We’re talking about guys who’ve done it on a on a big level. Cole Hauser really has been around for a while and he’s doing some wonderful things. But Morgan is a true legend. He has over 500 titles and he’s worked with some of the best actors in Hollywood. So, to be able to share the screen with him, it’s a bit surreal for me, but it’s also rewarding and it tells me that I’m on the right path, the right journey. Because it’s not every day you wake up and you have an opportunity to work alongside Morgan Freeman. I’m very grateful for the opportunity and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
And in working with such veteran actors, was there anything that you learned or that you plan to take away from them and working with them into your future roles?
Vernon: Yes, I learned how to be more patient. I learned how to take my time. If you ever watch Morgan Freeman, you’ll see that he’s always taking his time even when he’s delivering his lines and everything. He’s a true craftsman of the craft. You just have to pay attention to that. After I finished that movie, Iwent back and I started watching a lot of Morgan’s movies from the past and I wanted to study him and just see what he was doing. Having seen it in real life, I wanted to go back and actually see his work so that I can have confirmation that hey, this is what it is like. That was a lot of learning for me, just seeing it in person. I thought it was cool.
That’s awesome. Are you working on anything else at the moment?
Vernon: Yes, there’s there’s quite a few projects in place that I’m waiting to get back on. Yeah, I’m excited about it. I’m just waiting. I’m just waiting for the paperwork and the green light.
