美国国家公共电台 NPR Chiwetel Ejiofor On Playing The Doubting Bishop Of 'Come Sunday'

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

About 15 years ago, a man named Carlton Pearson had - well, let's call it a revelation. It came to him that ideas that had informed his entire adult life about heaven and hell and what it takes to avoid one and enter the other were just not true. Now while that might not seem like a big deal, people change their minds about things all the time.

In this case, it was a very big deal because Carlton Pearson presided over one of the biggest congregations in Tulsa, Okla., and his rejection¹ of its Pentecostal theology for what he calls the gospel of inclusion would cost him just about everything he had. His story was the basis for a segment on the public radio program "This American Life." And now, it's also the subject of a new movie that premiered on Netflix Friday night. It's called "Come Sunday." In a few minutes, we will meet Bishop² Pearson himself. But first, I talk with the man who portrays³ him in the film. You may remember Chiwetel Ejiofor for as the Oscar-nominated actor from "12 Years A Slave." And I ask him about his new movie and how he understood the spiritual journey of his character, Bishop Pearson.

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR: My basis of investigating where Carlton was coming from was really just on this idea of how one organizes one's thoughts in terms of a belief structure. And I guess we all have that - we all have these sort of systems of reality that we buy into, that we understand ourselves through that prism. To actually sort of change your mind about something - it seems straightforward⁴ in a way but is very seismic⁵ for any one of us really to very fundamentally change our minds about anything. And seeing somebody go through that process and go through it with a great amount of grace actually and to sort of come out of that - the other side of it, losing a lot along the way, but gaining an incredible amount, is very moving.

MARTIN: Let me play a clip from the film where this is you as Bishop Pearson, and you're trying to explain to your congregation your ideas - like, where you're coming from, what conclusions you've come to. Let me play it for you.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "COME SUNDAY")

EJIOFOR: (As Bishop Pearson) All of my life, I've been taught it. Everything I know points to a choice, heaven or hell. Many people I loved - members of my own family went to hell, and they're there for good. Now, I could never reconcile that, but I do accept it because they had a choice. But when did these people in Africa separate from God? When did they make a choice? And how do they get saved? And he said they don't need to get saved. They're already saved.

MARTIN: You could hear, like, almost the collective intake⁶ of breath when they go, what? You know? I love the American accent, by the way.

EJIOFOR: Oh, thank you (laughter).

MARTIN: Just thought I'd mention that. Have you ever changed your mind about something big that caused you to worry about it - think, maybe I'm wrong, maybe this jeopardizes⁷ something?

EJIOFOR: I mean, in smaller ways, obviously - nothing on this kind of scale. But I think what is harder and what I don't think I have sort of managed to do really is, as an adult, having formulated⁸ myself as an adult is to really sort of fundamentally change my positions on things - not a kind of lip service to changing positions but really fundamental, deep-rooted change.

MARTIN: Was there a key to unlocking this for you? Some people say, oh, it's the way somebody walks. Sometimes people say, well, it's the way they use their hands or the way they hold their bodies or something. Is there a key to unlocking Carlton Pearson for you?

EJIOFOR: Well, I mean, only in the sense that I went and met Carlton in Oklahoma, and we spent time together as well in Atlanta. And I watched him preach, and I found him very - it sort of sounds strange, but it has just very pure of soul, the idea that I understood why people felt that he was incredibly charismatic but also was carrying some sort of message of truth and of hope. And actually shifting that more onto an inclusive basis seems, to me, like quite of a natural progression for somebody like Carlton.

MARTIN: That's Chiwetel Ejiofor. He plays Bishop Carlton Pearson in the new Netflix film "Come Sunday."

Chiwetel Ejiofor, thank you so much for speaking with us.

EJIOFOR: Pleasure. Thank you.

1 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

2 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

3 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

5 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

6 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

7 jeopardizes   

危及，损害( jeopardize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• If your reckless behavior jeopardizes this mission, you're out! 如果你不注意你的言行，会危及到这次任务你也会被开除！
• Factionalism now seriously jeopardizes our overall interest. 现在闹派性已经严重地妨害我们的大局。

8 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》