Actor Russell Thomas chatted about playing Vice President Eli on “The Oval” on BET.
On being a part of Tyler Perry’s “The Oval,” Thomas said, “It is so fun. I such get a kick watching it.”
He is drawn to his character, Eli, because he is “strategic and patient.” “Eli will take a lot of crap from President Hunter and he will wait to find his moment to strike. Eli wants to be in strategic control above everything, and then he will see when the time is right for him to make his move,” Thomas explained.
Thomas is thrilled to be on the No. 1 show on cable. “It’s a good feeling. You are always happy that your work is appreciated by the audience and the fans so when you get information like that, it’s good,” he said.
He had great words about every in “The Oval” cast and crew. “I love working with that cast and crew,” he said. “The crew is super professional and talented, and it is great to see their creativity behind the camera. Everybody that I work with on stage is amazing.”
“Coming in, on Season 3, I was a bit nervous because I felt like the new guy on campus, but everybody was so welcoming, warm, and inviting,” he added.
On being an actor in the digital age, Thomas said, “It doesn’t feel any different being at work. The biggest difference is the social aspect of it for me. The film sets are the same today, as they were 20 years ago. It’s more about the social media aspect.”
“Over the last 10 years, I have been doing work in film crews as a camera operator. I had a lot of experience operating cameras and doing the lighting. It was actually a very comfortable transition for me,” he added.
Regarding the title of the current chapter of his life, Thomas responded, “Hustle and Motivate.”
If he were to have any superpower for himself, it would be the “Wolverine” superpower. “I would be able to super-heal. I work out a lot so I have to deal with a lot of injuries,” he said.
On his definition of the word success, Thomas remarked, “In the context of film and television, success means that we are connecting with an audience. I feel successful when I am contributing to the tradition of storytelling. To me, that’s really the essence of what we are doing, and it taps into the primal human activity of sharing stories.”
For “The Oval” fans, he expressed, “I want to convey a deep sense of gratitude to ‘The Oval’ fans. It’s a crazy world that we create but to see the feedback and the emotional response that we get makes me and everyone else on that show feel great.”
To learn more about Russell Thomas, follow him on Instagram.
