The Real Report - London Brown on Uncle Marvin’s Death, Raising Kanan Backlash, working on Ballers with The Rock & touring with Chris Tucker

Joe and Jada

London Brown discusses his role as Uncle Marvin in 'Canaan,' reflecting on the character's legacy, the emotional impact of his death, and th

Key takeaways

• Uncle Marvin's actions were driven by loyalty to family rather than pure malice, making him relatable to audiences.

Main topics

• Uncle Marvin's character motivations and legacy

Notable quotes

"He wasn't a goon. He was just standing on what he's standing on."

Conclusion

London Brown reflects on his journey as an actor, emphasizing authenti

Transcript preview

Speaker 8 (0:00) This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are The Survivor Files. Every week, I'm with survivors who lived through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to The Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Speaker 5 (0:36) Hoda Kotb, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb. You know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. Speaker 7 (0:52) You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. Listen Speaker 5 (0:59) to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 2 (1:07) Our hometown is not a test tube. Speaker 6 (1:09) 90 miles northeast of Nashville, a battle for the future of America plays out in one small town. Speaker 2 (1:15) Developers with right-wing ties have purchased hundreds of acres of land. We need cities on a shining hill. This is Our Town, Speaker 6 (1:22) a podcast about what happens when a small town becomes the site of a social experiment and fights back. Guess you didn't move in on a bunch of dumb hillbillies now, did you? Listen to Our Town on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 8 (2:05) Listen to the latest episode of Hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 4 (2:12) In episode one, Marvin and Lulu get into a fight in the driveway, and we was throwing the punches. And I think Eve directed that one, and it was just like, we all looked at it and it was like, it ain't selling. So then the one who plays Lulu, Malcolm Mays, was like, yo, let's just hit me for real. Let's just go for it. And sometimes if you get actors that's down in that way. Let's just make this so loose for you to hit him for real. Yeah, he said man just hit just hit me Let's just go for it. And he's like, let's really fight cuz I'm Speaker 1 (2:39) gonna Speaker 4 (2:39) try to hit you you hit me Let's just go for it and and just commit to it. Speaker 1 (2:43) Yeah, Speaker 4 (2:43) so thanks. So Speaker 3 (2:44) how did you hit him? Speaker 4 (2:47) Not hard enough to get unemployed Speaker 1 (2:58) Yo, bring Speaker 4 (2:59) it, Speaker 1 (2:59) bring it, bring it, bring it, bring it. Speaker 3 (3:10) Yeah, it's the talk of New York. And it's Speaker 1 (3:12) the boy Uncle Murda, a.k.a. Learjet Lenny. Speaker 3 (3:15) And today we got one of the best actors on the Canaan show and as well as a lot of other shows. Yeah. London Brown, a.k.a. Uncle Marv, is back from the dead. Make some noise. Whoa. Come on. Back Speaker 1 (3:26) from the dead, baby. Whoa. Speaker 3 (3:29) It's good to see Speaker 4 (3:29) you, man. Likewise. Yeah, I appreciate it. I mean, Speaker 3 (3:32) everybody, you made everybody hate Canaan. Let's get straight into it. That's Speaker 1 (3:35) a Speaker 3 (3:35) fact, Speaker 1 (3:35) man. Speaker 3 (3:36) You made everybody hate Canaan. But my thing is, I thought you was going to kill Kanan before he killed you. So as your character, what did Uncle Speaker 4 (3:45) Marv, he didn't want to kill Kanan? You know what? Well, honestly, technically, Jukebox stopped him. Because when he went to the Kanan house, it was done then. Jukebox stopped that. But I still, I think that Marvin, the way Marvin was, I think he would have probably felt better. Some type of way about it after the fact. Because he had so Speaker 1 (4:09) much love for Rock. Speaker 4 (4:10) He got love for Rock. I mean, Marvin is not, again, Marvin is not a dude just snatching purses. Like, he's not a goon. He's just standing on what he's standing on. And it may not always even be the best way to go about it. But really, most of the stuff he's doing was to always look out for his family. Or if somebody crossed him wrong or disrespected him. Like, I think episode one, the dude got out of line with Rock. So Marvin, you know, nailed him in the, hit him with the nail gun and buried him in the wall. And that wasn't even, you know, again, Marvin isn't afraid of that kind of, he just, yes. It wasn't even his own Speaker 1 (4:49) issue. It was, again, him taking out for Speaker 4 (4:52) family. That's it. He was just standing on me, crossed the line. He don't even know all of what the dude did, but he know if his sister said, handle it. All right, well, let me go handle it. Then drink me a little tea while I'm doing it. And get on to the next thing. That was