Tyler Perry’s Duplicity just dropped on Prime Video. Kat Graham stars as Marley, a high-powered attorney who’s out to uncover the truth after her best friend’s husband is shot dead, which leads her down a treacherous maze of deception and betrayal. The cast is “supremely talented,” Graham exclaimed to EBONY at the film’s New York premiere inside the Museum of Modern Art.
But what EBONY really noticed while working the red carpet was that the menfolk in the film are fire. Of course, we stopped a few to learn more about their characters and motivations.
Harlem alum Tyler Lepley stars as Tony Wells, a cop-turned-private investigator, and Marley’s love interest, who gets involved in solving the case. “It ends up being much deeper than that, which becomes evident in the third act,” he shared.
Lepley has become the go-to guy for playing good boyfriends, and he’s humbled by the notion. “Anytime Hollywood calls you for anything, it’s a blessing. It’s always nice to have a job,” he stated. But that doesn’t mean he always wants to play it nice. “It’s fun to jump into other lanes to showcase my depth and range as an actor. I’m glad I got a chance to jump over here and do this thriller because there’s more than what meets the eye.”
Joshua Adeyeye plays Rodney Blackburn, the unlucky dead husband. “Rodney is a dominant Black male who has his own personal struggles. He’s trying to relate to his wife and his wife with him. It bleeds out of the course of the film.” Having worked with Perry before, “there was an ease on set,” he shared. “It was an easy environment to be in and work with the other actors.”
RonReaco Lee of Sister, Sister and Let’s Stay Together fame plays Kevin, a police officer assigned to the case. “We’re trying to figure out if he’s a good cop, a bad cop or in the middle. We don’t know,” he exclaimed, adding that he doesn’t have a preference over playing it nice or naughty. “I enjoy both. They both have an upside,” he declared. “I don’t judge my characters so good or bad. I jump in there and do my thing.”
TV news personality Shannon LaNier plays, well, a version of himself. “I play Shannon, a news anchor in this film, and I’m gonna try to help get to the bottom of what’s really happening.”
That’s what LaNier would do in real life as well. “I usually like to confront people in a nice way to get to the bottom of something,” he stated. “I say, go to the source and hash it out because sometimes it was a misunderstanding or a telephone game that it got mixed up along the way.”
Tyler Perry’s Duplicity is now streaming on Prime Video.
