EXCLUSIVE: Wood Harris, Selenis Leyva, & Mila Davis-Kent Talk Their New Movie, Creed III
Wood Harris, Selenis Leyva, and Mila Davis-Kent star in the new movie, Creed III. We got the chance to hear from the two stars regarding their characters, Tony ‘Little Duke’ Burton, Laura Chavez, and Amara Creed.
Selenis, your character, Laura Chavez, is a boss. How closely does she resemble your own life?
“I’m a mama. I’m a mama bear, and I protect the people I love. When here’s conviction, when there’s passion, you go for it. And that’s what I loved about this character. She was written so well. And, the director here let me just kind of just do my thing. I love that this movie, although when people think about a boxing film, they automatically think male and the power of the man. But here, it’s like the power of the women also exists in this film. From Mila’s character to Tess to Laura. I love that. I love that it’s well-rounded and powerful Black and brown people doing their thing.”
Mila, you threw some great punches in the movie and showed impressive boxing skills. Were you exposed to boxing before joining the film?
“No. Prior to the film, I didn’t have any experience with boxing. I wasn’t really interested in it, to be honest. But Ann, the Mitt Queen, taught me a lot of technique. So my character, when I got the role, I realized that being a boxer was part of that character. That made me more interested in it, because she was interested in being a boxer because her dad was.”
Do you have any interest in the sport now?
“After I started doing it, I realized boxing is a lot of fun. I don’t think I’m gonna try to be a boxer in real life, ’cause I’m kinda scared of being hit, to be honest. But, when I was doing it, I had a lot of fun. I thought it was a great experience.”
Wood, why do you think Little Duke doesn’t see a chance for redemption? Why didn’t he see the redemption for Dame?
“Wisdom. Just being close with the person, to having a opinion on the person, I believe, that will give you some insight on the future, what you believe may happen. Then when that happens, you get to be like, ‘I told you so,’ or not, but yeah.”
Creed III will hit theaters this coming Friday, March 3.
Photo credit: MGM
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.