it. Facts. Speaker 1 (5:07) Facts. Speaker 4 (5:08) Yeah, man. I think that's why. That's part of the reason I think the streets really connected with Marvin because they understand Marvin is, we all at some point was a Marvin or know a Marvin. Right. And he just, you know, just, again, he just responded to a lot of stuff. He's not really starting it. Like, again, it'd be different if he's just going around robbing banks. It'd be like, he might be a different person, but he's not that either. Definitely. You know, but he just. Speaker 1 (5:35) He was down for the family, for real. He Speaker 4 (5:37) was Speaker 1 (5:37) down, man. That's what I felt like when Cannon killed, like, Lou. It was like, damn, it was kind of like, even though he went to go kill Rock, it was a mistake, kind of, from killing Lou, right? Right. But when he purposely killed Marv, Uncle Marv, it was like, man. fuck this little nigga now, man, because niggas love to juke like Marv so much. He was so down. Like, it was like, how could you do that? But you know Speaker 3 (5:59) what I felt when, when, when your character, Marvin, Uncle Marv, rest in peace. Um, when he's, when you said the way rock and, um, and her bodyguard just left Lou out there like a piece of garbage. Speaker 4 (6:12) Yeah. It was just real fucked up. Like, that's why I think it was, it was even kind of interesting because it was like, Again, why did Rock tell Marvin that Kanan did that? What kind of selfish play was she running? Because I still don't even understand that. And then also, I'm like, man, why y'all leave him? Even if you had to, there are other ways to hide a body and deal with a body, but to leave Lou out there like that, I think we have to go back and see what kind of person Rock was at the end of the day. Rock was trying to get Kanan to kill his father. She left Lou out there. Like, Rock been manipulating for the job. I Speaker 1 (6:48) can see the spinoff about how you and Rock, how y'all came up and Lou the whole. Y'all could probably revisit something like that, man. Speaker 4 (6:56) I mean, it would have been dope because we, you know, again, Before we come to Raising Kanan, Marvin had did some time. Their father had committed suicide. There's a lot of stuff. We got to still figure out how the Thomas family really grew up. But I mean, who knows, man? You never know. Snack and pop. You can Speaker 1 (7:15) tell a story about y'all doing y'all. How they was coming up and all that. Defcon, the baby father. All that type Speaker 2 (7:21) of Speaker 1 (7:21) shit. How do Speaker 3 (7:22) you prepare for a scene, like the fight scene you had with Kanan? Oh, man. Because it looks real. I mean, like, you know, I took a couple of acting classes, but I know I'm not you. Murder, no, he ain't you. So, like, and I know you've been acting for a long time. But how do you prepare for something like a fight scene like that? Speaker 4 (7:40) We had, we'll go in a couple days before and just go over the choreography. And the guys were really, really good. They'll show us what they want us to do. And we'll go over it a few times. like the day before and then revisit it or earlier that week and then the day of we'll go over it. But, you know, as much as people enjoy what Marvin did, I mean, it worked. We both got to do it, make it happen because he's selling the punches. Of course. So the way he, you know, it's take after take, you know. So those days are draining because, again, the way people throw hands in real life. It's not like choreography at all. Like, as opposed to just, sometimes you may want to just, let's say you swing, you swing, you can go for the, hit someone in the face. Speaker 4 (8:32) When it's choreography, sometimes it got to be exaggerated. You got to swing across the eyeline just to make it look like you hit the chin. Little things like that that's technically, and they tell us, because they know. They say, man, I know this feels awkward, and it feels like you're doing this and you're doing that, but trust me, that's how we sell it. So between that, I think Mario Van Peebles directed that one, and they just got to know how to get the right angle so that the audience can see my punch. going across Kanan's face, but then they got to turn around and cut back to him, like, whipping his face around to catch the punch. So it's just, it's technical. It's just a long day of getting close-ups and the wide shots and, you know, because even when... Speaker 4 (9:20) like even just slamming him against the wall. I'm like, you good? Yeah, I'm good, I'm good. So fortunately he was down to make it work. There Speaker 1 (9:27) was a scene- Meaning Speaker 4 (9:28) you Speaker 1 (9:28) thought you was throwing him against the wall a little too hard maybe? So you're like, yo, you good? Yeah, I'm just checking. Speaker 4 (9:32) All right, got you. But then also I remember there was a scene in episode one, Marvin and Lulu get into a fight in the driveway and we was throwing the