Tyler Perry is commonly known for his antics as Madea but he seems to be making a smooth transition into an action star thanks to his new role in “Alex Cross.” Several eyebrows were raised after it was announced that Perry was taking on the role, something the veteran actor and director acknowledged. But, he doesn’t seem to be concerned about alienating his core audience.
“My audience is pretty smart. They’ll take Alex Cross for what he is,” Perry said about the role. “And I may lose the grandmothers who come from church, but I will do something for them later.”
His co-star Matthew Fox thinks also thinks Perry was able to deliver. “Like most everybody, I didn’t really know Tyler Perry from anything other than the stuff he’d done up until this point,” Fox said to E Online. “A really dark sort of revenge movie that was going to require a huge amount of drama and emotional intensity certainly isn’t something we had seen from him in the past. But let me tell you, everyone who has seen the film really feels Tyler has delivered on that.”
Perry had very big shoes to fill since Cross was originally portrayed by Morgan Freeman and he admitted that he was apprehensive when he signed up to do the movie. “I looked at it as the arc of the character. One thing I looked at is Morgan Freeman. He played God in the movie,” he said on the Today Show on Wednesday. “You don’t ever go behind God in a movie, but once I realized I have to do the best Tyler Perry playing Alex Cross, it worked out all right and I let go.”
He also worked hard to prepare for the movie and dropped 30 lbs. using Israeli martial arts in addition to weight training, cardio and cable workouts. He also changed his diet to one that included egg whites, ground turkey chili and grilled chicken breasts.
Although Perry took off his director’s hat for Alex Cross, he is still mentoring other young actors. At the premiere of “Alex Cross” on Monday, he gushed about Kim Kardashian’s acting skills. Kardashian is staring in Perry’s “The Marriage Counselor” next year and he thinks she could have a successful acting career. “I was very pleased with Kim’s performance,” he said. “I didn’t try to push her at all; she was never uncomfortable. Her portrayal of the character was definitely real.”
In addition to encouraging Kardashian, he has been looking after Bobbi Kristina Brown since her mother Whitney Houston died, according to her fiancé’s grandmother.
“Tyler is there for her,” Maxine Gordon told Celebuzz. “Tyler promised Whitney he’d watch out for her and take care of her. I think he is a fatherly mentor for her, and he loves her.”
Maxine also gave her blessing to Brown and her grandson Nick, who was informally adopted by Houston when he was 12. However, she thinks the young couple needs to wait a few years. “They are too young to get married,” she continued. “He’s 23 and is a man, but he’s still young and her too. Bobbi Kristina needs to go to school. I know Nick is trying to encourage her, but she has her own mind.”
