Taimak: ‘Last Dragon’ Star Talks About Life After Defining Role

Filed under: Movies, Television, Celeb Updates

Almost 25 years after ‘The Last Dragon’ was released in theaters, a remake (starring Samuel L. Jackson) is in the works. But people often wonder whatever happened to the heartthrob who played Bruce Leroy. Taimak Guarriello, who portrayed the young, gorgeous, soft-spoken marital arts genius, is still alive and kicking (literally). He’s still very much the handsome brother who made many women swoon in the Berry Gordy-produced cult classic, which also starred Vanity.

Guarriello is the subject of TV One’s new docu-series ‘Life After,’ which premieres Oct. 4 at 10 p.m. BV Newswire caught up with the would-be Hollywood superstar to find out what he’s been up to.

The Last Dragon

Tell us about landing the role of Bruce Leroy.

I was a young guy living in New York, and I was in a place where I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was kickboxing, and there really was no money in it. I was searching. I always had a dream of being an action star, and then this movie came up, and they were looking for people all over the country. Thousands of people came out to the auditions. It was a big deal, very much like the remake now. When they started casting it, there were thousands of guys wanting to be Bruce Leroy, and I was one of them.

You had to audition twice for the role. Did you bomb the first time?

It really was a funny story! It was my first audition, and I didn’t have experience as a professional actor. I didn’t know how to prepare for an audition. It was a lot different from doing school plays. So when I went in there, I was totally unprepared, and I was stiff. They gave me a piece of the script and said, “Okay, let’s go.” I had no concept of giving a cold reading. The casting person said, “You look the role, but you need to work on it.” I could hear the cynicism in his voice, like “he’ll never be back.” In the interim, they were still looking for their ideal Bruce Leroy, and they hadn’t had any success. I was always the type of guy that would never quit until the end. I choose when the end is right. So I began to work on it, with the support of my father and my best friend at that time. They instilled this belief in me that was so profound. I was at this crossroads in my life, and there was no doubt in my mind that this role was made for me. When I went in and knocked on the door again, the casting director was taken aback, and when I started reading, immediately his eyes started getting big. Then he had me meet with the rest of the cast, and then eventually, I met with Berry Gordy. When he saw me, he fell in love with me right away.

What was your life like after ‘The Last Dragon’?

There were the pros and cons, and then there was the reality. It was 1985, and the problem was there was an expectation. It was one of the biggest movies in the country, and there were no big actors in it. I was naive to the ways Hollywood represented black men. And I thought that because you star in a movie that does well that there would be another opportunity. Hollywood didn’t have a structure for someone like me to step into.

So you didn’t have any mentors, there was no one in the industry who saw your potential and decided to take you under their wing?

Berry Gordy, at that time, was going through a transition with Motown. He had a desire to help me, but there were some issues he was dealing with within his own label. Berry Gordy was a great influence on me. He told me that there were only a few people that he thought had what I had — Michael Jackson and a few others, you know. But it was very different back then. There were musicians like Michael Jackson, but there weren’t many young men of color, few that you could think of, that were playing a leading male movie role. Berry Gordy was basically being my mentor. But even though I loved him, I was too young to really make a quick decision on how to sustain my career.

Do you feel like your reservations earlier on might have affected your career?

Berry Gordy and I were developing our relationship to do future work. He wanted to make a huge impact in the film world when no other black company was doing that. I, as well as Hollywood, wasn’t moving as quickly as Berry Gordy’s vision. And because of that, he decided to step away from the film world and focus on other things with his company. And, honestly, at that point, that was the last big real attempt to bring black actors in film, and, at that time, he was the one who had that power. But it wasn’t enough unfortunately. He is an extraordinary man, a visionary. Hollywood just wasn’t ready to embrace the vision he had at the time. He needed Hollywood to be behind him in order for him to do what he needed to do.

What was it that got you through that difficult periods in your life?

After ‘The Last Dragon,’ after having so many years of Hollywood, after people — black and white — were not there for me as I thought they would be, I basically looked within and found my own drive, my own survival instincts, that told me if there is anything that I want out of life, then it’s up to me to create it.

Do you still keep in touch with Berry Gordy or any of the other cast members of ‘The Last Dragon’?

Yes, Berry Gordy and his family have reached out to me about the remake of ‘The Last Dragon,’ so we’ve been in touch in regard to that. I haven’t been in touch with Denise Matthews, who played Vanity, in about five years. I was in touch with Julius Carry up until he died, and since then, I have been in touch with his mother. She contacted me an hour after he died. It was very touching. There was definitely a connection between Julius and me, in the sense that we both had broken into Hollywood with one film in a big way.

Are you going to appear in ‘The Last Dragon ‘ remake?

I can’t give all the details, but I do know what role I am playing. I can say that it will be a surprise. Samuel L. Jackson is already signed to play Sho’nuff. The story isn’t going to be as comical as it was in the first one, but it will be very exciting. I am looking to read the rewrite of the script next month. I know that Devon Franklin, over at Sony, and Kerry Gordy really want to do a great job, so they’re really focusing in on the story.

Are there any other projects that you are pursuing right now?

Throughout the years, I have continued to perfect my craft and do theater whenever I can. I had an opportunity to work with a great director who has a big name out here in New York. We did a play that broke him out in a big way, and it’s called ‘Road House,’ which was a comedy rendition of Patrick Swayze’s movie. It was so hilarious, and I had so much fun doing it. And I told the director, Timothy Haskell, that I always wanted to work with him again. So he called me this summer, and he told me about a project he is working on with Eric Saunders, and he wants me to star in it along with these wonderful actors. The play is called ‘Last Life’ and will debut in December at a film festival. I am also looking to direct a one-act play that will open in the first week of November.

What do you find most fulfilling about inspiring young adults to dream bigger through marital arts?

What I am about is achieving happiness. I have found that gratitude is the key to everything. I realized that in order for me to be happy, to be fit mentally, spiritually, physically, I have to give my heart to young people and inspire them to win in life. It’s my integrity to be able to make a difference, to make them see that they can have anything that they want out of life. Right now, when I look at my life, I see that I have a beautiful apartment here in New York City. I have a great family, and I have great fans. I have the ability to do anything.

BlackVoices.com‘s Top 30 Sexiest Black Film Actors Of All Time. Check out how they ranked.

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