punches and I think Eve directed that one and it was just like, we all looked at it and it was like, it ain't selling. So then- The one who plays Lulu, Malcolm Mays was like, yo, let's just hit me for real. Let's just go for it. And sometimes if you get actors that's down in that way, let's just make, let's just sell Speaker 3 (9:55) it. Speaker 4 (9:55) So Lou said for you to hit him for real? Yeah, he said, man, just hit me. Let's just go for it. He's like, let's really fight because I'm going to try to hit you. You hit me. Let's go. Let's just go for it and just commit to it. That's gangster. So Speaker 3 (10:08) how hard did you hit him? Speaker 4 (10:10) not hard enough to get unemployed. And you know, I want to make sure we don't want to work. So I was like, I'd say you're good. And you know, but it's more of a tussle and just knowing again how to play the angels. And then for example, they have, they'll have like stunt mats down there painted the same color as the cement on the ground. So all this movie magic, you know, that goes down, um, really helps make it work. But I think everybody, It felt like everybody wanted the project to do well, as opposed to it wasn't like just a writer's thing, or it wasn't even just a 50 thing, or just produced. I felt like the actors, the crew, the makeup, the wardrobe had us laced down. Because I think people forget as well. Lulu had the, like, he was out there with the jeans and the 40 belows, and he got a look, and Marvin got another look. And then you look at Joey. Joey out there, Nick out there with the whole MCM jumps up. I mean, so. They put that together Speaker 1 (11:09) super dope, man. Speaker 4 (11:10) They did a great job with those things, man. Just the details, making sure the cars make sense, the language. Speaker 4 (11:19) fall in line, because I remember I was seeing the Michael Jackson movie, and there's the main scene where Michael Jackson's about to shoot the Beated video, and he got on the Crips and Bloods, and they said they had a scene in there, and one of the actors, he said, man, one of the actors did a dance move, and another guy was like, Mike, we doing this, it's called a C-Walk. I'm like, I don't remember no C-Walk. I'm from L.A., but I don't remember us ever even... thinking about no see walking back in the, was it late 80s or something? I'm like, that was, and I mean, who am I to even make any notes of that? But that was one thing being from LA, I'm like, we didn't, we didn't do anything like that back in the day. But anyway, all that said, with this show, I think they did a really good job with the details. Yeah, y'all bodied this shit, man. Speaker 3 (12:07) Oh, I mean, I think with shows, y'all was there with one of the best drug dealer shows, it's definitely it. Speaker 1 (12:13) Yeah. Because Speaker 3 (12:14) I feel like, it was y'all and Snowfall really. Snowfall was a good one and I feel like y'all was there because every actor was just great. People always be like, yo, why 50 put you in a show? And I'm like, if he put all his friends in a movie or show, it wouldn't be a hit show. You know what I'm saying? The way the actors are put together and the way the show was confirmed and put together, it's just a great show, man. Speaker 4 (12:38) I appreciate it. Overall. Speaker 3 (12:40) Now let me ask you, when you do the Breeze shootout, Very big shootout. How do y'all prep for that? Those are blanks you're using and everything like that? So Speaker 1 (12:48) it's like... No, they real, yeah. No, Speaker 3 (12:50) I know it's blanks. No, but it could be... Yo, did you hear this, nigga, man? I said that they blanks. Blanks they're using. You could use... Some people use... You could use like AI or... You can use Speaker 1 (13:03) that. Speaker 3 (13:03) Okay, that's valid. Speaker 1 (13:04) What Speaker 3 (13:04) is Speaker 1 (13:05) he Speaker 3 (13:05) talking about? Speaker 1 (13:05) Okay, that's a valid. Don't try to say that shit is valid. No. Get out of here with that Speaker 3 (13:09) shit. Speaker 1 (13:09) Man, get out Speaker 3 (13:10) of here, man. Speaker 1 (13:10) I definitely did. I know about blanks because I was in SWAT 2 with Benny Boom. You talking about this SWAT 2 shit still? I'm on tires now. SWAT 2? I was with Bruce Willis, man. You know Bruce Willis? Yeah, I know him. He's talking about SWAT, too. Speaker 3 (13:25) Well, I'm in tires now with Shane Gillis. You got to catch up now. I don't got to catch up. Now you got to catch up. You Speaker 1 (13:29) got Money and Violence right now on Amazon Prime. Money and Violence? You did two lines. This nigga did two lines, Bobby. I'm on tires. I did two lines. I don't care if I play parts. I really prep for movies. Shout to Shane Gillis. I play parts on real sensitive. Money Speaker 2 (13:42) and Speaker 1 (13:42) Violence. I play parts. He don't know. He don't know. I was in different episodes. He don't Speaker 3 (13:47) even know. He wasn't in that shit for longer than 45. No, Speaker 1 (13:50) we Speaker 3 (13:50) ain't gonna argue, but I'm on Tyers right now. Shout out to you and Tyers. Shout Speaker 1 (13:53) out to Speaker 3 (13:53) Shane Gillis. But he ain't no fucking actor. You can't compare Money and Speaker 1 (13:56) Balance to an Emmy-nominated Speaker 3 (13:56) show. Speaker 1 (13:56) Shout out to Shane Gillis. No, Speaker 3 (13:59) but Speaker 1 (13:59) what I said is, why you... As far as the hood go, Money and Balance is killing that Tyers shit. Niggas in the hood don't know what the fuck Tyers is. Shout out to Money and Balance. Shout out to Speaker 2 (14:08) Tyers. Speaker 1 (14:09) Shout out to Money and Balance. Shout out to Shane Gillis. Emmy-nominated Tyers. Shout out to Money and Balance. Emmy-nominated in the hood. All right, cool. I love it. Let's go. We're going to edit that anyway. You ain't going to shit on Speaker 3 (14:20) money. Speaker 1 (14:20) Why are we going to edit that? You ain't going to shit on money and balance. I'm not shitting on money and Speaker 3 (14:23) balance. Fuck Speaker 1 (14:23) out of here. We ain't shitting on time. Mr. Speaker 3 (14:25) Eddie Speaker 1 (14:25) wants to edit something. This Speaker 3 (14:26) is Speaker 1 (14:26) a real report. I'm Speaker 3 (14:28) with Speaker 1 (14:28) you. So what I'm Speaker 3 (14:28) saying to him before he started screaming and going crazy. Yeah, I love it. This is what we do. When he was in his movie, Speaker 1 (14:35) he didn't shoot shit. I definitely did. Can I finish? No, you don't talk about my movie. I was in a movie with Bruce Willis. You was in Bumass, SWAT 2, that Bumass Benny Boomin them produced. Nobody don't even know that shit. SWAT 2. Nobody never saw it. I was with Bruce Willis. Bumass, SWAT 2. That corny shit. He hyped because he was in tires. He was excited because he was with Shane Gillis. That's what he talk about. He's super excited. Speaker 3 (15:01) You want Speaker 1 (15:01) to talk about it? Oh, yeah. Now you selling your Speaker 3 (15:03) hate. Speaker 1 (15:04) I'm happy for you, my brother. Shout Speaker 4 (15:06) out Speaker 1 (15:06) to Shane Gillis. We don't hate over here. We love. We love. It's all love over here. We don't need the hate on that. Speaker 3 (15:14) Because you said everything I said is Shane Gillis. I just started posting this. The show just came out the other day. Don't sit on Money Dallas and Bruce Speaker 1 (15:20) Willis, nigga. Don't sit on Money Dallas and Bruce Willis. Who shit on Bruce Willis? My movie. I ain't sue shit. I was in there really working in my movie. I don't know what the fuck you were doing in your movie. All right, we're going to get back to you. I was working. You hear me, London? Working in my shit. I believe both of you. I believe it. But Speaker 3 (15:35) before he really cut me off, because he said... I said, were you dealing with blanks for the scene, right? I don't want to argue with this guy. But look, I said, were you dealing with blanks on the scene, right? Because when I did SWAT 2, there was blanks and I had to be careful because I had Benny Boom wife. Like the blanks, the gun was to her head. So they told me, yeah, you can't play with the blanks, but sometimes they can do other graphics or other things. So when you really... Fucking cut me off. Get the fuck out of here. Blanks! I know they don't got real bullets. People Speaker 1 (16:10) would be dead. What are you talking about? Back to the question. I think it works Speaker 4 (16:16) both ways, which is when it came down to that, it depends on where the actors are. They've never dealt with a gun before and all that stuff. They would do some training just to get people used to guns, but the guns, they're about... I forgot the different sizes of them, but as far as they're like blanks, quarter blanks, blah, blah, blah. And so what happens is, depending on how close we are or what take it is, they may shoot, we'll shoot a gun and the sound may be as loud as like, it might be like literally a clap of noise, pause. And then you got another one, maybe a little bit more. It'd be louder than the first one. But then the third one, you actually see fire come from the... From the gun. So it just depends on, again, how close we are to people. And we know that if the target is at the camera, we shoot a little off to the right or to the left. We also got to watch where the shells project. Speaker 4 (17:11) When Nick was I mean there was a scene in episode Speaker 3 (17:14) one. Because Speaker 4 (17:14) somebody can get Speaker 3 (17:15) hurt brother. I Speaker 4 (17:16) know that. Speaker 1 (17:18) He's going to go on set and do this. Hurt everybody on set. No, no. Listen, one thing about me, I put in work in real life. See, he talked that shit but I put in work in real life. So I never did no shit like that. I'm real accurate. I'm just talking about I'm accurate so even when I'm on the movie set, I know how to do that. You know what I'm saying? I'm accurate. Get out of here.